Today we’d like to introduce you to Genevieve Heyward.
Hi Genevieve, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I can’t really remember a time in my life where I wasn’t doing music in some form. My mom saw it in me when I was little and signed me up for piano lessons at 6 and the rest was history! I was doing all kinds of lessons from voice to guitar to dance, School of Rock was what really opened my eyes into being a performer though. It introduced me to allll kinds of classics like The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, etc. I started writing when I was around 13 and doing smaller, local shows. I couldn’t wait to get out of high school so I could start touring. Once I was out of school, I started going to writing festivals, opening for artists, doing my own tours, and writing and releasing music, all while figuring out that music is actually a business that requires so much time, energy, and money. I’ve been touring almost full time since 2017, and pulled the trigger on moving to Nashville back in Nov. of 2023 and I’ve been there ever since!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It for sure isn’t a straight road! It feels more like a rollar coaster lol. I feel extremely lucky to have always known who I was and what I wanted to do, but figuring out how to live the dream in adult world is tough. Touring is not for the faint of heart and I’ve done my fair share of DIY touring (and am still currently doing it). My life doesn’t have a set schedule and every week is different so it can make it hard to feel stability which is something I’ve worked on a lot over the past few years. I also struggle with anxiety pretty heavily so my brain will go into worst case scenario mode on most days making show days heavy on my brain but once I’m on stage I’m completely fine. There’s also a lot of money that goes into this from making the songs, the content, the gas money, the lodging, the marketing, advertisements…. I could go on and on. There’s no rules or someone telling you how to do it so you just take the risks and hope it works out, it’s been going good so far though 🙂
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a singer songwriter, a singer, a musician, and performer. I specialize in writing my own songs and sharing them with the public! I also can tear up some karaoke 😉 I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve kept the music going all these years and have made my passion into my career, even though it can be REALLY fricken scary. I think what makes me unique from others is I wear some really weird sh*t sometimes (not sure if I can swear haha), and I feel like I am a very authentic person. I don’t like to hold back and I think when other people see someone that doesn’t really care, it makes them feel more comfortable in letting their own walls down. There’s a lot of phoniness in the industry so being yourself is suuuper important to stand out.
How do you define success?
Success is being happy in what you’re doing and knowing who you are while doing it. The big victories are cool like landing a big show or getting on a big playlist but if you can be satisfied in what you’re doing in your life, I think that’s when you’ve hit success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.genevieveheyward.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genheyward/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frecklethunder
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4XKdb44xany1dy6QD3HfPq?si=DglpnKjBRlGegrG9EK4k7w
