If pressed to describe the vibe of my beloved Durham, NC, I’d say “a queer foodie art lover’s dream.” Gentrification aside, it has felt like an inclusive and vibrant bubble in the Southeast for the last seven years I’ve lived here. The beating heart of the local LGBTQ+ community is the legendary Pinhook. That’s where I learned about Kinda Nice and their (then-upcoming) EP release show in late January 2025.
The quartet of Jenna Horgan, Liz Crisenbery, Olivia Kretschmer, and Victoria Nelson embodies a refreshing dynamic rarely found in many musical groups. Their Girls Rock NC origin story speaks to a collective desire for new connections and creative outlets. They seamlessly fuse diverse musical backgrounds, from classical training and music therapy to punk rock sensibilities.
After weathering the pandemic era and lineup changes, the band’s debut EP [Can I pet your dog?] is a milestone. The way they balance their busy lives with musical ambitions is just another reminder that all creative expression is vital. Especially when the world seems intent on stuffing us into ever-shrinking boxes.
What have you been listening to or had stuck in your head lately?
Jenna: Oh lord, I’ll have to be honest and say Hamilton.
Victoria: I thought you were gonna say Cocomelon.
Jenna: That too! But yeah, I’ve just been thinking about Hamilton and the power of those songs. Same for “Do You Hear the People Sing”” from Les Misérables. A little bit of rebellion musical theatre.
Victoria: I’ve been a big punk rock alternative kid since my youth. I’ve been listening to an album that my friend Andy recommended to me by the band Arms Length called Never Before Seen, Never Again Found. Sometimes, I don’t know how to describe music, but they are alternative and occasionally scream slightly. But the drums on it are really fun.
Who was the first musician, band, whatever, that you remember discovering on your own having a sense of ownership over?
Jenna: This is going to date me but Alanis Morissette. Jagged Little Pill album was so influential. It was the righteous anger in her voice and the passion from a woman who rocks that really excited me as a teenager. At one point, my parents confiscated the CD, and I was like, “What the hell?” I got it back eventually, but I had to dig far in their closet to find it.
Victoria: So I was expecting you to pivot into what the first album or artists I liked or remember listening to was. Everybody our age seems to have the same answer: “The Beatles, N*SYNC, Backstreet Boys, or Britney Spears.” Basically, did your parents force The Beatles onto you or give you a pop CD for Christmas?
But instead, you ask what I discovered, which is harder. I want to say Blink 182‘s 2003 [self-titled] album, but my sister forced that upon me because she was a teenager then.
Other than that, I remember being in Best Buy, looking at CDs, and picking out one that I liked based on the cover. It was The Vines. I felt like nobody else knew about them, and I remember thinking I was cool for having found something nobody else listened to, just from scanning at Best Buy.
It’s funny because my dad is a huge Beatles fan but never forced it on me. He was big into Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Green Day, which I ended up falling in love with.
Victoria: Well, since you were a grunge kid, you’ll understand the excitement of me seeing Krist Novoselic in person at the airport in New York last weekend.
No way! Did you go up and say hi, or just watch him go off to parts unknown?
Victoria: I was mostly just in awe because that dude is like 6’7”. I had just passed him as he walked out of the gate, and then I went back to stand at my gate. There were three guys there who were obviously in a grunge band: one looked like Kurt Cobain, and another had a guitar on his back. And they were freaking out in the “dudes in their 40s” grunge way.
They told me the whole story because they were behind me on the flight. I stood in my seat and asked, “Did that really just happen?” and got introduced to this entire Nirvana cover band. These guys played a show in New York, happened to see one of their idols, and then flew back to Raleigh.
I was trying to imagine if I was in a Cranberries tribute band and I saw one of the members of The Cranberries while I was standing with my band, they would have been freaking out in a much louder, ecstatic way. But shoutout to Nirvani from Raleigh, and mention this story if you ever interview them.
It’s a bit of an abrupt transition, but for folks who don’t know, y’all came together in January 2019 via Girls Rock NC‘s Rock Roulette. Can you explain how you got involved, what your experience was, and what compelled you to stay together after the showcase performance?
Jenna: Rock Roulette is a fundraiser for Girls Rock NC. Adults who are femme-identifying, non-binary, or trans are encouraged to participate.
We showed up at The Pinhook in January, sat down in some chairs, and each got randomly assigned to a group based on our music interests. Once we were together, we had to decide on a band name, start thinking about who was going to play what instrument, and what covers we would want to do. We got lucky because we hit it off and started brainstorming quickly.
