Kay West

Kay West began her journalism career at 19 years old in Manhattan at a national men’s magazine, where in her eventual role as associate editor, she began assigning articles about country music artists, at a time when national media coverage of the genre was rare. She was recruited to Nashville in 1981 to direct RCA Nashville’s publicity department, then worked in the same capacity for MCA Records before re-committing to journalism. She remained as George Strait’s publicist for over 15 years, primarily charged with declining interview requests for the media-shy superstar. Over more than 30 years in Nashville, she wrote for local, regional and national newspapers and magazines, and was Nashville correspondent for People and People Country. She contributed to multiple country music centered publications and wrote for all the major labels. Within the industry she worked on multiple-music centered events such as Music Expo, Nashville Music Extravaganza, the Nashville Music Awards and Country in the Rockies. She was one of the three first writers for the Nashville Scene beginning in 1989 and was their weekly restaurant critic from 1992-2007, a column she resumed in 2022 on a guest basis, receiving the Food Writing award in 2024 from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Kay West Kay West began her journalism career at 19 years old in Manhattan at a national men’s magazine, where in her eventual role as associate editor, she began assigning articles about country music artists, at a time when national media coverage of the genre was rare. She was recruited to Nashville in 1981 to direct RCA Nashville’s publicity department, then worked in the same capacity for MCA Records before re-committing to journalism. She remained as George Strait’s publicist for over 15 years, primarily charged with declining interview requests for the media-shy superstar. Over more than 30 years in Nashville, she wrote for local, regional and national newspapers and magazines, and was Nashville correspondent for People and People Country. She contributed to multiple country music centered publications and wrote for all the major labels. Within the industry she worked on multiple-music centered events such as Music Expo, Nashville Music Extravaganza, the Nashville Music Awards and Country in the Rockies. She was one of the three first writers for the Nashville Scene beginning in 1989 and was their weekly restaurant critic from 1992-2007, a column she resumed in 2022 on a guest basis, receiving the Food She has written five books including Around the Opry Table A Feast of Recipes and Stories from the Grand Ole Opry. In Nashville she served on multiple non-profit boards and was a long time and active volunteer for T histle Farms and Room in the Inn. West moved to Asheville NC in 2019 and continues to write about food and people in WNC, the Carolinas and the southeast.