Kenny Hotopp is a storyteller at heart – a Midwestern wanderer who turned life’s twists into songs that feel lived-in and deeply human. Raised in a small farming town in Illinois, his earliest memories are soaked in the classic rock and country records his parents played around the house. Music was always there, even when basketball called louder, carrying him from high school courts to playing college ball in Los Angeles and then overseas in the European league. That journey of travel, transition, and return shaped Kenny’s voice… one that’s grounded in roots but open to exploration.

Eventually, he settled outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it was only later in life that he fully embraced his own voice and guitar, beginning to write the songs that now make up a growing body of work. His rich, deep baritone and intuitive, melodic guitar work come from self-discovery as much as self-teaching, and his songs reflect the richness of life itself: family and fatherhood, marriage and memory, love and loss, and the moments in between.

Over the past several years, Kenny has built a meaningful catalog that tracks his evolution as an artist and as a person. His most recent project, Early Times, is a five-song EP that feels like a conversation with life itself – a mix of Blues, Americana, R&B and bluegrass inflections that explore love’s resilience and the texture of memory. Tracks like “Will Go On” and “Pull Me Through” exhibit his warm baritone and heartfelt approach, while the title song nods back to his Midwestern roots with nostalgic detail.

Before that, The Whippoorwills Cry marked his first full-length album with Philville Records, deepening his songwriting with themes of love, loss, and introspection, and building on the narrative instincts he first revealed on his earlier EP Truth Be Told – a collection of character-driven songs that move between bluegrass, R&B, and blues.

Kenny also records and performs with his band, Kenny & The Night Owls, with whom he released American Legion Days and Sessions from Studio A in 2022. Those records mix roots textures with band interplay, giving his solo work a broader sonic landscape and a deeper sense of communal storytelling.

Along the way, his music has resonated with listeners and critics alike. Early Times has been celebrated for its emotional honesty and genre-blending warmth in outlets such as Americana Highways, V13 Media, Roots Magazine, and All Country News, where reviewers highlighted the way his songs invite listeners to find their own meanings within his rich, reflective narratives.

Whether he’s playing solo or with The Night Owls, Kenny continues to make music that feels like a walk down familiar roads – honest, soulful, and rooted in lived experience – and hopes you’ll enjoy the ride as much as he does.