Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time
Born and raised for her first 14 years in the Detroit area, Heather Smith found herself in the very different environs of a very small New England town as she transitioned to her high school years. She says “It’s not the easiest thing to do…” but now considers it her rightful home, where she belongs.
And although her road to professional music was a long and winding one, she felt “at home” in music for as far back as she can remember, with an extended musical family, especially on her dad’s side. “…Great grandparents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles—everyone contributed in some way to music,” Heather remembers. “We would have these big family sing-alongs and it just became part of who I was.” This immersion in music included the cultures of mountainous Kentucky and Tennessee where her grandparents originally hailed from.
It took a long while for Heather’s personal creativity to fully assert itself. She says, “My catalyst didn’t happen until two years ago. All along she knew that music was “her thing,” but never pursued it. She also found herself as a mother at a relatively young age, and put everything else on hold to focus on raising her daughter.
Like so many others, the pandemic provided Heather with a reality check for musical creativity. “I just had this sudden internal need to do it NOW.” Despite the fact that early insecurities had become serious stage fright as she had gotten older, she built a simple home studio and began learning how to construct songs with Garageband, and developed her voice. “I was just doing it for the joy of doing it…” Later, she had a realization that “every little piece, even if it’s insignificant, leads you to your next place.” She addressed her performance anxiety by starting out as a backup vocalist in a country cover band, then progressing to lead, then to playing her original music with a band.