By Em Powell, Social Media Intern
At Pellissippi State Community College, there are many hidden talents on campus that deserve recognition. One of those people is Kaden Lyons, a 19-year-old Audio Engineering major. He is from Scott County, approximately an hour away from Knoxville, and moved to Knox County in high school. His passion for audio production grew from his enjoyment of music and interning at Volunteer Sounds in Knoxville, Tennessee. He then became a recording engineer at the same studio where he was interning. He has engineered recordings for local artists in the area, such as Mr. Mack, TPG Flame, and another Pellissippi State student who goes by the name AP Roach.
With his adorational experience in audio production, he states, “I feel confident enough to be an artist.” When asked about what inspired him to pursue Audio Production, he explains that he was unaware Pellissippi State had an Audio Production program. “It wasn’t something I even knew you could go to college for to begin with, to be honest,” he states, “but whenever I started interning at the studio I work at, one of my coworkers and good friend of mine, Brandon Kerr, he was like, ‘Yo, Pellissippi has an Audio Program, you should absolutely like sign up and change your major.’” Kaden expresses that being in the Audio Production program has brought a positive outlook and experience. With that being said, he experienced unexpected challenges as well. One example he mentions is learning the software and technology required for the program, apart from the licensing cost.
Aside from the projects he works on in his classes and at Volunteer Studios, Kaden has an album releasing soon titled Vessel. The sound he strives to achieve for this project is a mixture of psychedelic and R&B. The reasoning for this unique combination of genres is because it is the type of music he personally enjoys improving. “I live a lot of my life under tension, and so I listen to music to escape that tension. I feel like a lot of what I’ve created helps me escape tension and zone out, and it feels good,” Kaden elaborates.
Another reason for the genre selection choice is his influence in the studio. He gained a lot of rap influence not only in the studio but also from his father, Tyler Lyons. His father had been a rapper in the mid-2000s before Kaden was born and had opened up for big names such as Violent J of Insane Clown Posse when he was in the area.
Vessel does not have a concrete release date yet; however, he is aiming for April 14 of this year. He plans this date to be two days before his 20th birthday, going in-depth by saying, “That would give it a day in between so I can just kind of chill and be happy and celebrate all the work that I’ve been putting in. Where I’m at with it now, I’ll just say I feel confident in my ability to be able to get it out by then.”
When asked about any interest in performing and where after the release, he enthusiastically comments, “Oh, for sure! I definitely want to perform live,” and continues with, “It’ll feel cool to be in the moment …and I would love to be able to really control that in a live environment.” Kaden later goes on to mention that there are many wonderful venues here in Knoxville, and his goal later in his career is to be on stage at Bonnaroo, a summer music festival in Manchester, Tennessee. He mentioned being at Bonnaroo in 2025 and, “Seeing the artists up there and trying, like, envisioning myself in their mind, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ My dream goal right now definitely would be to try to get up there on stage.”
He is currently inactive on social media at the time of writing; however, when Vessel releases, he says he will be promoting and engaging on his Instagram at @kaden.lyonss.
