 No matter what your age, young or old, the Lord will lead us to care for His beautiful world. A small town girl raised in beautiful Bluefield, Virginia, Mackenzie Phipps, is making her music dreams come true by performing on stages everywhere, from local honky-tonks to the Grand Old Opry. Growing up in church, Mackenzie is using her music, faith and compassion to bring awareness to something she holds close to her heart. Alzheimer's. This is her story. This is Today's Nashville. This is faith. Mackenzie, finally. I am so excited that I get to sit down with you in your beautiful home. Thank you for inviting me here. Ah, well, thank you. It was been a long awaited time coming. I know. We had to cancel one time. But you know, I have to say, you are the youngest person I've ever interviewed. So there you go. Yep. It was meant to be. It was meant to be. So listen, let's go back to where it all started, where you grew up, and how you got to Nashville. You're from Virginia. Yes. So I was born and raised in a town called Bluefield in Virginia. And a lot of people out there, whenever they hear Bluefield, they automatically think of West Virginia, because we do have a Bluefield, Virginia and West Virginia. So I'm right on the line of the two Virginias, but I was born and raised on the Virginia side. And you know, especially where I am, you know, there's a lot of coal towns and everything like that. You know, coal mining is really big where I'm from. And you know, it's basically a town where everybody knows everybody. You know, I think the population that I'd seen was like 5,000 people. So there's not too many located where I am, but you know, it just feels like home. And you know, when I turned 21, the big mile marker, I finally decided to move down here to Nashville, Tennessee. So it's definitely been a very big change to say the least. You know, especially being down home, you have all the, you know, simple home-like feel. And then you come down here and it's just like... Big difference. Chaos all the time. There's always something going on down here. And there's so many other different opportunities, which is exactly why it led me to come down here, especially from my music, to share it with the world and hope that people out there enjoy it. But I definitely do enjoy my home roots to say the least. Well, let's go back there too. So when did you start singing? How old were you? I started singing when I was four. Four? Yes. The entirety of my life. So when you started singing, did you sing in church or tell me about it? Yes. So I, as a child, I would go to my mom's house a lot, almost pretty much every weekend. You know, my parents would be working and my brother and my cousin and I, we would go down to my mom's house, which she lives in Abbs Valley, which is about 10, 15 minutes from Bluefield. And, you know, she was just the perfect housewife, as I would say. You know, she always had home-cooked dinners every single night we were there. You know, we always played games. There was no Wi-Fi. So, you know, especially in today's time, you know, there's kids on iPads and they're on cell phones and everything. You know, where we were, we were back in the holler. We had TV. We did have that. But, you know, we would go and play cards and just go out and play outside. And she was a very, very godly woman. She loved us going to church every Sunday. It didn't matter how late you were up Saturday night, you're gonna get your butt in church that next morning. And she would take me and I would do Sunday school and, you know, they teach you little songs here and there, just little church hymns. And I had learned nothing but the blood of Jesus. And that's what I vividly remember as a child. Before we would even have church service, my mama always loved to get to church like 20 minutes before the service even began. And as a kid, I would wander around doing my own thing and I'd go over to the piano. And I remembered what nothing but the blood of Jesus sounded like. So, I would play it on the piano and sing along to it. And that's when my mama saw that I had a gift for singing. And she would take me to her house and we'd go in the kitchen and she'd teach me basic hymns like Amazing Grace and such. And I'd go every Sunday and perform for everybody. Well, you learned to play them piano and guitar. Did you take lessons or did it just come natural? Yes, so piano did definitely come a lot more natural to me even though guitar wasn't the most difficult thing for me to learn. But I had done a lot of ear work when I was younger and then I decided that I wanted to take actual lessons. So I started my piano lessons when I was 10 and then I started guitar when I was 15. So I actually started guitar fairly late because I know a lot of my friends that are in the music business they started really young with guitar and I just always told myself I was never going to play a stringed instrument. And then one day I was like, let's give it a try. So, from church to high school, what was high school like for you? High school, I loved being able, I loved school for the most part. You know, I loved going and seeing my friends. I had so many bonds with different teachers and all that. And, you know, a lot through high school, especially when I did music, everybody knew I sang. That was no secret to anybody. They all knew this was the girl that can sing. But, you know, a lot of times peers, they did not understand that my music was my life, my job, everything like that. So, you know, definitely throughout school it was a little bit of a challenge