Artist Profile: Cameron Snowden ’25 Is Bringing Kentucky to Life

With a foundation rooted in his Kentucky and Appalachian heritage, Cameron Snowden ’25 creates music that brings stories to life through rich bluegrass sounds. Snowden released his debut single, “The Daylight,” on Feb. 3; The country song spells out a story from an experience Snowden had this past summer. Though his official music debut might have been recent, his history with music is anything but.

Snowden first became interested in music when he was in elementary school; he credits his father with having the most influence over his taste.

“When I was really young, my dad would play all the music that he liked for me, which was a big assortment of different things. It was Nirvana, some Gorillaz, all kinds of things,” Snowden said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

Snowden began writing songs when he was in middle school. In fifth grade, he began going to flea markets and collecting vinyls of bands like the Beatles. Snowden’s Kentucky upbringing had a strong influence on his songwriting process. Growing up, he was exposed to acoustic guitars and string bands.

“Growing up around a bunch of country and bluegrass has definitely influenced how my music sounds now,” Snowden said.

These influences make themselves known in “The Daylight,” with the lyrics being accompanied by an acoustic guitar. The vocal twang present throughout the song is incredibly reminiscent of classic country sounds. Inspired by a “riveting night” with his friends in Kentucky, “The Daylight” showcases Snowden's passion for storytelling. While the experience happened this summer, Snowder wrote the song this past fall, while pacing the halls of Pforzheimer House with the melody in his head.

Though country and bluegrass are the primary genres that Snowden gravitates towards today, he has written songs in other genres. When he was in middle and early high school he mostly wrote hip-hop and R&B songs. Snowden believes that there is an interesting connection between country and R&B that has yet to be fully explored, citing Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” as an example. Eventually, he took a break from songwriting in high school, when the pressure to make popular music made writing less enjoyable. When he finally decided to return to songwriting, Snowden wanted to focus more on the music he enjoyed. Listening to a variety of artists, most notably Tyler Childers, Snowden embraced the country style when making his own music. He is very proud of his Kentucky and Appalachian heritage, so seeing the success of an artist like Childers (a fellow Eastern Kentuckian) resonated deeply with him.

Snowden was not always proud to be from Eastern Kentucky. Pop culture led him to look down on his rural upbringing. However, Childers' success inspired a reformed attitude towards his home state and Snowden resolved to bring Kentucky and Appalachian influences into his music.

While he prefers that the true meaning of “The Daylight” be left up to interpretation, Snowden hopes that his pride in his Appalachian heritage shines through. The word choice, imagery, and descriptions work to represent his upbringing from the very first bars of the song: “I traveled up the road on a star-studded evening / and I wandered through the trees while the crickets laughed aloud.” The contextualization paints a multisensory image of what it might be like to experience rural Kentucky in the summer.

Snowden credits “The Daylight” as being produced by Kargon Records, a joke that gives life to his aspirations. Kragon is the name of the unincorporated community that Snowden is from, and this record label does not actually exist — though Snowden was quick to add on “yet.” While Kragon Records might not exist, “The Daylight” was in fact produced in Kentucky. He recorded it in Fat Caves studios with the help of his good friend Sam Rogers.

Music is not Snowden’s only hobby. He is also fond of playing chess and is the co-founder of the Harvard College Appalachian Student Association, which helps advocate for all Appalachian students who tend to be underrepresented on campus. Snowden’s pursuit in creating this club is emblematic of his celebration of his Appalachian heritage.

While some of Snowden’s future plans include more advocacy for Appalachian people, he also has several musical projects he wishes to pursue. His current plan is to release two more singles and possibly an album or an EP. Though his music will still be primarily in the country/bluegrass genres, potentially venturing into R&B, his upcoming works will not necessarily be connected to the sonics featured on “The Daylight.”

Snowden is only just beginning to publicly promote his music, but as his music career progresses, he would prefer to be thought of as “some kid from Kentucky.”