Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Billie Sheers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Billie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I am one of the lucky few to have extremely supportive parents. When I took piano as a kid, they came to my very first recital, I was involved in the school plays at my elementary school where they showed up to every opening night, and they travelled to Nashville, where I was taking a vocal intensive camp, to see my choir perform. Throughout my whole life they have been a constant support system that’s given me the confidence to attempt any and everything I want to achieve. My dad especially was the one who look up open mic nights in town and tell me I should sign up for them. He always goes out of his way to send me opportunities he thinks might help me. My mom through her own connections in our neighborhood, set me up to record my very first EP at 17 in a professional studio setting. This experience was incredibly valuable to preparing me for when I would go into studio sessions as an adult. Neither of my parents are creatives or know anything about the entertainment industry, but they did what they could with what they had access to, to do their absolute best in giving me a shot at my dreams.

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.

I was born and raised in San Jose, California where I first began my journey in music. Growing up there is where I learned to play piano, flute, guitar, sang in my elementary choir, and was incredibly involved in my school’s plays. My taste in music was also influenced by my surroundings. Every morning on the way to school, my dad would play the local alternative radio station. Even though he’s from Michigan, he always made sure I felt proud when we would hear a local artist on the radio. “Hey! Did you know Green Day’s from Oakland!”, he’d say in the driver’s seat, “They’re really cool, have you heard America Idiot?”. My eyes were opened when he introduced me to not only them, but bands like No Doubt and Evanescence. Powerful female fronted bands have always been who I looked up to, and later that included Hayley Williams and Paramore. They were unapologetically feminine and could still dominate in predominately male spaces.

This past year I released my debut EP called Are You Having Any Fun Now? that I am so incredibly proud of for multiple reasons. 1. It was completely self-funded, I worked so hard and paid for it with my blood, sweat, and tears. 2. It was entirely written by just me. I learned early on that I was struggling to find my voice in a writer’s room, so out of necessity I hunkered down and figured out what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. Doing that gave me a confidence in my artistry that I don’t think I would’ve gotten without that experience. I fully believe you can do anything you want if you just set your mind to it.

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

Support for the local creative community can come in many forms. Financial support like buying merch, physical media, tickets to see them live, etc., is always appreciated, especially in this economy, but there are so many ways that can really help that don’t require anything to do with money. Sharing and talking with your peers about an artist is an incredible way to show support. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing, but people really do underestimate it. People are more likely to check out a rising artist when they got previous validation from a person whose taste they already have trust in. Social media is also an incredibly powerful tool, and I’m sure most of us realize that. When you see a local artist about to release a new song, share it with your audience, you have eyes on you that they might not already have on themselves. Also, on the topic of releasing new music, pre-saving/pre-adding a new song to your library before it comes out can help a good release become a GREAT one. While we’re all slaves to the algorithm, those numbers let it know that people are interested and it should promote the song to even more people.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

When someone lets me know they’ve incorporated one of my songs into their every day playlists or that my music gets them to feel a certain way, I know i’ve done my job. Impacting one person’s life is worth the same to me as impacting a million. Once music is released it really does start to take on a life of its own, and it’s meaning can be different for every single person who listens. It’s just really beautiful to watch others interact and incorporate art into their daily lives.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billiesheersmustdie/
• Twitter: https://x.com/billiesheerssux?s=11&t=-J1ZT6U74duN1KLc1ixE3A
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/44waO6ERJBxtq3Dyi3yJye?si=HtXXU-p_QNuGWDrJidh1Cw

  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@billie.sheers?_t=ZP-8undH4AcmqM&_r=1

Image Credits

Studio Photos by Ryann Baugess
Live Concert Photos by Alyse McCamish