We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful CECE. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with CECE below.

CECE, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

The best thing my parents have ever done for me was tell me that all they ever wanted was for me to be happy. This applied to all areas of my life, whether it was my short lived soccer career, my gymnastics phase, or my music career. Their number one priority was making sure that I knew that if something did not make me happy anymore, they would not pressure me to continue to do it. Knowing this from a young age, I was able to explore my creative self and express myself in different ways. When I realized music was what I wanted to pursue, they were the first people to cheer me on. This security that they gave me to figure out what made me happy allowed me to feel like I had space to fail, which in turn gave me space to grow. Although there were times when I bet they questioned their decisions, like when I forgot all of the words to “Rainbow Connection” the afternoon of the second grade talent show (which I ended up remembering for the show!), I cannot thank them enough for instilling in me that at the end of the day happiness is more important than anything.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hi! My name is CECE and I am an eighteen year old singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. From the minute I was born I loved making noise. What started as babbling quickly turned to singing myself to sleep in my crib at night. Beginning at an early age, music was a form of soothing to me. At the age of 6, my parents let me take piano lessons even though I begged them to play guitar. After three years, I finally convinced them to let me take guitar lessons. I started learning as many cover songs as I could and started playing little gigs in coffee shops. Looking back, I find it ironic that I used to say I would never write songs because that seemed boring. Little did I know songwriting would soon serve as a form of therapy for me. I wrote my first song in the seventh grade after attending a songwriting camp in Nashville and I’ve been writing ever since. Songwriting is an escape for me. It is a way for me to say everything I want to say.

I have been fortunate enough to play at some of the best acoustic music venues in Atlanta. I have also played at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. I have also headlined two shows at Eddie’s Attic in downtown Decatur. Sharing music live is so much more rewarding than sharing music through a screen. Playing my music for people is such a gift because a lot of these songs start out as a personal way for me to process my own emotions or feelings, but evolve into something that other people can relate to. When I pour my heart and soul into a song and it resonates with someone, it is no longer just my song, but a shared song. This, to me, is what makes songwriting so special.

I currently have one single available on all streaming platforms called “Hit Girl” (as I am writing this it is under the artist name “Celia Rae” but is in the process of being changed to CECE). I am actively working on new releases that I cannot wait to share. I am now attending Belmont University as a Songwriting Major in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business and am looking for gigs in Nashville!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

One of the best ways to support local musicians is by buying tickets to their shows and going to hear them live. As we all know, with social media it is so easy to feel like you know the ways of an artist from the one minute clips they post on their feed or the live videos they stream, but there is something so beautiful about being in a room listening to a musician live. That experience is something that no video will ever be able to capture. Additionally, buying tickets is one of the biggest ways to financially support an artist. In the new age of digital music, it is nearly impossible to make any money off of streams. By buying tickets, you are not only supporting the artist, but also music venues. Another way to directly support artists is by buying their merchandise. So next time you are thinking about going to see a local musician live, please do!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I believe one of the hardest things for non-creatives to understand about not just my creative journey, but the journey of creatives alike, is that it is not linear. When people ask me about my music, they tend to make comments such as “I bet you’re writing all the time”, or “I can’t wait to hear all the songs you’ve written”, when in reality, sometimes I find myself struggling to write anything at all. True creativity is not something that can be forced, and sometimes I think that is hard for people to grasp. There are some months when I can write some of my favorite songs and feel on top of the world, and the next month I can barely write a verse to a new song and question my abilities and my future goals. That is something even myself as a creative have had a hard time figuring out. Being able to let myself sit in what feel like moments of failure when nothing seems to be working, but also allowing myself to celebrate the times when things are going well. I think that is the beauty of being a creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cecebenzmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cecebenzmusic/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFdzBhFfNxyyCqbZCkVpSiA
• Other: I am in the process of switching my artist name from Celia Rae to CECE. All of my social media links should be updated, but my artist name on streaming platforms might be a little behind! If you can’t find my music under CECE please look under Celia Rae!

Image Credits
Mil Cannon Beth Price Maddox Fowler