We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sydney Irving a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sydney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
There was always music playing around the house and in the car when I was little; Guns N Roses, Jack Johnson, The Ramones. I got my first guitar for my ninth birthday and started guitar lessons about a year later. I wasn’t overly interested in practicing until I found out about Taylor Swift’s RED and Speak Now albums and then later on, I started listening to Tom Petty’s Highway Companion album which I adore. I fell in love with the idea of writing songs and then preforming them on stage.
When I was 12, I did a summer camp in Syracuse, NY at a place called the Red House. It was a rock camp where the kids form bands and write songs, then at the end of the camp, we put on a concert. I had written a song called “Don’t You Dare” which I decided I was going to sing at the show. I was always a shy kid and had never really sang for anyone before. I don’t even think I really told my parents. I wore a high pony tail and very stylishly, rocked some socks and sandals, which I will likely never wear on stage again. I was insanely nervous, but when it was my turn, I stepped up to the microphone and sang my song. My friend and guitar teacher, Loren was there with his wife. After I finished performing, they were like “I didn’t know you sang. I didn’t even know you talked.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Sydney Irving, I’m from New York and I play indie-rock music. Some of my favorite artists are Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, Barns Courtney and more recently, Starcrawler. My first album, “Hello Stranger” released when I was 14 years old. My brand new single “You Can’t Forget About Me” along with the official music video featuring Upstate NY businesses such as Rise N Shine Diner, Halo Tattoo and Black Mamba Skate Park are out now following the release of my latest album “Relax With Fiends”. I am a proud Breedlove Guitar and R/T Customs endorsed artist and I love playing live! In 2022, I played around 140 live shows across NY, GA and PA and have had the opportunity to have been direct support for Martina McBride in 2021 and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas at the 2019 Spiedie Fest in Binghamton, NY! I have also preformed at the 2019 and 2022 DIO DAY event in Cortland, NY and had the privilege to open for artists like Kameron Marlowe and The Rods. With the new year, I am back in the studio working on new music and have lots of live shows scheduled which can be found on my website sydneyirvingmusic.com!
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
It seems pretty cool. I don’t currently own any. Personally, I’m not super tech-savvy, so most times, I like a physical copy of something.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I guess my goal in pursuing music is to get to write songs and preform them for people. It’s my favorite thing in the world and I think everyone should enjoy what they do for a living. Ultimately, I want to be able to go on tour and play my own music.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sydneyirvingmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydneyirvingmusic/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/officialsydneyirvingmusic/
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/sydirvingmusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@SydneyIrvingMusic
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sydneyirvingmusic
Image Credits
Todd Dean, Marc Kutik, Scott Irving, Lumiere Noir Fashion, Grace Musicians Group