We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christine Baird a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christine, appreciate you joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
This is a loaded question that made me stop for quite a while and really ponder the answer. At the age of 18, I moved to New York City to study musical theatre at a small college on the Upper East Side. Up until that point, my life had been defined by singing but took on many different iterations. My earliest memories consist of me having the desire to be a singer––a country singer, a Broadway singer, a singer that sells out stadium tours. I simply loved singing, whether that be in extracurricular groups, at school, in church, or in my bedroom along to a Celine Dion or Stevie Wonder record.
In high school, I continued to take singing and performing very seriously and became the lead vocalist for two award-winning bands and was often a principal actress in school and community theatrical productions. When it came time to apply for college, however, I was at a crossroads. Would I go to Berklee for Songwriting? Boston University for Acting? Marymount Manhattan College for Musical Theatre? As fate would have it, the best offer came from Marymount, so I packed my bags and moved cross-country to the Big Apple.
My four years at Marymount turned out to be incredibly fruitful, positively overflowing with difficult, fulfilling, tiring, mind-blowing, and self-assuring moments. However, I felt a struggle throughout school that gnawed at my insides and continued to feast long after graduation. I had a passion for soul singing with rock and funk bands, yet I also loved completely immersing myself in a role and utilizing the classically trained aspect of my voice in a Golden Age musical. This unique dichotomy resulted in a self-inflicted, long-lasting misunderstanding of who I truly was as an artist.
After college, I went on a couple theatre contracts, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I began to integrate more deeply with my most authentic artistic self. The time away from work afforded me the opportunity to practice more guitar, rest, and humble myself in the pursuit of my soul’s purest passion.
At the end of 2021, I experienced some personal and professional upheaval and decided to leave New York for the time being. Luckily, I had Utah as a soft place to land during a very tumultuous time and, most importantly, I also had music to cushion the blow. Looking back, I am so grateful for the turbulence because it forced me–quite literally–to dive headfirst into playing solo gigs and focusing on bettering myself as a musician, songwriter, and artist. Before leaving New York, I had an exceptionally hard time figuring out who I was as I tried to balance both musical theatre and rock singing passions. I realize now that getting out of the bustling city was the best thing that could have happened to me. It is no exaggeration when I say that I feel the most like myself that I have ever felt. And, hey–all it took was life completely falling apart so I could have the opportunity to piece it back together again without any preconceived ideas of who I “should” be.
New York City shaped me, broke me, shook me, filled me, thrilled me, ate me up, and then spit me out. But, without it, there’s no chance I’d be anywhere close to where I am today. The irony is, the change came when I packed up and left.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a singer, songwriter, and musician currently based in the Rocky Mountain West. And I can honestly say I’ve known from the moment I had my first coherent thought that I wanted to sing for the rest of my life. As I mentioned earlier, I loved singing at school and in church. I’d even recruit childhood friends from down the street to put on talent shows for the neighbors. The most profound feeling I can remember from those experiences is that singing and performing was what genuinely made me the happiest.
As a young child, there was one singer, in particular, that I always gravitated towards. That singer was the legendary Celine Dion. I listened to her so much, in fact, that I regularly have audience members to this day commenting on the similarities in tone and inflection. Celine was the ideal, the singer I would strive to be.
When I was around nine years old, my mom decided to take me down to Las Vegas to see her show at Caesar’s Palace, a moment that cemented my desire to sing professionally and forever. I vividly recall the piano floating through the sky, the giant ensemble of singers and dancers, the massive ionic column set pieces, and reciting the occasional dialogue from memory along with Celine. However, the one moment that remains at the forefront of my recollection was the key change at the end of “My Heart Will Go On.” Dion had already performed such an exquisite show but it was her delivery in this song and the intensity I felt hearing it live that impacted me immensely. I remember walking out of the show feeling the first rumblings of the thunderous desire I have now–that is, to impact and move others as I have been impacted and moved by those whom I am inspired.
Recently, I’ve had people tell me I made them want to practice guitar or that hearing me was the best part of their week, in the sense that my gift added joy that may not have been there otherwise. It is for these reasons that I continue to sing, write music, and connect with the audience. If I could inspire just one person in the way that Celine Dion has inspired me, I will know I have done my job.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Go. To. Their. Shows. Sure–buy the merch, pre-save the song, share the post. It all helps! I cannot stress enough, though, how much of a punch it can pack to pay the $10 and attend the live show. As performers and aspiring touring musicians, the number of tickets sold and bodies in the room not only helps us afford to put on the show but it gives us energy to feed off of while performing and assures the venue they made a good choice when booking.
In my opinion, one of the greatest things in life is live music. If you agree and you have the financial flexibility, go see your favorite local or touring artist play whenever they have a show near you. I know I can speak for many artists when I say that your willingness to be there means everything us. Interacting with the audience, feeding off the energy, and being surrounded by those in pursuit of euphoria never gets old.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
It’s ok to not be THE BEST.
I grew up in an environment where I was exposed to incredible musicians. My brother, in particular, is a world class saxophonist who, by the age of 16, had the attention of Michael Brecker, an icon in the world of jazz saxophone. Although I wasn’t interested in performing jazz music, I struggled feeling confident in my abilities as a musician as a result of my brother’s prodigious feats.
In recent years, though, my foray into playing more guitar has been the best gentle teacher I could have asked for. As I’ve improved my skills on the guitar and sketched a path in the direction of my guitar goals, it has improved my voice, my artistry and has allowed me to explore the unique traits within my sound and playing. This has helped me realize that I don’t have to play just like John Mayer, for example, to be successful and worthy. All I have to be is excellent at MY nuanced, individual set of skills.
Of course, I have ever-evolving practice goals and active creative pursuits but, at the end of the day, being “the best” is all relative. Nowadays, I am most interested in exploring the question, “how can I be MY best?”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.christinebairdmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinebairdmusic
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/christinebairdmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christinebairdmusic
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christinebairdmusic
Image Credits
Cassilyn Anderson, Katie Dadarria, Emma Pearl