We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ava Claire Henson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ava Claire, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Without question, my most meaningful project to date is Tunes for Kidz . Tunes for Kidz is a fiscally sponsored project by the Arts and Business Council of Nashville, a nonprofit organization. We provide musical instruments as well as music education to areas of low socioeconomic status in the Nashville area. I became in involved on day one when the founder invited me to run our small Instagram account. Over the past two years our team has grown from 2 members to 11 members-all high school students. We’ve made huge strides in the nonprofit community through a lot of time and commitment, and some trial and error. We have been learning on the job. We have organized fundraisers, instrument drives, applied for grants, and collaborated with other local nonprofits and organizations to provide music education to kids. This is the form of written materials, in person instruction, and physical instruments. Last summer I taught a songwriting workshop to kids in the Freedom School Literacy Program through these relationships. During my time teaching, I grew close with my group of students (ages 6 to 8 years) listening and learning about their lives and aspirations. One of the most impactful conversations I had was with a young boy who asked me what a guitar was. Growing up in a home full of music and access to instruments, this inquiry truly shocked me. It motivated me to work harder for these kids and for all the kids we try to reach. In addition, we also have had the opportunity to become involved with the Youth Villages, donating instruments and personal music workbooks whenever we can. I recently made a delivery of 35 ukuleles to a Nashville middle school. Of everything music has brought to my life- it is probably the thing I am most proud of to date. I have first hand seen the disparity of access of music education in Nashville and it seems like such an oxymoron since we are “Music City”. A barrier I will continue to work towards breaking down.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Ava Claire and I am 17 year old singer songwriter based in Nashville. I started writing poems at 8 and putting them to music by age 9. I taught myself to play the guitar by watching YouTube Videos and got a proper teacher by 10. I played my first gig at Bobby’s Idle Hour on Music Row at age 11. Songwriting is in my heart, the stories and how they unfold with a melody and a bridge is as natural to me as breathing. It is part of every process in my life. I am so grateful to have this outlet. Throughout the past 6 years, I have performed at impressive locations like the Bluebird Cafe and The Listening Room but one of the coolest things I have done is playing a wedding. A friend of my dad’s asked me to play during their ceremony and as they walked the aisle. It was the most amazing thing I could have dreamed of doing-actually being apart of the most important day in a couple’s life. What an honor and a privilege it was and a memory we both will have forever.
Something I strive to be is authentic. I am very transparent in my music and my songwriting. Things that are important to me, the things that worry me, the things that scare me, I write about them. People can definitely get to know me through my music. A huge priority to me is being a good human and good citizen. Through teaching and connecting with the next generation, I have the chance to share this gift but also the power that music gives to a young voice. It can be such a friend, an outlet and such a refuge. After all our world has been through in the past few years, we need these things more than ever.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There are so many stories in Nashville where my age, my gender, or my “young face” have been a source of discrimination and disregard. A few definitely come to mind.

Starting music as young as I did, I was able to take advantage of numerous opportunities at a young age. Nashville at age 11 was still a place encouraging young songwriters and artists to perform whenever possible. I had bookers who would book me daytime or early evening to ensure I would be able play. But even then my age and my small social media following posed a threat to my success. One particular popular bar/music venue booked me for a big gig. It was a paid 90 minute set on a weekend night. So that was a HUGE thing for 12 year old me. We had promoted it greatly, invited anyone we could get. The week of the gig the venue reached out. They told me that the new venture capitalist owners were going 21 and up and I would not be allowed to play. I was devastated but completely understood. Two weeks later they are advertising a girl only 14 playing that same venue with 25K Instagram followers. It definitely was a wake up call and it pushed me to work harder and continue forging genuine relationships with other songwriters and venues who truly support the artist and the work. Even working towards that I have had the incredible fortune to surround myself with venues and bookers who continue to support me today. They have grown up with me and I am beyond grateful for all of them.

I have had many “meetings” with opportunistic individuals in this town, like every artist here . But there are some that stick out more than others. One thing that definitely comes to mind are the discrepancies between how me and my Mom would be treated at a venue, rather than me and my Dad at the same venue. Oftentimes by the same house manager, sound guy, or even patrons. It became a joke with me and my mom, but I realized as I got older that my Mom would make those jokes to take away the sting of those moments. It was her way of helping me to pursue this dream, but also protecting me from those gross situations.

There have been countless times when I have been referred to as “sweetie”, “little girl”, “good for my age” and even had another songwriter bend down to her knee and ask “what grade I was in” after I had just shared the stage at a writer’s round downtown. My parents would always tell me that those thinly veiled insults showed I was doing something right and it encouraged me to play more, work harder and get better. Those events definitely lit a fire in me.

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

Our society begins and ends with our children and how they are educated. They are the next generation and how they form their thoughts, feelings, and aspirations affects our world for decades to come. Access to music education is KEY. Although I had a private teacher starting at age 10, prior to that I was surrounded by music introduced my parents, concerts, music camps, school music class, and listening to records at home. Our house was filled with music and it has molded me and my siblings. I joined my school orchestra in 6th grade and was lucky enough to have an amazing teacher who taught in-depth music theory, and also encouraged me to and sponsored the Songwriting Club I started at my school the following year. From there I discovered my passion for leadership and teaching. Being apart of someone’s creative journey is an incredible privilege, one that I take very seriously. When I was a freshman in high school, I became involved in a nonprofit my friend was starting called Tunes for Kidz. I was brought on originally to manage the organizations instagram account, but my roles and responsibilities quickly evolved from there. As we grew more successful, we were able to bring on more members, and further give back to our community. During the summer of 2022, my team members and I had the opportunity to collaborate with the Freedom Schools of Nashville literacy program to teach a songwriting workshop. This 6-week workshop allowed us to come in once a week, and teach kids about writing, instruments, and the history behind the music. With ages ranging from 4-15, this was one of the most rewarding experiences I could have ever hoped for, and further sparked my passion for teaching. I started teaching a guitar class at Crieve Hall Elementary School the following fall semester under the company You Be You Music Room. Overall, my passion for music education has definitely influenced my career over the past six years, and I hope to continue this journey for many years to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: avaclairemusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avaclairemusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avaclairemusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/avaclairemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@avaclairemusic

Image Credits
Chelsea Erica Smith (professional Photos only) Casual and Childhood Photos are not.