to get my friends to understand what I truly did for a living. But as time went on and, you know, I graduated high school the year of COVID, 2020. I think a lot more of the individuals I went to school with understand what I do now. When did you know that you were truly being called into a music career? Well, I started performing out when I was 14. So, when I was doing shows at that time, since I learned guitar at 15, I was playing solely piano. That was a pain, having to haul a full keyboard everywhere. Where would you go? I would go anywhere. I'd go all throughout Virginia. There was some West Virginia, especially when I just had piano and all that. And then when I branched out to guitar and I got my license and stuff, then I branched out more towards, you know, Ohio, because we were near there, North Carolina, Tennessee, so forth. So, I just go around the sister states, as we called them. Did you know this is what you were going to do for the rest of your life? Pretty much. Because, you know, my dad always talked about, you know, there's never been a day that I've been on this earth after four years of rock that I've not sang. So, tell me where your faith fit in to all this. Well, you know, I always say that I would not be anywhere in this world without the good Lord. He's the reason I'm doing this. He's the reason he gave me this gift to be able to sing and share with others. And, you know, faith really has been a big factor always in my music, as well as my life in general, because, you know, that's how I was raised. My mom always loved us to be a part of church and had us know everything about God and how he's the reason that all of these things happen in the world. And without him, we would just be nothing. And without him, we really wouldn't even have music. We wouldn't have love. We wouldn't have life or anything like that in this world. So, you know, I always thank him every night before I go to bed. I always pray and I just follow whatever he paves the road for me to do and that's all we can do. And your, is it mama? Is that what you call her? Mama. Mama. She was so important to you. Yes. And she helped you to get from Virginia to Nashville. And I remember you telling me you wrote a very special song for her. And along with that, God gave you another gift and you're going to bring it from Virginia to Nashville and we're going to talk about that when we get back. Mackenzie, tell me about your grandma. There's so much to talk about with my mama. You know, my mama, you know, she didn't come from the best living to say the least, you know, especially in her family, you know, you may do with what you had. And she was just such a very strong, strong woman. And, you know, she had had three kids. And that was my mom. My mom was the last one. And I just loved everything about growing up at her house because, you know, she was just, she was always so caring and compassionate to anybody that ever came in her house, you know. Anybody that always came to her house, you know, they always had to have some food in their stomach, you know. They always had to be so comfortable. If you were cold, she'd give you a blanket. If you were thirsty, she'd give you a whole jug of water. Make sure you're always taken care of. And, you know, she is and always will be one of my all time biggest supporters ever in music. She's the reason I'm doing music today. She found out I had this gift. You know, unfortunately, over the last couple of years, she has developed Alzheimer's. And it has been a very difficult thing to do, let's say the least, because, you know, she is probably one of the closest people in my family that I am the closest with. And, you know, when her memory started fading, you know, it was very difficult. How long ago was that? So, as far as, like, a pinpoint guesstimate of when we think her memory started fading, I would have been probably about 16 years old. So probably about five or six years ago at this point, that's when it started transitioning. And I am very fortunate that her Alzheimer's has not progressed in a rapid manner. Because, you know, as far as how her memory is now, you know, she still knows people. She still knows me, my mom, my dad, my brother, so forth. You know, short term, it's kind of out the window. You know, I could go over to her house and, you know, if I go over to her house it kind of throws off her regimen and all that. And I'll sit down and she's like, so what have you been up to today? And I'll be like, oh, I went and did this. I went and ate that, you know, just all of this. And she'll be like, oh, that's so fun. And she'd talk for about five minutes and then be like, so what did you do today? Like, the same conversation over and over. But, you know, I don't mind because I just love spending any and all time with her. And like I said, I am very fortunate because, you know, in today's time, there's some people out there that would kill to have their grandparents still alive. And I am very fortunate to still have her in this world and that she is still pretty much there with her memory other than, you know, repeating a couple of things. But that's just a big blessing for me to still have her in my life. And, you know, especially when I wrote this song, I have always told people if you have somebody in your life that suffers from the illness, you know that there are sometimes good days and sometimes bad days. And the one day that I brought her over happened to be a bad day. You know, because any time I bring her over, you know, we like to, you know, get her all dolled up, we