Katelyn Lehner is very excited about the potential of a music career. (Submitted photo)

By Nigel Maxwell

Chasing the Dream

Former P.A. track star releases debut single

Oct 2, 2020 | 5:00 PM

Prince Albert’s Katelyn Lehner has received many accolades for her time spent on the track, but now she is chasing a new dream – a music career.

Lehner’s debut single “Red” was released Oct. 9. Lehner told paNOW the song is one people can dance to, but also has a serious message.

“The song tells a story how two people can get caught up in the moment with small meaningless arguments and say things they don’t mean and sometimes you just kinda need to take a break and appreciate each other and what you have,” she said.

Lehner, who received Royal Conservatory of Music vocal training, originally wrote the song in 2018, but has in the past year worked with previous members of The Pursuit of Happiness, Johnny Sinclair and Leslie Stanwyck, and together they created an an updated version.

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Following her Grade 12 graduation at St. Mary, Lehner chose to pursue her passion of track and field, receiving athletic scholarships to complete her undergraduate studies. However upon completion of her university career at the University of Calgary (Dinos) and the University of Saskatchewan (Huskies), bringing home multiple conference and national medals, Lehner returned to her first love, music.

“It’s been nice to have some extra time on my plate to be out in the music world a bit more and immersing myself with local artists and making more friends in the industry,” she said.

Katelyn Lehner is very exciting about the idea of kicking off her music career. (Submitted photo)

Lehner still has fond memories of her first time on stage at the age of three, and even during her time in university, remained passionate about her music, posting numerous videos to social media. One of those videos was seen by a talent scout for Nashville producer, Shannon McArthur, who offered Lehner an opportunity. While Lehner declined at the time to complete her post secondary studies, she said the feedback was still very rewarding.

“It’s nice to have friends and family tell you they like what you are doing and they can see a successful future but it’s extra meaningful when you get some people from the outside telling you the same thing,” she said.

More recently with the onset of COVID-19, Lehner, like many other musicians, has been unable to perform on stage. Lehner said the free time actually gave her a chance to reset and focus more on her writing.

“It gave me a lot of time to learn a bunch about the industry especially on the business side, because really releasing the first song, there’s a lot to it, and there’s a lot I didnt know,” she said.

Following the release of the single next, Lehner celebrated with a full band performance in Saskatoon at the Capitol Music Club on Oct. 16.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell