We were lucky to catch up with Cameron Havens recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cameron, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I played my first gig my senior year of high school. My Uncle brought me to a jam circle in Plano, TX at a place called Cafe Bohemia. I was the youngest one there by a long shot, the music I played didn’t really match anybody else who played. I felt like I kinda blew it. On the way out, the owner ( Evie Rossi) gave me her card and invited me back to play. It was 90 minutes from my house and it didn’t pay, but she was the first person to allow me the opportunity to come out and play. I really cut my teeth at Cafe Bohemia. I fell on my face more times than I can count, but she always had me back. I had a place to try new things and a safe environment to fail. After I graduated, I went to the two restaurants in my hometown at the time and asked if I could come play. I told them that I’d play the first time for tips and if they hated it, I’d get lost. If it went well, we’d talk about pay for the next gig. Both venues, Big Joe’s Pizza and Pasta and Villa Grande agreed. It was the first time I was making money to do what I loved.
After that, I just started beating down doors. I googled all the places in DFW that had acoustic live music acts and drove to each venue asking to speak with a manager. If it was a restaurant, I’d make sure to order something small on the menu first to be respectful., but more often than not they just respected to guts it took to walk in and ask to play. Before I knew it I had a regular gigging schedule. They didn’t pay particularly well, but at 18 if you can play a few hours and make $150 you feel like a big shot. I was playing 5,7, sometimes 9 times a week sometimes.
I was starting to get some opening spots for other Texas acts and beginning to travel outside the state to play. One day I got an email from a producer with American Idol, asking if id try out. I was initially hesitant but I ended up going and eventually making the show. I didn’t go particularly far. I made it about halfway, but it gave me a little bit of notoriety to work with. The gigs started paying better, I was getting to travel more often, and further than I had before. It started turning into more of a career than a paying hobby.
Shortly after the show, I met a guy named Scott Sean White at an open mic. He invited me up to Nashville, TN to see the scene and see how the world of professional songwriting works. I started making trips one week a month to Nashville and making any connections I could. I made friends, friends became family quickly. I fell into a really beautiful group of people who have always watched out for me and guided me along the way. It didn’t take long before I decided to make the move.
Currently I’m in town writing songs during the week and on the weekends I’m somewhere in the country playing shows. I’m beyond blessed and grateful that I can do this for a living. I don’t make tons of money. It takes my wife and I both to make the ends meet, but it’s a beautiful life. I get to sing about life through my eyes or even try on someone else’s point of view from time to time. I meet people from all walks of life and build friendships with them. I get to see the country, even if it’s a roadside broken down from time to time. My friends Scott told me once “you have to chase the life that comes with music, not the prize”. Who knows if I’ll ever get the “prize”, but I sure do love this life.

Cameron, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a 25 year old Singer/Songwriter from Haslet, TX. Music has always been a cornerstone of who I am. Even before I could play an instrument. My Dad really loved music and my Mom is a classically trained dancer. She owns her own corporate entertainment company and as a kid I went to work with her a lot. I was always around bands and professional entertainers. My Nana and Papa used to live down the street in the neighborhood I grew up in and I’d usually ride my bike over there after school. When my homework was done (or I told them it was), we’d sit in the living room listen to vinyl records. Everything from Jimi Hendricks to The Beatles and Bob Dylan. It was a really really great way to grow up. My childhood was so different than all my friends growing up. Most kids were having play dates and I’d be with my mom at rehearsals for an event coming up. Most kids build forts outside and I was building props. I think it really helped shape me and guide me towards being in the entertainment industry. It gave me such a unique perspective on the world that turned into a unique style of writing and singing. I started playing out my senior year of High School. I went to college for music, but it just wasn’t for me. I wanted to be on the road playing music in as many cities as possible. I wanted to be in the thick of it as a musician. Playing until 2am, sleeping in the car in a hotel parking lot, the whole nine yards. I love this life. I love the places I go, the people I meet. I love experiencing something and being able to put it into words and a melody so someone else experiencing the same thing can know they aren’t alone.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love getting to meet people after the show. There’s nothing like hearing a stranger tell you how something you wrote impacted them. Songs have a way of taking on a different meaning to every listener, we have a way of finding what we need to hear in them. People have chosen to tell me about their lives, their struggles, and successes. All because of a song. I think a musicians primary job is to make people remember something they’ve been missing or forget something thats been weighing them down. There’s no greater feeling as a musician than when you’ve succeeded at those two things.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I don’t think most people realize how close so many artists are to quitting and how little it takes to keep them going. Chasing any dream is hard. Sometimes it can be a beatdown. One compliment can change everything. If you hear or see an artist that makes you feel something, tell them. If the guy singing for change on the corner caught your ear take 30 seconds and just listen, maybe even throw in a buck or two. Artists are just trying to paint the way they see the world in a way that relates to other people too. On a Friday night, go out and dance to a local band. Host a house concert for artists you’ve come to enjoy. At a concert or an art show, maybe skip a beer or two and spend it on a T-shirt or a piece of art. I don’t think it has to be an expensive endeavor, just little gestures to make people feel seen and valued.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronhavens_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CameronHavensMusic?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cameronhavens

Image Credits
Greg Roach Photography ( Suit Photo) Amy Fenley Photography ( Black and White, Black T-shirt Photo) Jordan Taylor Photography ( Wedding Photo) Claiborne Meyers ( Color Black T-shirt photo)