give her a shower, we do her hair, do all that. Is she still living at home? Yes, she is still at home with my pop-all. And, you know, this day I was actually going to be taking her out for her birthday because she had not been to a restaurant for a couple of years. We didn't really know how she'd act until she took her to Cracker Barrel. And my mom was trying to get her ready. She didn't really want to cooperate. And I just remember I ran to the couch, started crying, and I picked up my phone and I wrote the first verse of the song. I went about the rest of the day. You know, I took her and I left the song where it was. I just wrote down my feelings at that time. She had an amazing time having dinner at Cracker Barrel. She loved it. She loved the biscuits, everything like that. And when I was on my way to a doctor's appointment, the song just kept like digging into my head. It was like, you need to finish it. You need to finish this song. And I finally did and I put music to it. And it's definitely the one song that I'm the most proud of writing. What's the name of it? It is called Life's Game. Life's Game. Will you sing it for me? Yes. I know it's a very interesting title. You never know what it's like to lose a love. Instead of death, a good Lord keep. You think all's fine. There's nothing left but a man. You take them out of the house when I see things y'all used to love. You see the changes happen and it's hard to see them. That is beautiful. Oh, thank you. I bet you have touched so many people's life with that. So many people are dealing with it. And that is exactly the reason I wrote that song. Because, you know, especially with what I was going through, I realized there's so many people out there going through the exact same thing that I'm going through. And there's not many songs that they can turn to you to know for them to know that, you know, you're not alone in this world, especially with this kind of topic. You know, I know exactly what you're going through. So, you know, that song is currently unreleased right now. It's unreleased? Oh, you need to... I have a huge plan, hopefully, that I can do with this song. So fingers crossed that I can get it all planned. You can't rebuild the plan? No. It's still making it. It's a beautiful song. So many people are dealing with that. How have you dealt with it? Well, you know, just go in day by day. And, you know, especially when I found the concept to write the song, because, you know, when people hear about Life's Game, you know, why did you name it that? And, you know... Now you understand. Yes. I wrote that song, you know, not only because of Alzheimer's and the disease itself, but, you know, I've always talked about there are some things in this world that we just do not have the answers to. I can give you countless amounts of time that I've went to bed at night and, you know, I've cried and I'm like, Lord, why did you let this happen? Why is she like this? And, you know, it's not my place to question why there are things in this world that happen, you know, why people end up getting sick, why people pass too early. You know, I also wrote it in regards to, you know, you can live your life to the absolute fullest, you know, but at the end of the day it depends on what kind of hand you're dealt. You know, you're given this hand of cards and you can play the game as well as you want to, you know, have every move perfect with no mistakes, but at the end of the day, you know, sometimes you just don't win life's game. And that's exactly how I think Alzheimer's is, you know. This illness just creeps out of nowhere and when it hits you, it's too late. And, you know, unfortunately since there is no cure for Alzheimer's and dementia, you know, unfortunately you've lost that game, but, you know, you just have to push through and persevere and take it day by day. And like I said, I'm still very grateful that my mama is not completely gone. You know, she still knows me. She still knows music. She still knows the people she loves and the things she cares about. So I'm just very fortunate that this is where I'm at. McKenzie, for such a young woman, you know, God is going to have, and he is big plans for you and we're going to talk about it after the break. McKenzie, after hearing you sing your song, I can see what everybody was pushing you to Nashville. So what has life been since you've been here? Just coming down here, it is definitely a change because, you know, down home, I am me. Everybody knows me because it is a small town and then you come here and you're starting completely from scratch. So I've just been going about my ways and just figuring out things as I go and every day is just a new day and a new adventure. But you've already been on the opera. I have been on the opera stage two times. What was that like? How did you get there? Yes, so I actually had done Sunday Morning Country. This was my second year that I had done it. It is such an amazing event. I love being a part of it. All of the people there are just so kind and so talented and it was just an amazing experience, especially this year I got to sing with Mr. Tim Atwood and he is amazing. An amazing person, an amazing musician, an amazing singer and I'm so glad to be able to call him my friend and I just love absolutely everything about the Opry because it's just a dream and one day I hope to be at the Opry for the Opry. What was it like to go on stage when you were standing there? Well, you know, the first time I actually went to the Opry was for the first time I did Sunday Morning