We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yvonne Hartman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yvonne below.

Yvonne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

We had started going to a new church. I had always been in the choir, but this church was much smaller and did not have a choir except for special occasions like Christmas and Easter. However, they had special music each Sunday, which was mostly soloists. I mentioned to the person in charge that I might be interested in that, and he set me up immediately for a date to sing in church. At the time, I did not play an instrument and relied on background tracks. I was getting into Contemporary Christian Music, and I would order tracks off the internet. This church was pretty conservative and didn’t like drums very much. I had to get every song I wanted to sing approved by the pastor. I was told some I could not sing because they had too many drums in them. I was also told that if I had live instruments, the song would be fine, that the lyrics were great.

I was a Walmart standing in the checkout line when they used to have instruments right up in the front. There was a sign that said, “All guitars 50% OFF”. I had always wanted to learn guitar, so I went up and picked one out. It would come to about $60 plus tax, and I thought if I never really learned to play, it wasn’t that much money. When it was my turn to check out, the guitar didn’t come down. I questioned it, which the cashier said something like “well, it didn’t come down”. I pointed out the sign. She went and got the manager, they discussed it, the manager ripped the sign down, and they gave me the discount.

It took me two starts to actually stick with it, but I finally started learning to play. I started playing guitar so that I could accompany myself at church, but it grew into so much more. My first concert was all cover songs, and I was so nervous! It took about 5 years to get over stage fright, but I eventually did. I started changing some words to cover songs and shortly after that started writing my own songs. I started performing as an artist in 2006 and I have written or co-written close to 100 songs now. I have released 9 albums. My husband used to ask me when I got so nervous before I had to sing, why do I do it? My answer always was that I felt driven by God. It is a gift he has given me, and I do it for His glory.

Yvonne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well, my story of how I got started was in the last question. While I do perform concerts mostly in the southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey area, I do get to other places. I’ve also performed in Nashville several times, Aspen, CO, and even Saint Maarten. I live in southeastern Pennsylvania with my husband. We have two children, one of which is getting married in August 2024. I mostly perform original music but do some covers occasionally. My music can be heard on many of the streaming services as well as some Christian radio stations. I have many of the songs I have written (close to 100) released and available online and I keep writing.

I recently wrote a song for someone to dance with their stepson at his upcoming wedding. I also recently wrote a song for my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. I have often taken little nuggets from sermons or conversations with someone and written a song about them. I have been told that my lyrics are so meaningful and tell a story. I have also been told that people can understand my lyrics when I sing, and people love it when I tell them the “stories behind the songs”. I was recently in Nashville and was able to perform in a Showcase. A pretty well-known producer came to meet me at the bottom of the steps when I came down off the stage to tell me how well he thought I did and the production on my tracks was very good. I have been told that my faith comes through in my music. I don’t write a lot of “worship” music. My music tends to be more situational – horizontal, if you will. My latest single is called “This Is My Why” and is in the CCM/Chrisitan Pop genre.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I am what they call a “weekend warrior”. I have a full-time job and do music mostly on the weekends. In 2019, I performed in 38 concerts, which is a lot for a side gig. When Covid hit, my entire schedule for the rest of the year was canceled. I can say that I am so glad I do not rely on music for a living. However, I didn’t let a little Covid and social distancing stop me. I jumped right into online concerts on Facebook. I started just singing on Facebook Live from my phone and after some trial and error, started using my mixing board to get better sound. We are now back to live concerts, but many of the venues still have resumed in-person concerts. However, there are several online organizations holding concerts and giving independent musicians a voice. So, I do a mix of online and in-person concerts.

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

It is easy to get discouraged being an independent artist. One thing I keep in mind is that my ministry is to spread the Gospel. In addition, when people come up to you after a concert and tell you how much a song meant to them, or they contact you online to tell you about how a song affected them. It makes it all worthwhile. I love that I can take a little nugget of an idea and turn it into a meaningful song that touches others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yvonnehartman.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonnehartmanmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YvonneHartmanMusicMinistry
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@YvonneHartmanMusic
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-674579593
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/55zG6D1nBrviUBxV8saZeJ?si=VTH-_FscT32qqkga0aIHlQ

Image Credits

Photo credit: Paul Hartman