We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sherry Amour a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sherry, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of the most recent meaningful projects I’ve worked on thus far has been publically sharing the ugliest parts of my personal journey as a single woman who dealt with fatherlessness, betrayal, and overcoming heartbreak through my first album, entitled Mirror, Mirror.

As a Singer and Songwriter, I thrive on creative expression through music. As a student of life, my mind seeks to find nourishment by remaining curious. As people, I’ve learned that we are more alike than we are different. Many of us have experienced the emptiness and heartbreak of a failed relationship, the abandonment of a loved one, and seeking hope to love again. After nearly 7 years of delays and setbacks, my team and I were able to release my first full-length album, Mirror, Mirror during the Global Pandemic, in hopes of it bringing people comfort, meaningful conversations, and a means to building community.

Being a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, I studied the Arts, Entertainment, and Media business and learned the intricate details and logistics of building and growing a music career, which prepared me as an Independent Music Artist. One of the major milestone moments with the release of my album was fundraising $8K in nearly 60 days, amongst my community of supporters to help fund the production costs of the project.

Having gained the experience and beauty of creating authentic music with my team and being able to successfully release the music independently, is an accomplishment that took longer than I expected, however, the outcome made the wait worthwhile. Whenever I receive random messages about how my music has touched someone, it truly warms my heart to know I was able to comfort someone. It’s as if God winked at me to encourage me to KEEP creating and releasing music that touches the hearts of others.

Sherry, 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?

It would be my pleasure to share. I am a Chicago-based Singer-Songwriter whose an R&B Soul/Funk Artist who enjoys bringing comfort and conversations to others, through my songs and electrifying live performances! Some of my career highlights thus far, include being featured on such stages as the House of Blues Chicago as an opening act for Grammy Nominated group, Mint Condition, WGN Morning News Television broadcast, the legendary UniverSOUL Circus, and more.

Additionally, being a graduate of Columbia College of Chicago, I developed the mindset of being an “Artistpreneur”, because I gained a BA in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, which has been very influential in my growth as a project manager in the Arts Administration Space. I enjoy “nerding” out and helping other Creatives and Small Business Owners organize their operational systems and project goals.

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

For me, the most, rewarding aspect of being an Artist, is being able to connect with people through the universal language of music. This is a God-given gift, that I’ve learned to not take lightly, or for granted. The ability to bring comfort to someone through music, is such a powerful exchange and experience.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn as an Artist is that making good music is not enough to guarantee success and a connection with people! If it is your goal to connect with people through your music, while also earning a return on your investment of time and money, then strategic business management and marketing are key. Creating and releasing quality music is a 2 sided coin. There is the creative side and then there is the business side.

After the 5 year process of creating quality songs for my album, Mirror, Mirror, I quickly learned that marketing the album would require another set of skills and time that I hadn’t fully grasped until after its release, during the Global Pandemic. As an Independent Artist, you are essentially a small business owner, and you are faced with having to make decisions regarding budgets, marketing deadlines, bookings, and measuring the success of these various milestone markers. As a means to compensate for not being able to have an in-person album release concert in support of my album release in 2020, my team and I chose to pivot and produced a virtual concert on Thanksgiving of 2021. The success of this virtual concert experience allowed supporters to still engage with the various messages of the album because there is now a visual component that can be repurposed, which is an element I hadn’t considered prior to the pandemic. Finding creative ways to continue to share your art with people is an ongoing process that carries on beyond the release of the project.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sherryamourmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samourmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAmourMusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/samourmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/samourmusic

Image Credits
Mabbo Visuals