Today we’d like to introduce you to Katina Stone Butler.
Katina, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am originally from Memphis, TN and transferred to the UNT School of Music from The University of Memphis. I was a classical vocal performance major. I come from strong music roots and grew up hearing and performing jazz, blues, spirituals, gospel, soul, R&B, etc. I was drawn to classical music at a young age – and loved the performance art of opera and musical theatre. Memphis provided a vast musical landscape as you’d expect. I lived not too far from Graceland and performed there as well as on historic Beale Street and throughout the city. I graduated from the prestigious Overton School of Creative and Performing Arts. I had the honor of singing backup for Joe Coker once and performed for poet laureate Maya Angelou which was a tremendous honor. I even got to sing for Lisa Marie Presley’s children when she and Michael Jackson were in Memphis once. They were staying in a hotel where I served as a “singing wench” at its upscale Italian restaurant. We sang Disney songs to the kids and the bodyguard. We also performed for Seinfeld once. Mostly we performed for drunk rich people. It was great!
After college, I got married and we decided to stay in Denton and start a family. We have 3 sons, now 21, 15, and 12. We became active in our community through service and the arts. During Hurricane Katrina – we did our first family benefit concert at the Denton Civic Center Park. There was an outpouring of support. We started a community service collective of the family’s individual gifts and talents combined to create opportunities for local artistry, as well as to support and serve causes. We’ve done benefit concerts to provide things like coats and toys to needy kiddos for Christmas, as well as fully stocking a small teaching library in Mombasa Kenya.
My husband has worked in law enforcement for 20 years and loves helping and encouraging disadvantaged youth. Our oldest son is a local music artist and producer who sings, writes, raps and plays guitar. Our middle son is a published author and self-proclaimed nerd who runs cross country and has his own creative hustles. He was recently acknowledged by Kid from Kid-N-Play for sporting the high-top fade that he made legendary in the ’80s. Our youngest is an awesome storyteller who also plays football, tuba and piano – I call him this generation’s Paul Robeson. We are a wild bunch. I’m the only girl in the house and love it! I was born to be a boy mom.
I love to serve in music ministry and have sung at various local, regional and global conferences. I was honored to serve in Nagoya Japan as a music missionary. I had a private vocal studio in Flower Mound for a while, and have been a Choir Director for years.
I love my African and Native American cultural heritage and have increasingly grown in my passion to serve Black and other women of color. I recently started an organization called The Fountain. Our focus is to center the voices of Black and other women of color via the intersection of culture, faith, and creativity.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been easy. Life has a way of happening indiscriminately. I have battled depression and anxiety for most of my adult life. I’m an extroverted introvert believe it or not. It’s taken all my life to continue to grow comfortable in the skin I’m in. I’ve also dealt with racism, and we have had to love our sons through challenges common to their generation of brown skinned boys trying to navigate life and keep their heads up in a world that doesn’t always deem them worthy of dignity, honor and respect simply because their skin is tinted with melanin. Then there’s everyday life – work, the family’s busy schedule, school, community, and just trying to dream and imagine and not get swallowed up.
With The Fountain just officially starting up – it’s everything that comes with doing something new. It’s been a long journey to get to where I am certain and confident that this is what I’m supposed to do. Being a creative, I’ve had awesome opportunities to work with and for great people. But The Fountain is me. It’s me extending love and support to myself at various life stages to others in those same stages and spaces. It’s what I needed when I was a young college kid, or a young married mom embracing my new identity and responsibility, or the 30-year-old woman grappling with life having veered off her trajectory for success. It’s the 45-year-old woman having adapted to a routine and wondering if she’s too old to actually pull off what has grown into her life’s passion. At all these stages, there were typical and unique doubts, fears, failings, triumphs and obstacles. I just want to be the support that I had and didn’t have to compel and spur women forward.
Another obstacle is fundraising because so much of what we do relies heavily on private donors.
Please tell us about The Fountain – what should we know?
Our Statement of Purpose:
“We provide safe spaces that foster wholeness for Black women and other women of color.
We create opportunities for healing, connection, creative expression, culture, and spiritual growth.
We center the voices, experiences, and legacies of Black and other women of color, and imagine God-inspired possibilities for ourselves that are beyond the realm and weights of marginalization and oppression.”
I love being a creative and curating spaces that bring all kinds of people together to enjoy the beauty of various art expressions – music, food, visuals, story-telling, etc. I recently hosted an event called #KBUncomplicated in Denton. 200 plus folks from throughout DFW and even my hometown Memphis came to hear about my journey via sights, sounds, storytelling and snacks. I had a host of amazing guest artists – from Denton Blues legend Clarence Pitts to Dallas music artist Kwinton Gray. The audience, participants, music and art were all so diverse. We ate good BBQ, sang, shared, and danced – it was awesome.
My hope is to continue creating spaces where I can center marginalized voices and bring all kinds of folks together.
I’m most proud of the response I’m getting from people all over the country who want to support, love and believe in women of color. Many of my supporters are White. And they are completely sold on the idea that my voice and the voices of other women of color should be centered, heard and believed. There is a great unifying work that is happening organically through my organization. There is the work of anti-racism and true unity. It’s beautiful, but unfortunately uncommon in our country and world. I’m proud and frightened out of my mind at the same time that people want to actually hear from me. They love my original music. They enjoy coming to our events, listening to my podcast interviews and hearing what I have to say. I don’t take it for granted in this overloaded information and expression age in which we live.
I think what sets us apart is that I and my team are committed to a tough work that goes beyond performing and putting events together. We work hard to create safe spaces for people to be who they truly are and bring their full and authentic selves to the table.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Me being authentically me and vulnerable with people I serve and partner with and wanting people to be seen, heard, understood and loved well. I create more than for the performance, but for the art, beauty and power of human connection.
Contact Info:
- Address: The Fountain
624 West University Drive Ste 112
Denton, TX 76201 - Website: www.thefountain.space
- Email: info@thefountain.space
- Instagram: KatinaMusic
- Facebook: KatinaMusic
- Twitter: Katinadsb
Image Credit:
Onikeh Brown-Wilson Photography (photo shoot in record store), E’an Verdugo (event shots)
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