Country. I had never been to the Opry before, even for an Opry show. So it was a really cool experience just to be able to go to the Grand Ole Opry house and especially going on that stage and singing the first year I had done Ole Rugged Cross and just seeing everybody out in the stands, it was just such an amazing experience. So after that, what else is going on? Well, I am actually in the process of having an EP releasing hopefully next year with all of the songs that I recorded last year in studio. I have released as of now two out of six songs that I have done. And, you know, further within the next couple of months I will be having new material come out so people can be on the lookout for anything that I have going on, you know, material-wise, cover-wise, personal life, anything like that on any of my social medias because I am available on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, the whole nine yards, and I actually have my own website which is McKinseyFips.com and people can go to there and see whatever shows I have in store as well as anything music or personal related. Well, you know, too, I've read that in Virginia you had another ministry, a passion that got laid on your heart and that had to do with animals. Yes. Tell me about it. Yes. So I had volunteered at my local animal shelter which is in West Virginia. So from Bluefield to Princeton, West Virginia, it's about 25, 30 minute drive. And I had had an acquaintance and her mom was the director over the shelter and I wanted to go and I love animals. I love them to death even though I'm allergic to them. That does not stop me. One bit. Wait a second. You have a cat. I do have a cat. I'm allergic to my cat but I am allergic to cats and dogs. So anytime I would go to the animal shelter I'd have to take some allergy medicine before I'd go. But I started a segment called Take Me Home Thursday and each week I would showcase an animal whether they had been there the longest or if it was an animal that I really connected with in hopes that somebody out there would be able to adopt them. I would talk about certain criteria that the potential owner would have to meet whether the dog didn't get along with younger kids or if it was people selective, if it had to be an animal that was the only animal in the household and I would do these videos in hopes that people would come out and adopt and over the year or so that I had volunteered at that shelter I was able to get about 30 plus dogs adopted out. Are you going to bring it here in Nashville or are you going to just focus solely on your music? Well I am currently right now focusing solely on my music but I do have a very big passion for animals and I've only been here for going on August will be two months basically. I came here the first of June so yeah we're coming up on the two month mark but I'm hoping in the future I can reach out to some different local shelters and maybe try to partner up and do the same thing that I was doing down in West Virginia. Did you always know that you were supposed to be here in Nashville? I've always loved Tennessee and since I love music you know everybody was always talking about you need to go to Nashville you need to get discovered you need to do this you need to do that and then finally me and my parents had discussed that we felt Nashville was the place for me and I'm just so glad that I am here today doing what I love and sharing my music with the world. Were you scared? It was a big change to say the least but I think that I just taken the bull by its horns and going about every day with just hope and optimistic mindset and like I said at the beginning we're just going to see what the good Lord has to offer me on the road that he is paving. What would you say to a young artist about your age who was doing the same thing you are? What would your advice be to them? To a young artist I would say I've always said do not be afraid of failure there were so many things especially when I started out very young at 14 years old doing my own show I was scared of just taking risks because I was afraid of failure even 21 years old now I'm still afraid of failure I feel like everybody out there doesn't want to fail but as I got older I realized that you're going to have to take risks in order to get where you want to be sometimes that risk may pay off and sometimes it may not but you got to go and you got to try and you got to get out there. But even in the midst of your fears you have been all over the place and featured everywhere tell me about some of those places Oh gosh I have been featured with people I've been featured with Taste of Country and Country Rebel that's actually Country Rebel is one of the first people that I had ever gotten in contact with as far as featuring goes and I started that when I was like 18 and I just appreciate all the support that all of these different establishments have done for me and they've gotten me to where I am today and just like everybody on my page I'm so appreciative for all of them supporting what I love doing in this world and hopefully I can make them proud. Mackenzie I am positive that God is taking you on an amazing journey and just thank you so much for having me. Well thank you so much for meeting with me today I really appreciate it. My friend do you have a loved one that's struggling with a health issue it doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are the Lord wants to use you to change their lives. This is today's Nashville this is Faith. Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.