Electric Americana: How singer Teri Quinn broke from the pack (and found her own in KC)
January 14, 2025 | Taylor Wilmore
Members of the Kansas City-based band Teri Quinn & The Coyotes are carving a distinctive space within the local music scene. From Appalachian banjo riffs to punk-inspired beats, their sound reflects diverse influences — howling loudest from the woman in front.
Attendees at Startland News’ Jan. 23 reception for the Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2025 can experience Teri Quinn & The Coyotes firsthand when the band joins the celebration — and gives the startup community their own taste of the new year to come.
“I love showing audiences what else you can do with a banjo,” said Teri Quinn, describing one of her signature on-stage tools. “It’s a folk instrument, but it can also rock out in ways people don’t expect.”
Set to perform songs from the band’s most recent 2023 EP Deafening Silence, Quinn reflects on her journey, influences, and the collaborative spirit that shapes her and the band’s music.
Click here to RSVP for the Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2025 reception. Teri Quinn & The Coyotes take the stage at 5 p.m. Jan. 23.
Teri Quinn & The Coyotes; photo by Hai Chen
Coffee shops to Coyotes
Quinn’s musical story began at a young age in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Teri Quinn; photo by Casey Reyner
“I’ve been playing music since I was a kid,” she said. “I think it started in kindergarten. My mom got me a Playskool keyboard, and I was plucking melodies from cartoons I was watching. She nurtured that creativity.”
Her formative years were spent performing at open mic nights and coffee shops in her hometown in the Mitten State, where she soaked up the local music culture.
“I grew up living a very musical dual life, playing in the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony and also going to punk shows,” Quinn said. “Anything music-related, I’d go to learn and absorb.”
Her passion eventually brought her to Kansas City in 2009 to study clarinet performance, a move that deeply influenced her career.
The shift from classical clarinetist to bandleader happened naturally, but propelled by adding additional artists into the mix.
“I’ve been playing with a band for about a decade,” Quinn said. “My partner suggested we call ourselves something like ‘Teri Quinn and the Somethings,’ and I immediately thought of Coyotes because I love them.”
“The name stuck.”
View this post on Instagram
Defying genres
While Quinn leads the band’s songwriting, its members’ input is key to their distinctive sound.
Her bandmates — guitarist Landon Hambright, bass player Carly Atwood, and drummer John Goss — add their own styles, including funk, jazz, honky-tonk, and shoegaze, to the band’s music.
“I’ll write a song and bring it to the band. I let them run with it creatively,” Quinn explained. “Even if I have a specific idea, their contributions often take the music to new heights.”
Her own influences span far and wide, from ’60s folk and Appalachian banjo music to New York punk and house music.
“I think it all creeps into my music in different ways,” she shared.
Teri Quinn & The Coyotes; photo by Hai Chen
A decade of KC
Kansas City has been essential to Quinn’s growth as an artist.
“When I first moved here, I focused on classical music, studying composers like Mozart and Tchaikovsky,” she said.
A turning point came when she joined the avant-garde jazz group Black House Collective.
“That experience pushed my creativity and connected me with other musicians,” added Quinn. “Networking has been vital to my journey.”
Dedication to her craft has earned her a solid place in Kansas City’s music scene.
“They say it takes 10 years to really get your footing in the arts, and I feel like I’m at that point,” she said. “I’m ready to hit it harder and take it further.
Teri Quinn & The Coyotes: Carly Atwood, Landon Hambright, Teri Quinn and John Goss; photo by Casey Reyner
Gearing up for tour
Quinn has big plans for the future of The Coyotes as the band prepares to hit the road and drop new music.
“We have some recordings in the works with Chase Horseman at Element Recording, and we’re releasing singles this year,” she said.
A two-week tour through the American Southwest is also on the horizon.
“I’m really making 2025 our year to branch out of Kansas City and do more out-of-town shows,” Quinn said.
Even with her growing ambitions, she stays grounded by her Kansas City ties.
“This city has given me so much,” she said. “I’m excited to represent Kansas City’s music scene and connect with new audiences.”
Click here to RSVP for the Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2025 reception.
Taylor Wilmore
Taylor Wilmore, hailing from Lee’s Summit, is a dedicated reporter and a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Taylor channels her deep-seated passion for writing and storytelling to create compelling narratives that shed light on the diverse residents of Kansas City.
Prior to her role at Startland News, Taylor made valuable contributions as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where she covered a wide range of community news and higher education stories.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC’s ‘Horn Doctor’ handcrafts jazz preservation, keeping soul, tradition alive on Vine Street
Across the historic intersection at Kansas City’s 12th and Vine streets, B.A.C. Musical Instruments operates as one of the few remaining American factories handcrafting professional brass instruments. “This is where all the musicians would hang out back in the day,” said founder Mike “Horn Doctor” Corrigan, gesturing toward the Paseo sunken garden beside his shop.…
Autotech startup revs after patent stall; signature tech removes emissions, waste from diesel logistics
Fresh fuel is pumping into NORDEF after the Kansas City autotech company finally received patent approval for its signature product, co-founder William Walls said, pushing the pedal on its mission to disrupt the automotive fluid industry. Four years after applying for a provisional patent for its technology to produce diesel exhaust fluid on-demand — and…
rOOTS KC grows into third location, planting shop in River Market ahead of World Cup
Initially setting its roots as a pop-up plant shop in 2020, Dee Ferguson’s leafy business has grown to three Kansas City locations. The secret is in the soil, she said, describing a strategy for cultivating customers through free, evergreen plant care support and “community-rooted spirit.” “2025 has been a difficult year for all of retail,”…
Summer funding pushes CarePilot to team hires, AI accolades, healthtech product launch
Fresh off its summer capital infusion, a Kansas City-built AI startup that helps doctors focus on patients instead of administrative tasks is earning industry recognition and dropping another new product, said Joseph Tutera, sharing credit for the milestones with behind-the-scenes talent. “We have a young team and they don’t have the encumbrance of a prior…