Typically, folks who sign up for Rock Roulette have never played an instrument. But in our case, we were experienced. I play guitar and sing. Alex Treyz plays guitar and sings. Our original drummer, Jen Fuh, is a jack-of-all-trades and can play everything. Liz Crisenbery sings and picked up the keys. Olivia Kretschmer has an amazing ear and naturally picked up the drums and the bass. She played both in our debut show.
After that first night, we had less than three months to write and learn two original songs and one cover. Those songs were performed at the Rock Roulette fundraiser event at Motorco, which was exciting and nerve-wracking, but we rocked it. We won “Most Money Raised” and got to record our single “Kinda Nice” at Nightsound Studios. We’ve since re-recorded it in the EP.
We all signed up because we wanted something different. We wanted a new connection. I know I was feeling stagnant in my life and music, saying, “I just need to put myself out there.” And I really believe in Girls Rock NC and everything that they do for young women, trans, and non-binary folks.
Hell yeah! Victoria, when did you get involved with the band and what has that experience been like?
Victoria: I got involved in the summer of 2019. Jen, the previous drummer, moved out west. And Jenna knew me from this funny community thing I play drums for called Durham Flash Chorus. We bring the community together, and we do two cover songs every Monday. It used to be every Monday, but it’s more like whenever we can get everybody together. There are a lot more toddlers and kids in the situation than there used to be.
Jenna asked if I might want to jam with the band one night. So we did that at her house, and I met everybody. At the time, that was Olivia, Liz, Jenna, and Alex. And I remember that night just being really fun. We sat around and talked about who we were, what we had done over the summer, and things like that. Then we played some songs they had sent me to see if it would be a good fit.
That is my favorite way of jamming with new people: coming a little bit prepared with a recording or some notes so I don’t have to think quite as hard, and I can play a little bit more of what I studied. I’m kind of a studier.
So that practice went really well and then we started playing together. That was still pre-pandemic. We played a couple of shows before COVID shut everything down. I want to say our last one was at Slim’s in February 2020.
Jenna: Yes! I remember there was this feeling of “Oh, should we even be here?”
Victoria: That was a great show, though. I remember that one being packed and fun, so it was a bummer when the pandemic occurred. But we kept Zooming together, chatting, and getting together socially. And then we started having some distanced practices where we would practice outside at Jenna’s house, all six feet apart. Eventually, we all got back to normal, of course.
Alex moved down to Charleston, so we became a four-piece. That was an interesting translation because we had to figure out how to cover her guitar and vocal parts with the four of us. But I think we’ve come into our stride since then, just figuring out arrangements for everybody to play and sing and still have a lot of fun whenever we’re performing.
Jenna: I think I sent you a message on Facebook after a Flash Chorus, and I was like, “Hey, I have this all-female rock band. We need a new drummer. Would you be interested?” And you were like, “I’ve always wanted to be in a female rock band, so yes.”
Victoria: Yeah. I am the only member of the group who is a full-time musician. And my experience in life, in general, is to be surrounded by men while working. It can be wonderful, but it can also be challenging to feel like the odd woman in whatever band, orchestra, or ensemble I’m in.
That’s been slowly changing over the past few years, depending on the genre of music that we’re playing. But Kinda Nice was a real first breath of fresh air for me. I found myself surrounded by women with like-minded wants and passions for music. That was really exciting. I think I gave a pretty hard “hell yeah” when Jenna sent me that first message.
Jenna: And I was like, “Oh, shit. She’s professional. She’s legit.” After that first practice, I thought we got to step up our game. Victoria said a few things, but we were all lost. [laughs]
Victoria: Our vocabulary has changed over the years.
Jenna: I studied music as an undergrad and have a music therapy degree. So, I have a background in classical music, but it’s rusty. The music theory exists, but the vocab is not there like it used to be. And Liz, our keyboard player, actually has a Ph.D. in musicology and a background in opera.
How do y’all approach writing songs as a band, and how has that evolved as the lineup has changed?
Victoria: The main songwriters in the group are Jenna and Liz, but we all have a hand in arranging, writing, and editing. Though recently, Jenna has come with some poetry down and a melody, and we’ve expanded the song from there.
Jenna: There was one song, “How Could You Leave”, where I came up with what felt like very separate ideas. And I was like, “Y’all, can this be one song?” and Victoria was like, “We can make this work. This can fuse together.”
