Vonn Kiss & The Dark Horses

From cornfields to ball fields, old dirt roads…trading his spikes for boots, Vonn Kiss has always had grit. Having no fear, while being undersized at an early age, to take on the giants gave him the tenacity to kick down any doors he deemed fit.

Music has been his life. From listening to his great grandpa play his five string banjo in the hollers of Kentucky to heading south to the Carolinas idolizing his uncle playing honky-tonks and hoping one day to take his place. Being on tour buses as a youngster with Helen Cornelius and Jim Ed Brown he always knew where he belonged.

“The road has always been my home” says Kiss while acknowledging his many years of chasing dreams and accomplishing them he claims there wasn’t anything in his life that could be considered “normal”, but it was his normal. Being told “you aren’t big enough or strong enough to play pro ball” fueled him. He never bought into that notion but rather fought harder to “climb that mountain”. The fire that burned in him like kerosene every night led him from little league through high school and signing a professional baseball contract at the young ripe age of eighteen. Then the moment in his life that changed his course forever, a career ending injury.

Running lost, scared, living in the bottom of a spit can. Feeling the need to live up to outside expectations and the unrealistic ones he had for himself, he found himself in trouble and even spent a few days in jail. Trying to find himself, living and doing things that were uncharacteristic of who he was raised to be. He struggled being a father, he struggled with the demons until one day an old guitar with only five strings found him.

Vonn never set out to learn someone else’s songs he used his own music as his therapy. He talked about things through his songs that he had a hard time expressing in any other medium. His burning desire to be a better songwriter fueled him and he slowly began to find his footing again. That place within himself that calmed the storm that had been haunting him for years.

In his songs you will feel the pain and conviction while he tells his story of feeling like it was him against the world and no one but he believed. He was the dark horse in the race that died on the track yet; reborn through his songs. His fire was relit, his purpose as a son, grandson and most importantly a father was found again. He was that little boy again dreaming his dreams turning them into reality. Dreams that most never taste…but he tasted. His blood, sweat and grit to prove everyone wrong put him on a “different playing field”…this one called life.

Mowing down roads across the country along side David Allan Coe while also playing shows of his own, he has found his forever home…in the footlights. Having the blessing of working along side a father like figure in Grammy Nominated record producer/engineer Greg Archilla, truly helped reset the tone in his upcoming album “Chasin’ Ghosts” due out in spring of 2020. Kiss says, Billy Don Burns has always said it best, “is he the writer or is he the song”?