Pure Music Nashville’s newest recording artist Rhonda Funk has found her dreams coming to life as her name was placed on the 2020 ballot for consideration for a Grammy Nomination for the 63rd GRAMMY AWARDS® “BEST AMERICANA ALBUM.”
Winning her first award in August, Rhonda took home the 2020 ISSA Silver Award Winner for USA Female Single of the Year for her song “Someday“, (also nominated for USA Female Songwriter of the Year and Female Vocalist of the year). Rhonda, who signed a two-year record deal on January 1, 2020, with PMN, quickly released this powerful six-pack called “Ain’t Your Momma” featuring five original songs and one cover by Jon Bon Jovi.
The first singles off of the album, “Cumberland Falls” and “More Than a Table” broke a combined total of 200k streams on Spotify before the entire EP released. “Ain’t Your Momma” reeled in over 5 million streams on Soundcloud since it hit the market in August 2020.
In the summer of 2018, just one and a half years after surviving brain surgery for an aneurysm, Rhonda packed what she could into her car on her birthday and moved from Central Oregon to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her dream of being a professional songwriter. There she has found herself writing with hit songwriters such as Wood Newton, Billy Lee, and Blue Foley. She’s been featured in several songwriter rounds and showcases such as Nashville Rising Star, Rise 615, Radio Sobro showcases, and recently was given the opportunity to host Lines & Rhymes, a new breakthrough crowd songwriting experience at the popular 3rd and Lindsley. In the fall of 2019, she landed her first cut, a Christmas duet titled “Holiday With You” co-written with Corey Lee Barker and Clare Cunningham, which was recorded by country icon T. Graham Brown and Claudette King (daughter of blues legend BB King). One of her songs “Too Close To Home” was featured on an episode of This American Life (December 2019, titled Too Close To Home).
Rhonda, who signed a two-year record deal with Pure Music Nashville on January 1, 2020, has been compared to Brandi Carlile and Lucinda Williams and is often described as a young Melissa Etheridge with a raspy country tone and a rock edge. Rhonda’s infectious energy and ability to connect to others reach straight to the heart of her audience with her raw and real experiences. She is always asked back and has become a favorite of many venue owners across the country.