I love those moments. That’s what is so fun about being in a collaborative space. I can write songs on my own all day, but they won’t be as interesting, cool, or rich as when we all get together, workshop it, and arrange it.
Victoria is great at helping me take my ideas and form them. But we all have collaborated on all the songs. There’s not one where it was like, “I wrote this, and here it is, and it’s complete.”
Where did you record the EP?
Victoria: So we played a show at Rubies on Five Points, and it was one of the first times we were impressed by how great our sound was. Like, the person running sound was really great at it and attentive, which is rare in my experience. That guy was Reem Morin, we met him and were so pleased with how he balanced us.
Jenna: I went up to him at the end of the show and asked, “Do you do any recording or producing?” And he said yeah. So we got in touch and Reem made it affordable while also doing an incredible job.
Victoria: Yeah, that was a fun weekend. It was everything that you want in a recording session. He had a nice, fat cat who slept on the couch. We had lots of snacks and were all there the whole time, giving feedback. Reem was awesome to work with. He is so chill and very attentive.
Fast forward to your EP release show at the Pinhook: how did that go?
Jenna: We also had a band manager, Patsy Sibley, who’s still a good friend and is currently in Chicken Ranch Road Show. They opened for us at our EP release show, which felt very full circle. I feel like they have very similar enthusiasm for their music. They play queer country, so they’re also all queer or femme-identifying. We just love being able to share the stage with them. It was a blast!
Victoria: It was definitely top 3 Kinda Nice shows for me, if not the top. The Pinhook also had a great sound. That’s always my biggest concern because we practice all those hours but don’t control how it will come off in a room. But that show was a great experience since they cared for us that way.
We had a pretty full house, which was fun, and our audience is enthusiastic. Now that we’re on Spotify, people are starting to memorize the words. That’s new for us because we’ll be playing along, and suddenly, I realized that there are 10 people out there singing along with us. It’s so validating.
Jenna: I had a friend send me a video of her seven-year-old singing “Sea Shanty”. [laughs]
Victoria: Yeah, it’s super popular with the children right now. I’ve gotten multiple “Sea Shanty” toddler videos.
Jenna: Clearly, we need to schedule a kid show soon.
Other than that potential kid show, what do y’all have coming up in 2025?
Jenna: We definitely have another show at The Pinhook. We’re going to be opening for North by North. They’re out of Chicago, so we’ve been wanting to play with them for a while, and the stars have finally aligned. That’s coming up on June 1st.
Writing more music is a big one for me. I’ve got like a queer love song brewing right now. I’ll send the band audio messages and they’ll be like, “I like this part” or “Maybe change this up,” so we’re workshopping that a little bit.
Victoria: My primary goal is to continue making time for this because it’s super important to me that something like this exists in my life with good friends and good music. I would love to keep prioritizing important projects like this that inspire, are fun and light-hearted, and are not afraid to make commentary.
There’s a lot to be said for creative outlets, projects, something you can put your full self into when it feels like so much of the world is defining boxes for people to exist in that get smaller and smaller.
Jenna: Definitely. I was at a store on Valentine’s Day and I was wearing my Kinda Nice sweatshirt with the candy heart. I was chatting with the cashier as I checked out and said, “I don’t have a lot of time these days; I have two kids.” She liked my sweatshirt and I said, “Oh yeah, that’s my rock band.” [laughs] So she’s like, “You’re a mom and you’re in a rock band? That’s so cool!” That’s all the validation I needed that week.
We all have busy schedules for different reasons. Sometimes, we can only practice on this one day at 6 pm, and we all have to leave by 8. It’s hard. But we all make it work because we believe it’s important to get out there and express ourselves this way.
Who are some of your favorite local bands?
Victoria: Besides Nirvani, obviously, I’ve been leaning more into the North Carolina folk scene recently. It feels like there are amazing Americana and folk artists just everywhere. Skylar Gudasz’s recent album [COUNTRY] is really amazing. I still haven’t caught her live, which is a regret, but it’s on the to-do list. Gown is also fantastic; they have a heavy alternative rock sound with three cello players, so cool!
Jenna: I really like Chessa Rich and Libby Rodenbough. I’ve been a big fan of [Libby’s band] Mipso for years. I really love their sound.
Also, we’ve been connecting with other bands just through the Kinda Nice Instagram page. Tender Queer is a great newer band that’s come out on the scene that I’m really enjoying chatting with and connecting with. And, of course, our best friends at Chicken Ranch Road Show.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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