We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angie Petty. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angie below.
Angie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?
The very first dollar I made as a musician was at an amusement park in Utah called Lagoon. I was ecstatic when I auditioned and made the cut for the parks nightly entertainment. My brothers also made the cut and we performed in a rock band 6 days a week for 3 months straight. This was my first paid job as a singer and it was truly the best thing ever. I got to sing Barracuda by Heart every night and I got paid for it? A dream gig.
Angie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Music is in my blood. I was born into a huge musical family where everyone has some sort of muscle talent. The majority of my family works in the music industry as well. I grew up always singing and dancing. At one point in my youth, I gave up on music and pursued dance quite intently. I found my way back to music in high school but didn’t choose to pursue music as a career until years later. I switched majors 3 times in college and eventually landed on a degree in Commercial Music and Vocal Performance at Snow College…that’s where I began my path down my career.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of singing for a living is when an audience member comes up to me after a performance and tells me how my music spoke to them. I write music about my feelings so when someone else resonates with what I have to share, it really makes this job so worth it.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
For a long time, I depended on other musicians to help me succeed in music. As a singer who couldn’t play an instrument at one time, I relied on other instrumentalists to accompany me or a band to play gigs with. In 2020 when everything shut down, I really had no way to perform with a band. I decided then that it wasn’t worth it to wait around for a band to back me up so I went out and bought an electric guitar and learned how to play. Since then, I’ve become 100% independent as a musician and make my money playing solo gigs. I still play with a band (and I love my band) but now I don’t have to miss any performance opportunity because I have options of how to back myself up.
Image Credits
@maylormadephoto @cass.ilyn @apettyphoto