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

Alright, Vanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

One thing that my parents did right is- they raised me as an equal. Today’s world has a stipulation around “youth,” often associating this period of life and its lack of experience with foolishness. Today’s common parenting styles teach parents to establish authority in a way that can cause their children to feel small or even sometimes unimportant. This was the opposite of my life; I was respected in my youth, in a way, I was even looked up to, my opinions were important and my words had power. I never felt “young” in the sense of lacking authority or power, instead I felt like a peer, inspired and eager to learn from the extraordinary people and places around me. They built the foundation for my life stronger than I could’ve ever imagined or asked for.

I was blessed with parents who harvested my potential and nourished my creativity, they raised me with confidence grown in to my roots, and they relentlessly believed in me, in turn creating an adult who relentlessly believes in herself and her career. They are the most supportive parents in the world, and I wouldn’t be even close to the position that I’m in if it weren’t for their undying love and support!

Vanna, 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?

My name is Vanna Pacella- I am a Singer, Songwriter, Keyboardist, Synth Bassist & the Front Woman of my band and musical project, the Vanna Pacella Power Trio. I describe my music as “Ethereal Rock”- because it is a product of pure emotion, immersed with unfettered intention, bruised with the intensity of raw, distorted rock guitars, & it is bound with the lightweight, delicate, yet untouchable strength of grand pianos, sentimental vocals, reverb & honest, poetic lyricism.

I am currently 18 years old, and I have been living and breathing music for my entire life. I first sat down at a piano at 6 years old, and ever since that moment it’s been nearly impossible to rip me away from my instruments. I have been performing shows consistently for over four years now, and have played hundreds of shows each year, each one gifting me more and more experience and exposure, eventually leading me to the beautiful position that I am in at this very moment!

I have an incredible band, consisting of two of my best friends, Tom Davis on guitar and Nick Simpson on drums. Together, we are the Vanna Pacella Power Trio, where I play synth bass, keys, and sing lead vocals alongside Nick and Tom! I really lucked out with these two, they both have multiple facets to their talent and abilities, and when we team up and combine our talents together, we create something utterly magical. This is an immensely special year for me, my career, and my band- this summer, we will be releasing our debut record, “Listen.” This album is a collection of the phases of my life thus far, and a soundtrack and musical embodiment to the many feelings and experiences I’ve met in my life and career up to this point. The pride I feel over this album is immeasurable, and I am so eager to share it with the world. The record was recorded, produced, mixed & mastered entirely by my trio, and I couldn’t be more proud of the outcome that we all worked so hard to achieve.

I am 100% driven towards and fueled by connection. I write and create music that comes from the deepest most vulnerable parts of my mind and my soul, and I share that music with the sole intention of it connecting with and resonating with my listeners. My idea of success is making music that I love, sharing a stage and performing that music with people that I love, to a crowd of listeners who connect with my songs and allow my music to become a soundtrack to a moment or phase of their life. According to that logic, though this is the beginning, I already consider myself successful- now the goal is to grow this beautiful community of “listeners,” so that my music can connect with as many hearts and ears as possible!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’d say a lesson that I had to unlearn in this industry is- that there is one correct way of doing anything in a creative field. There is a lot of pressure placed on artists and creatives, not just musicians, to do things “correctly,” to follow the rules, and once I started to lose that mindset, I began to truly find myself as an artist. Society will teach you to fit into a mold if you want to see success, because that mold has been used before and has been previously successful. My advice to any other rising musicians out there would be: don’t fall for it. Yes, you will probably see quicker results if you morph your art to fit minds- but you will see more meaningful results by creating the art that is meant to come from YOU. Once you create from a place of truth and embrace your individuality as an artist, you will begin to attract an audience who connects with your art because they can feel the genuine love and meaning behind it. We should cultivate our audiences to love the art that we create, the way that we are meant to create it.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a musician, for me, is witnessing the music that I created impact someone’s life. I view each song of mine as a “world,” each song is a different feeling that I have created. Watching someone else experience a feeling that I created will forever be one of the most beautiful and rewarding aspects of my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vannapacella.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vannapacella/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vannapacella
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTk9qvn0QChEluh_99JfUjw
• Other: Linktree:

  https://linktr.ee/vannapacella

  (This is crucial as it has links to all of our socials, recorded music, tickets, live videos, etc!)

Image Credits

Michael Pacella (Acoustic guitar photo on the beach/ one with the “No Fires” sign)
Tom Davis (Van St. Photo)
Vanna Pacella (Both Studio Photos of Nick and Tom)
Holly Pacella (Flower wall photo, Vanna with electric guitar photo, Band photo with gear, Vanna on the steps photo)