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.”