ABOUT REDD

You've heard of pandemic babies and pandemic puppies, but have you heard of pandemic bands?

Redd is a Pandemic Band. 

Before the band formed, Redd Daugherty was a high school English teacher at one of the coolest high schools in Knoxville, TN: L&N STEM Academy. While at L&N, she taught sophomore English, Journalism I, Journalism II, Yearbook, and she coached cross country and track. All of this changed on the 12th of March, 2020. Redd recounts, "We were at the track jamboree and got a call from the superintendent saying that we needed to pack the kids up and head home because of the pandemic. When we were sent home, teachers were put on a 'no contact' order for student equity. See, not all of the kids had the same access to wifi."

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Not able to grade papers, assign end of semester assignments, or finish up the track season, Redd hadn't experienced free time that didn't equate to teacher burn out comas during the summer since the beginning of her teaching career almost 10 years prior. As she titles herself, "Being the anxious, always working and always moving person that I am, I invested in myself during my time off."

 

Redd began her social media journey in March of 2020, and she hasn't looked back since. "I was always into music since a very young age. I dreamed of playing the guitar well and being in a band. I also loved writing songs, but I didn't really recognize the passion, rather the missed passion, I had for music and singing until I had time to dedicate to it again. I'd spent my entire life in the education field working towards my masters and getting in the classroom."

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Redd is still in education, but the focus has shifted. She now works for Adam Ivy as the Educational Director and Head Program Coach: "The only reason why I've gotten anywhere in music is because of the knowledge that Adam bestowed in me through his curriculum and programs. I took every class, every program, and watched and read every piece of content this guy had to offer and applied it to what I was doing across my socials, and I've grown so much over the past two years. Without Adam, we wouldn't have a booking agent, knowledge on how to market ourselves authentically, and so much more." 

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During the pandemic years, Redd also auditioned for and made it on American Idol, Season 19. She credits her students for the success she's had in launching her platform, "When we all came back to school in late 2020 and early 2021, my students found my Instagram account, which I had to keep public in order to get gigs. They encouraged me to audition for American Idol, and I did. While I tried my hardest to push them towards their dreams, while also encouraging them to complete homework for my class, they did the same--they never gave up on me, and they saw where my passions were." She auditioned for American Idol in her classroom due to substitute teacher shortages, and her students were with her every step of the way.

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Redd ended Season 19 of American Idol placing in top 40, and she's quoted saying, "I never thought I would even make it past the initial auditions with the producers. I don't have a 'Disney Princess voice.' I owe it all to my students."

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In 2021, Redd began to release songs from her solo album Monsters & Mothers with Famous London Recording Studio. She credits Fred and Jonathan Kelly for giving her a safe space to experiment with her music to know what she likes, dislikes, and is looking forward to on the upcoming album.

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Since Redd's teaching and American Idol experience, she's poured herself into coaching fellow artists in Adam Ivy's Sell Music Academy and in her band with members Gavin Gregg, Katie Adams, and Colleen d'Alelio. 

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Redd reflects, "2022 brought along a lot of difficult and unpleasant changes that ultimately grew myself and the band overall. We had a few changes in the band that immediately affected the way we operated; we also joined Favorite Son, LLC. our booking agent, David's roster. If it wasn't for David's guidance, and the patience of Gavin, Katie, and Colleen, I don't know where I'd be." 

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The band is looking forward to their new, untitled album release in 2023, and touring.