In tune with her feelings
Joyce Rudolph
Chelsea Williams has high hopes for landing a record deal and
becoming known all over the world. It’s her dream.
But for now, the 19-year-old Sunland singer/songwriter is enjoying
success in her own backyard as one of several acts appearing in the
Glendale Marketplace Summer Music Series.
Williams, who accompanies herself on acoustic guitar, has more
than 80 original songs in her repertoire. And she wrote them in a
little over six years, she said.
“A lot of them are about love,” she said. “The little crushes I
had when I was younger. But now they are more about life and whatever
I’m going through or feeling at the time.”
She defines her style of music as folk alternative and is inspired
by an eclectic mix od favorite artists.
Her strongest influences are classic rock legends such as Neil
Young and Fleetwood Mac, as well as current artists like John Mayer
and Sheryl Crow, said Kris Ellenberg, promotions manager for Glendale
Marketplace. Ellenberg manages the shopping center’s promotions,
including auditioning and booking the talent for the Summer Music
Series.
“As soon as I heard Chelsea I had no hesitation to adding her to
our Summer Music Series,” Ellenberg said. “She’s a very talented
young woman with ties to the surrounding communities, and even though
she is only 19, she is already quite a prolific songwriter with more
than 80 original songs she has composed.”
Williams’ versatility benefits the marketplace because she draws a
variety of ages, Ellenberg said.
“She’s a great crossover talent because she appeals to her peers
and their parents, and we are really trying to bring whole families
into the marketplace,” she said.
Williams has been appearing at several local venues. She recently
played at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. Around town, she has
performed at Urartu in Glendale and Lulu’s Beehive in Studio City.
She is accompanied by two backup singers, Maile Schliewe of
Glendale, and Chelsie Legg of La Crescenta.
In November, the former La Crescenta resident took her act on the
road, as the opening act for the group Darci Cash.
They piled into a white van and drove up the coast to San
Francisco, Portland and Seattle playing at coffee shops and schools.
“It was so fun, the best,” she said. “It was tiring but so
exciting. I didn’t feel tired I was so excited to be there. This was
my dream. That’s what I want to do as a profession, travel and
perform professionally. That’s what I live for.”
While on the musical tour up north, she had a taste of stardom,
she said.
“One high school we performed for, the students started chanting
my name,” she said. “I felt like I was a rock star. They were excited
to have someone close to their age come and perform for them.”
That trip just whet her appetite for taking a musical tour to
Europe, Japan and Australia..
“I love to learn about different cultures,” she said. “All music
and cultures are interesting to me. A music tour would combine my two
loves, performing and traveling.”