14-year-old Phoebe White from London, Kentucky, is currently captivating audiences with her commitment to cowboy and western music traditions, but with her stamp. Cowgirl’s Delight, her latest album, fuses those traditional treatments - one might even call the sound “vintage” - but using Phoebe’s interpretations, collaborating with veterans such as Riders in the Sky, Susie Bogguss, and even folk-pop icon Janis Ian. For Phoebe, music is not just a passion but a way to connect generations and keep a part of American history alive.
“So, at first, I did gospel music, and I liked to listen to gospel singers and Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey and all the 80s stuff,” Phoebe shared. “Then I started diving into western country music. I started listening to LeAnn Rimes, Patsy Cline, and Patsy Montana. And then after that, I went full-on western. I started listening to Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Riders in the Sky, Dale Evans, all of that.”
Phoebe first encountered yodeling – now an essential part of her repertoire – through a popular country crossover hit. “When I first heard it, it was done by LeAnn Rimes. She sang a song called ‘Blue,’ and I heard it, and she had a voice flip yodel in it. I thought it was really cool,” she explained. “And the next day, I was like, ‘I’m going to try doing that.’ I went down to my basement and just worked on it until I could get it.”
Her dedication led to memorable encounters. “When I met Riders in the Sky and opened for them at the Kentucky Castle, they told me to learn the version by Suzy Bogguss, which she did, and it was ‘Cowboy Sweetheart’ also,” Phoebe added. “So I changed my yodel, and that’s the one I do nowadays.”
Phoebe’s second album, Cowgirl’s Delight, showcases her growth as a musician. The title track, created in collaboration with her mother, Tiffany White and songwriter Corey Lee Barker, has a remarkable backstory. “I was playing this tune. It was the ‘Cowgirl’s Delight’ tune. And I had no idea what would work with this song,” she explained. “So, I gave it to my mom, and she wrote some of the words for it. And then we went co-writing with Corey Lee Barker in Nashville. He’s phenomenal. I love him so much. And so we just mixed up the song and added stuff to it.”
The album also features “The Color of Me,” written by the iconic singer-songwriter Janis Ian. While Phoebe has not yet met Ian, she was inspired by the song’s depth. “Woody Paul knows Janis Ian and came up with the idea. She wrote everything else, and then they gave it to me,’” Phoebe said. “And I listened to it and tried to understand the song. And then, after you get to understand the song, you add your own twist to it.”
Phoebe describes performing at the Grand Ole Opry as an unforgettable experience. “A couple minutes before I was on, I was literally shaking. I don’t get nervous, but I get really excited,” she said. “So, they’re like, ‘Are you good?’ I’m like, Yeah, I’m just so excited. I can’t wait to be on stage. When I got on stage, I felt really happy, and because Riders in the Sky performed with me, it was so cool. I loved it so much. It was an honor.”
Despite her accomplishments, Phoebe stays grounded, thanks to her family’s guidance. “We keep it very real,” her mother, Tiffany White, explained. “She has chores to do, and we don’t go in for this diva stuff. So, I don’t know. Personally, on the ‘mom’ side of things, if it’s a contest where she’s singing and gets a trophy, she knows that. But on the management side, she doesn’t see a lot of the publicity or the coverage. I keep it for her, but I don’t think she needs to see it all the time.”
Phoebe’s passion for Western music is tied to a sense of preservation. With Cowgirl’s Delight, Phoebe White honors a rich tradition while carving her path. Her music is a bridge between generations, proving that the stories of the American West still resonate today.
“I feel like people forget about the Old West, and it makes me really sad sometimes,” she said. “So, I’m trying to bring it back by doing music, like originals, to introduce this music to a younger generation.”.
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