BY DENNIS BARTLOW
VEEDERSBURG, Ind. — Katie Krout loves to sing, and she will do it every chance she gets.
The talented senior at Fountain Central (Ind.) High School loves to sing in front of a crowd. When she was in pre-school, she sang “There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” by herself.
The rest is history.
Krout, 17, the daughter of Kenny and Penny Krout of Veedersburg, Ind., will sings anywhere and everywhere — from singing the national anthem at her school’s sporting events and at Indianapolis Indians’ baseball games to providing entertainment at the Fountain County Fair queen pageant and the Festival of Trees in Danville.
The late Freddy Halls of Freddy and the Freeloaders band, a well-known Danville area band, help shape Krout’s career when he asked her to sing at his reunion concert in 2006.
“When he asked me to sing, I decided that is what I wanted to do,” she said.
She hopes to latch on to a country rock band as a vocalist.
“I want to pursue music if I can,” she said. “Music is my way to relieve my stress. I’ll write a song based on my feelings, put it away and look at it in a couple days again. I never get tired of singing.”
Krout would like to put an album together.
“I would like to include some original things I have written,” she said.
“One of her strong points is connecting with her audience,” said D.L. White of Crawfordsville, who is helping promote her. “Some times it takes a singer a long time to do that.”
White said Krout is focused.
“She wants to sing,” he said. “I am anxious to get her out more.”
White said he tries to attend all of Krout’s appearances. A planned singing of the national anthem at an Indiana Pacers’ basketball game last year failed when an ice storm prevented her from getting to Indianapolis.
Krout said her mother likes to sing and has helped her. Katie’s 13-year-old sister likes to sing too but hasn’t ventured out in front of the crowd. Every year at Christmastime the two sisters come up with some special music for family gatherings.
“It is my life,” she said. “People ask me if I am nervous, but I am not.”
Since it is not a job, she doesn’t have set hours to practice.
“I can come home and go upstairs and practice when I want,” she said. “I want to learn to play guitar.”
Fountain Central High School has taken advantage of her singing ability by allowing her to sing the national anthems at some sporting events. If it is a football or boys basketball game, she sings in her cheerleading outfit; if it is a girls basketball game, she slides over to the microphone in her basketball uniform.
Although she loves to sing, she is taking full advantage of school opportunities. In addition to basketball and cheerleading, she plays softball in the spring. She ranks fourth in her class is president of her class and Mustang Maniacs. She is a Mustang mentor and a member of the student council, Spanish Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, FFA and the National Honor Society.
She is a waitress at the Bus Stop in Veedersburg on Sundays.
“I do as much as I can,” she said. “I am very responsible.”
She plans to attend the University of Indianapolis in the fall to major in nursing, but she admits that a career in nursing could be put on hold if a singing career would develop.
“I encouraged her to have a backup plan,” White said.
Krout knows she can always sing, regardless of what she is doing. She would love to get a chance to go to Nashville.
“My family and friends are supportive of my music,” she said.
