Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time
In 2015 Camille Rae released her debut album, I Need Me, with her single, “Shadows Dance Tonight,” charting to No. 55 on Nashville’s Music Row Chart. Her 2017 release, Come Fine Me, landed the single, “I Need Me,” at the number 26 position.
This Mount Vernon, Kentucky born singer/songwriter began performing as a young girl in church. By the age of 12, Camille was crafting her own songs while strumming a six-string. In high school, she was part of the Kentucky All-State choir. As a Music Education major, she earned her degree at University of the Cumberlands. Before settling in Nashville, Camille spent three years in Vancouver, BC, Canada where she began immersing herself in performing live and honing her songwriting craft. She returned to the states in 2012 to fully pursue a solo career as a country music artist.
“I started singing with my Aunt Diane in church at the age of four,” Camille recalled. “I continued to sing throughout my childhood and eventually joined the choir.” After college, she actually returned home to teach high school choir and drama for three years. “I quit teaching to pursue my performance career in Canada before I moved to Nashville.”
Camille got married to a Canadian and moved with him so he could pursue his Masters Degree. “I was actually into musical theatre at the time, so I spent the first two years performing in musicals and plays in Victoria, BC, then my third year, I spent getting into the singer-songwriter scene in Vancouver, BC,” she said.
Oh, Canada
It was through those formative years that Camille began to develop the formula for her sound. “I would describe it is as country-soul,” she said. “I have always loved singing country and writing country songs, but have also loved singing gospel and R&B songs too, as they feature vocal versatility. So, I decided to combine those two things in my music and have found the perfect combination for me”
As a fulltime musician and songwriter, she says most of the time she writes by herself. “Most of the time when I write songs, I write them from start to finish, but sometimes I get a chorus or verse in my head and build around it.”
Pursuing Legendary
Camille says she’s always wanted to be legendary. “I want to be famous, not for the money or luxury, but to have influence to change things and help people on a big scale.” Three of her songs have landed on radio, and one video on CMT was seen all over the world. “I’m not sure I’ve had my crowning moment yet though,” she conceded. “I’m very proud of my accomplishments, but I feel most of them were decided for me by others. I’m waiting for the moment that I can be fully proud of and more in control of, if that makes sense.”
Camille’s most recent EP, This Time, is her new Americana/country/blues project. “It has a very bluesy/funky sound that displays a lot of vocal versatility and lyrical complexity. This is the first project that I have recorded that I feel really represents me as an artist. I’m so very proud to get it out to bigger audiences. It is also a blast to play live with the full band,” she said.
Although the world is in a kind of a mess right now, Camille says as soon as things get back to normal, she plans to hit the road again full force. “When things are back to normal, I plan to be on the road every weekend either solo, duo, or full band for the rest of the year. I’m very much looking forward to getting back on the road.”