Award-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kathryn Grimm has spent decades exploring the emotional terrain of music. From blues-heavy records to collaborations with well-known artists, her catalog reflects a career built on storytelling and raw musical expression.

With her new single, “Say Goodbye To The Blues,” Grimm leans into a brighter emotional space. The song carries an upbeat groove and an optimistic message about love’s ability to lift someone out of sorrow. For Grimm, that belief is rooted in her own experiences.

“I’m one of the lucky ones who has experienced the ‘real deal,’ to have had ‘the one,’ something I believe happens less than once in a lifetime,” Grimm said. “I’m a true believer in love, having had that privilege. Love is the topic of most of my songs. It inspires people to create the most beautiful art and songs and to be their best.”

The song’s message reflects Grimm’s broader view that love can transform even the most difficult moments. While heartbreak has long been central to blues music, “Say Goodbye To The Blues” suggests that joy and connection can sometimes arrive just as suddenly.

Grimm describes the emotional state behind the song as “bliss,” a feeling she often experiences when writing or performing.

“Warm. Right. Like all is well. Transcendent. Hopeful. Blessed,” she said. “While performing, feeling that bliss often puts you in ‘the zone,’ a place where you can perform beyond the norm.”

That sense of ease and energy shaped the way the song came together. Grimm said the music and lyrics developed simultaneously, beginning with a guitar rhythm that naturally carried a lighter mood.

“The music started out happy from the get-go with the syncopated guitar,” she said. “The lyrics came simultaneously. My bass player at the time, Chris Rourke, came up with that stellar bass line that makes the song groove beautifully.”

Grimm’s career has largely been associated with blues recordings, including albums such as “No Cash Blues” and “Grimm Again.” But she says she rarely plans the direction of her songs in advance. Instead, she follows the moment when inspiration strikes.

“My mood, I suppose,” Grimm said when asked about the brighter sound of the new single. “I never plan the way my songs turn out. It’s the muse hitting me, and with years of listening to, studying and teaching music of all genres, anything can come out. Blues, rock, country, jazz, death metal, pop, instrumental. This one just happened to have a bluesy-pop feel.”

Over the years, Grimm has worked with a wide range of musicians. Early in her career, guitarist Jeff Buckley backed her up in her original band, Group Therapy. She also jammed with rock pioneer Bo Diddley while filming the movie “Rockula,” an experience she describes as one of the highlights of her career.

“Playing his guitar was incredible,” she said of Diddley.

Another notable moment came when Al Hendrix, father of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, contacted Grimm after hearing her version of “Spanish Castle Magic.” According to Grimm, Hendrix offered his blessing for her interpretation.

She has also appeared as the featured guitarist in Michael Bolton’s video “Dance With Me.” Experiences like those, Grimm said, reinforced an important lesson about emotional honesty in music.

“Be yourself. Tell the truth. Spill your guts,” she said. “You may be helping someone who needs to hear your message. I have certainly been saved by messages in songs.”

That belief also informs one of the central ideas behind “Say Goodbye To The Blues.” Grimm often describes the song’s philosophy with the phrase “love and the blues cannot coexist.” While she acknowledges that emotions can sometimes overlap, she sees tension between love and struggle as a signal that something may be off.

“Yes,” Grimm said when asked whether she has experienced moments when love and sadness existed together. “I learned that if they overlap, something is wrong. Love should be easy. If it’s a lot of work, it’s not the right person, I have found.”

Beyond the recording studio, Grimm is known for energetic live performances that invite audiences to participate. Her shows often emphasize connection, with crowd sing-alongs becoming a regular feature.

“In simple language that anyone can grasp, set to a singable melody that all can sing along to,” she said, describing how she brings the emotion of a song into a live setting. “I encourage a lot of singing when I’m performing. It connects me with the audience in a lovely way. The act of singing is cathartic, too. It doesn’t need to be perfect to be fun and a great release.”

While Grimm holds academic degrees in jazz studies and commercial music from Cal State Los Angeles and training from the Guitar Institute in Hollywood, she said formal theory rarely enters her mind when she is writing.

“I spent several years in academia,” Grimm said. “Theory is the last thing on my mind when I’m in a creative space. I’m focused on fearlessly translating how I feel into words that are simple and easy to understand.”

Grimm continues to stay active in the music scene through several projects, including The Kathryn Grimm Band, The Jazz Rockets, Hippie Love Slave and Babes in Portland. She also hosts a quarterly blues and jazz jam and performs as a supporting musician for other artists on guitar, bass, piano and vocals.

Her songwriting has also reached the stage. Several of Grimm’s songs appear in playwright Alan Alexander III’s award-winning production “Homeless, The Musical.”

Despite decades in the industry, Grimm said the inspiration for new music continues to come from life itself.

“Living an interesting life that is full of experiences,” she said. “Traveling, reading great books, watching inspiring movies, falling in love, taking chances, feeling all emotions from extreme pain to mad joy.”

For Grimm, “Say Goodbye To The Blues” ultimately reflects a hope that listeners might reconnect with positive memories or even feel inspired to seek love again.

“I hope it makes them remember a time when they had that feeling for someone who made them feel elated,” she said. “Or gives them the inspiration to go out there and find it.”

The song’s upbeat message may represent a shift in tone, but it remains consistent with Grimm’s longstanding approach to music. For her, songs are not just performances. They are expressions of lived experience, shared in the hope that someone else might recognize their own story in the melody.