Kiana included in the RedThread "Fearless Females"

Kiana Honored to become one of RedThread’s “Fearless Females.”

“As the world’s pre-eminent Celtic Fiddler, Kiana June Weber has reached No. 1 four times on the Billboard World Music charts, been featured with the Grammy Award-winning Carlos Nunez, and toured with the Tony Award Winning Musical “Come from Away.”

Putting her accolades aside, we wanted to dig deeper into her fearlessness - her tenacious pursuit of a unique career path, her mission to make the world a better place through music, and her commitment to truly listening to her body and soul. Inspired by her courage, grit, talent, and generosity, here is her story.”

You have led such an incredible musical career touring the world since you were 19, performing in front of millions of people, recording 4 global No. 1 Billboard hits. How did it all start? How did you have the courage to pursue this career?

I don’t know that I ever thought of it as courage at the time, but rather bravery to explore and try. Ever since I started playing violin I knew I didn’t want the traditional orchestra job, but I knew I loved violin. In high school, we flew to Reno to perform at the American String Teachers Convention. It was such an eye opening experience because it was really the first time I learned about all these “alternative” versions of what a violinist could be. It blew my mind!
I have always been drawn to women in the arts that choose the unconventional path - like Joni Mitchel for example, and this eye opening experience was just the spark to show me some options. I remember sitting on the plane flying back from that weekend thinking, “I wonder if I could do this … make a career as an alternative styles violinist.” There weren’t many examples of that at the time, and the ones that were examples weren't making a living at it. I just kept following the dream with open arms to see where it might go.

"I just kept following my dream with open arms to see where it might go."