Country singer Kylie Rae Harris dies after car crash at 30
Kylie Rae Harris, a country singer from Texas, has passed away after a three-vehicle crash in northern New Mexico. She was 30.
Harris, who was set to perform at the Big Barn Dance Music Festival in Taos on Thursday, was killed Wednesday night in the crash on State Road 522. Authorities say two people are dead, including a 16-year-old girl. The third driver escaped injury, the Associated Press reports. Alcohol is suspected as being a factor in the crash, according to the Sheriff's Office.
"We are heartbroken to confirm that Kylie Rae Harris passed away in a car accident last night," a publicist for the singer said in a statement to Billboard. "We have no further details to share, and ask for privacy for her family at this time. Everyone that knew Kylie knew how much she loved her family and, beyond that, how much she loved music. The best tribute to her unmatched enthusiasm for both is to spread as much love as you can today, and listen to music that fully inspires you."
Harris talked about death in an emotional series of Instagram Stories Wednesday afternoon. She used to go to Taos with her family, many of whom have passed away.
"I just got to Taos, New Mexico and I'm playing this festival here... for those of you who don’t know, I spent the last 20 years of my life, like, coming to Taos with my dad, my sister, my grandparents lived here, my uncle still lives here. But basically, literally, everybody that was here has passed away, except for my uncle, including my dad," she said, crying. "Driving these roads today, I’ve been driving for 12 hours, you would think that’s so exhausting and boring, the last couple of hours... remembering my place in the back seat as a little kid when my dad was making these treks here, I started getting really sad."
In March, Harris, who cited Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow as influences, released her latest self-titled EP. According to her Facebook profile, she knew at age 12 she wanted to be a singer.
"I want my music to move people," she said in her bio. "I’ve got this platform to do something good for people, to speak into their lives, and in return it is good for my soul. I just want people to know that whatever they’re going through in life, it is going to be okay."
"Music has always been in me," she added. "I have to do it. This is all or nothing for me. I’m going to be writing and singing music the rest of my life whether I’m broke or not so I might as well go for it."
Harris leaves behind a 6-year-old daughter. She dedicated the song "Twenty Years From Now" on her most recent album to her little girl. "You deserve nothing less than happiness/ And so do I/ Twenty years from now/ My prayer is that somehow/ You’ll forgive all my mistakes and be proud of the choice I made/ God I hope I’m still around/ Twenty years from now," she sings.
In an interview with Billboard, Harris said it was the most important song she’s ever written. "It scared me thinking that it was totally possible I could be gone before my daughter reaches that point," she said earlier this year. "I want to meet my kid’s kids. Getting to the age your parents were when you were a child brings a whole lot of perspective."
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