We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ilana Held a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ilana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
The biggest risk I ever took was probably moving to the UK all by myself at the age of 21, in order to pursue music. For me, it was kind of a no brainer and I didn’t realize what I had done until I got there. I remember there was a moment when I finally arrived in my new apartment halfway across the world, where I was like “okay, don’t panic. Just see it through,” and I did. What happened next were four years of creative development, adventure, love, heartbreak and suffering that made me who I am as an artist. My high school art teacher once told me that art is all about taking risks and after all these years, I’ve realized she was right!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Ilana Held and I am a professional songwriter. I also perform in a band called Mystee which is just taking off in the Northern Colorado area. I started playing guitar when I was six years old and never thought twice about doing anything else since. I went to college for music in Chicago and then immediately after graduation, I moved to Cardiff, Wales to pursue a masters in songwriting. While in the UK, I formed my band, Glass Jackets, which led to a very successful run of shows and songwriting, culminating in a publishing and record deal. However, once the university got word of my success, they promptly revoked my visa and deported me. I spent the next nine months in Boston, waiting for the label to sponsor a new visa for me. After that finally went through, I returned and Glass Jackets recorded an ep that would have changed our lives, but just as we were about to set off on tour, lockdown started. Now, here I am, three years later, living in Fort Collins, playing in Mystee and working as a songwriter and talent scout for the Singer’s Company, a Canada-based artist development label.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal with music is to empower women and non-men to create what’s in their soul, despite what society might say about it.
One New Year’s Eve, I was playing guitar and singing at a pub and after the set, a woman came up to me and said something that changed my entire outlook. She told me she was amazed that I was leading the band and that she had always wanted to learn guitar but never felt like she could because she was always told that music is for men. That statement really sunk in and in that moment, I decided I wanted to prove all the people who had told her that wrong. I wanted to show everyone like her that it is possible for a women to play guitar and lead a band. I want to lead through example.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding experience as a musician is standing on stage in front of a room full of people who are all singing along with the words you wrote alone in your bedroom. Watching the chaos inside your soul connect with other people, strangers even, and improve their lives in some small way makes it all worthwhile.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mysteemusic.com/
- Instagram: @mysteemusic
- Facebook: @mysteemusic
Image Credits
Adam Parshall