One of the few visible Black women in country music, Roberts is known for advocating for "acknowledging the past" of country music, which includes acknowledging Black artist mentors such as Lesley Riddle, and learning the history of the banjo and the term "Music City" for Nashville.[5] In 2024, Roberts won a Hollywood Independent Music Award in the Country (Crossover) category.
Early life
Reyna Roberts was born on August 15, 1997 in Anchorage, Alaska. Both of her parents were combat engineers in the Army and she was raised in Alabama and California.[6][7] She was born two months premature, weighing two pounds, and doctors told her parents to play her music to help boost her brain development.[8][9]
The first time Roberts performed music was at the age of three, when her mother took her to a karaoke bar in Alaska.[8] When she was 10 years old, her family lost their home but paid for a storage unit to store her piano so Roberts could continue practicing the instrument. She continued playing in the family storage unit for three years.[10]
Roberts moved with her parents multiple times in her childhood, living in Alaska, Alabama, Tennessee and California.[11] Their move to California was to further her music career, not because of her parents' work.[7]
Throughout high school Roberts competed on her high school wrestling team, and she began songwriting to woo the captain of the team.[12][9] She recorded the resulting song, "Lying to Myself", in 2014. In 2016, she released the EP The Beginning, which included the song "I'm Coming For Ya", and was a featured guest on the Spring High School Nation Tour. She toured around the U.S. which also included performances by the Plain White T's.[11][13]
Career
Roberts lived in Nashville and Los Angeles from 2018 to 2020, going to songwriting camps to learn the craft and network with other songwriters and artists, and she met managers Ryan McMahan and Larry Pareigis during this period. She permanently relocated to Nashville in March 2020.[14][15]
In June 2020, country-music singer Mickey Guyton posted a video of Roberts performing a cover of Carrie Underwood's song "Drinking Alone"; Carrie Underwood retweeting the video gave Roberts industry recognition and starting traction in the country-music business.[10][16] Roberts stated, "I was stunned. To see her extend that level of kindness and support was humbling."[10][17] In July 2020, Roberts released "Stompin' Grounds", (co-written and produced by Noah Henson) with Rolling Stone writing it "could go to bat with any song in the Top 20 on country radio right now."[18]
She toured with Jamey Johnson on his 2021 summer tour, opening for him in seven cities.[22] In August, she performed in her first festival in Washington State at the Watershed Fest.[23]
In August 2021, Roberts signed on with Nashville-based publishing company Eclipse Music Group but later decided to part ways with them.[24][25] In October 2021, Roberts was featured in Amazon Music's "Breakthrough Country Live" initiative.[26] She released her debut album, Bad Girl Bible, Vol. 1, in 2023 and the NFL Network used her song "See Me Win" as part of their 2023 Spotlight Series.[27][28]
In addition to her music career, Roberts has raised money for military service members and veterans, as well as Rett syndrome awareness, the Wounded Warrior Project, Teen Impact Affiliates, and the Empowerment Project.[25][37] She and her family are in the process of founding an organization to support homeless veterans.[38]
