Faces of Fairfield: Kristen Graves, Singer/Songwriter

There are two things that Fairfield singer/songwriter Kristen Graves is passionate about: music and service.

The first has earned her the title of Connecticut State Troubadour, meaning she'll both represent the state in song for the next year and promote the importance of art throughout Connecticut.

The latter is taking her on a whirlwind summer to the Cheyenne River Reservation in La Plant, S.D.; a village in Oaxaca, Mexico; and all over the United States for a national tour.

Graves -- who hails from Green Bay, W.I., but moved to Fairfield about four years ago -- began her affair with music as a young child begging her mother for piano lessons. In high school (during what Graves dubbed the "Lilith Fair era"), she put her classical piano music to the side and started the track toward folk music/folk pop style.

She earned her bachelor's degree in music at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. The college sits just outside of Minneapolis, where Graves would perform often. "I started doing the singer/songwriter thing," she said.

St. Olaf also served as the starting point for the path to service. A pastor at the school asked students if they wanted to volunteer at an orphanage in Oaxaca, Mexico during a school break -- Graves jumped at the opportunity.

"I went. I fell in love with the kids, and I really enjoyed connecting with people from the other side of the world," Graves said. She returned to the orphanage during most of her school breaks and visits regularly (she'll head there this summer).

Graves met her husband, Bryan Nurnberger, while volunteering at the orphanage. Nurnberger founded the Norwalk-based nonprofit Simply Smiles, which benefits the residents of Oaxaca with food distribution, education programs, and sending volunteers to build homes.

Simply Smiles also serves the Cheyenne River Reservation Sioux Tribe in South Dakota -- another place dear to Graves.

Part of Simply Smiles mission on the reservation is to provide safe alternatives to the streets for kids and to curb youth suicides. Graves has written several songs in honor of the reservation. "Your Song" honors a boy named Royce who died.

"If you need a song of comfort, please use it," she said.

Another song is dedicated to Tanner, a 12-year-old lost to suicide a year after Royce. "I Will Be Here" is meant to show support to its listeners -- especially to those "who don't have as much of a support network as we'd like to see," Graves said. 

"Your Song," "I Will Be Here," and another ("Keep Hope Alive") are examples of how her service infiltrates her songwriting.

"You're not just writing about yourself -- you're basically writing about the relationships you built," she said.

Graves fosters that relationship building with the kids on the reservation with a five-week guitar camp that ends with a concert. The inaugural camp took place last summer, and at the end the students were able to keep their guitars. Graves raised the money for the guitars with the proceeds of her 2011 Christmas LP.

Though Graves is busy with her music and her volunteerism, she's found time to start a (fake) political party, "Just Be Nice," and launch a campaign to sing on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Her fans and followers have been promoting Graves to the talent bookers for the show. Graves believes DeGeneres would be interested in the work of Simply Smiles, as DeGeneres often reminds her viewers to be kind to one another.

That message led to the "Just Be Nice" party, a joke borne of the 2012 presidential campaign season. Frustrated by the usual pettiness of political campaigns, Graves joked with a friend that she'd start the "Just Be Nice" party. It stuck.

As part of the "Just Be Nice" campaign (and a nice tie-in to her role as State Troubadour), Graves will travel to schools to speak to art classes and clubs about the arts, as well as connect the students to mission and service projects.

"I want to promote the creation of art with the creation of change," Graves said. "To let them know they are capable of doing something to make tangible change."

You can keep up with Graves' efforts by visiting her website or following her on Facebook and Twitter. 

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