Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Widmer.
Hi Charlie, 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 was born originally in Switzerland to a Swiss father and a Puerto Rican mother. When they split up, I moved back to the US with my mom and brother to be close to my mom’s family. A lot of the music in my house then was really stuff my parents were listening to as they processed that phase in their life, so it never really caught my attention. I first fell in love with music though when I heard Stevie Wonder. I was a complicated kid that always wanted the opposite of what my parents wanted, so when they put on Stevie’s album Inner Visions, I complained and begged them to stop it. That is, until the record hit “Golden Lady” and I froze still. From then on I had to know everything about him, and I needed to hear every record he’d ever made, but I never would I have imagined that I would become a musician myself.
The second turning point for me was a random audition for the high school musical during my junior year. The school was planning to do the show Grease, and the girl I had a crush on was an amazing musical theater performer. I played a little guitar, so everyone told me I’d probably get the role of Doody at best, and at worst I’d be in the ensemble and get to spend a lot of time with her. So I showed up to that audition with no expectations, met my now wife in the auditorium while waiting for the audition, walked into the room with zero singing experience, and belted out “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers as best I could. A week later, my friend Chris called me all excited, telling me casting was up and that he’d gotten the role of Kenickie. “Do you know what you got?” he asked me. “No…” “You got the lead role!!”
My life flipped upside down from that moment. I dropped every other path for my life and focused completely on singing and music. I auditioned for a handful of music schools for singing, but was rejected from all of them. Completely crushed, I started looking for a new mentor and found my voice teacher Eric Trudel. He helped me build my instrument from the ground up, and I reauditioned for the classical voice music program at Western Connecticut State University, finally getting in this time. I spent my four years giving it everything I had to grow as a singer, winning awards, competitions, solos, lead roles, and building my confidence. Right before graduation, I had the crazy opportunity of performing on Switzerland’s Got Talent. I wasn’t sure classical music was the right fit for me, but I ended up singing an aria on the show and it ended up being one of the craziest nights of my life when the entire place, including the judges, gave me a standing ovation on camera. The video is still one of those moments that I almost can’t believe is real.
After that, I was bouncing around in the opera and musical theater worlds, auditioning for things and finding work in that realm but never feeling like it was the right fit for me. At the same time, I was fronting a hip-hop/soul band called Sub-Urban and we were starting to make inroads with the music we were making and writing. Unfortunately, that band eventually fell apart, but at the exact moment that one stopped, I got pulled into the world of bluegrass by my dear friend Austin Scelzo. I started trying to write music that might fit us and we started chipping away at building our sound under the name On the Trail.
Since then, we signed a distribution deal with The 615 Hideaway in Nashville, one of our songs that I penned was picked up by Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction and hit #3 on the Top 100, and I was announced as the newest Connecticut State Troubadour by our state government at the end of 2025. Not to mention that I also got to sing backup for Michael Buble and Josh Groban two separate times at Madison Square Garden, have done 10+ shows at Radio City Music Hall with Josh again as well as with Sarah Brightman, recorded and produced my first full length album in Switzerland under the guidance of Swiss rockstar Baschi, and won countless awards and competitions with On the Trail. To say life has been crazy up to this point is an understatement, so thank you Stevie!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are always struggles in a career like ours. Rejections galore, whether from schools at the beginning of my journey all the way to the auditioning circuit, always tend to knock you down. Even investments or plans that feel bulletproof coming completely off the rails and leaving me drained of all energy have happened, but the expression holds true: it isn’t what happens to you, but how you react to it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As an artist, the thing that sets me apart from everyone has to be my ability to jump between such vastly different genres, and also, because of this, what I have to offer as a songwriter. Since I have had a foot in so many different worlds, I can speak honestly to many different types of music, and do so while still being honest and true to the stylistic nuances of the music too. This allows me to explore so many different emotions and ideas and I end up not having to say no to things that I want to explore. So much of this has to do with my foundation of classical singing, and I’m proud that I’ve never let anyone stop me from exploring what I wanted to explore within myself and within my vocal instrument. I’ll always be a singer first and foremost and will never stop trying to be the best singer that I can be, it’s my obsession.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Books like Man’s Search for Meaning and The Subtle Art of Not Giving an F really helped shape my understanding of what roll struggle plays in our lives and what things we really do have some control over. Marc Maron’s podcast WTF was also a huge source of inspiration over the years, because Marc was so honest about where he was mentally and emotionally as a creative. Also, Insight Timer has been a god-send in those very busy seasons when everything feels like it’s just piling on. It’s amazing what prioritizing even just a little bit of stillness can do for your mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.charliewidmermusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charwid
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlie.widmer/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliewidmer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CharlieWidmer
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/charwid
