When walking Westby’s halls you can hear the students say a variety of things. But among the students there is a new name circulating: KiddAmends. KiddAmends, also known as Brayden Calhoun (9), is Westby Area High School’s very own rockstar. Brayden started making music when he was 13, inspired by a “personal heartbreak.” When he first started gaining traction, his artist name was LilUncertain. His original debut single “Ascend” was spread around the Class of ’26 and he received a ton of positive feedback, convincing him to write more music. “Ascend” is not sadly not available anymore, but he does have another single “Frozen Heart” out.

Calhoun said it was hard to start making music at first because he didn’t have the proper equipment. Thankfully, his good friend Kaston Compton (9) gave him a pair of headphones to start. Compton has been one of Calhoun’s biggest supporters since he started. When asked about him he said, “Brayden’s a great, great guy. He has so much potential- he has so much [more] drive than most of Westby.”

There has been both positive and negative attention for KiddAmends. Lizzy Curtis (9) said, “I know he has big dreams of making it big, and I really do want him to accomplish them- but before he can do that, I think that he should try to have a better attitude about school.” On the other hand, self proclaimed die-hard fans Mary Chroninger (9) and Lydia Leisso (9) stated, “Brayden needs to put his powerful positive outlook on life into his music.”

Calhoun said he’s never thought about quitting music, but his SnapChat story says otherwise. He often posts about not receiving enough support. But when Calhoun hit 1,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, he knew he made a good choice to continue to make music.

Calhoun’s got new things coming, he says he’s available on most platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and YouTube. Make sure to give his music a listen!