Every Little Thing. A sit down with Carly Pearce.
Minneapolis, MN – A night filled with #1 hits, palpable energy, wide smiles, a packed crowd and country music is the best way to describe the second showcase of the Buz’n Breaking Now Concert Series at The Pourhouse in downtown Minneapolis on April 25.
Radio listeners, fans, staff and attendees were graced with the music from Mitchell Tenpenny, Carly Pearce and Josh Gracin. These three entertainers are forging their way to be three of county music’s must-see performers and didn’t miss a beat during each of their showcases at The Pourhouse.
A mix of their personal hits, covers, new music and crowd favorites energized everyone throughout the entire night and left many guests wanting more. Firefighters for Healing feels privileged to partner with the best country station in the Twin Cities, BUZ’N 102.9 and has been overwhelmed with gratitude for this new partnership. The monies raised on these concert nights will be used to send kids to Camp RED and will be earmarked for the soon to be constructed Transitional Care Center.
Firefighters for Healing wanted to bring you a behind-the-scenes opportunity to get to know one amazing artist from each showcase. On April 25, we were fortunate to be able to interview Carly Pearce. Jake, the Founder of Firefighters for Healing, was able to share with her the history of the organization, explain how it all started and revealed some of the big plans currently in the works. Carly was gracious and attentive.
Then we heard a little of her story. Carly was a 14-year old girl from Kentucky who had a dream to make it big in country music. With her big dream and a love for country music, she moved to Nashville 9 years ago because she she knew performing was all she ever wanted to do. She performed six to seven shows a day, five days a week at Dollywood. An amazing voice, hard work and her dedication to keep moving forward were sure to be rewarded with #1 hits and sold-out venues.
Seeing her song “Every Little Thing” hit #1 on the charts proves Carly is well on her way to securing space in the country music scene. When asked where the inspiration for her chart-topping hit came from, Pearce said, “I was dating a guy and he broke up with me. I think we all experience loss at some time and in some sort of form or fashion. For me, I felt like the only way I was going to get over that relationship was to write about how I felt.” Sometimes the biggest heart break in our lives can become chart-topping #1 hits... if you’re a country music star and all.
Her two well-known songs, “Better Hide the Wine” and “Every Little Thing” each hold a personal part of Carly’s personality and showcase different sides of her as an artist. "Hide the Wine" is just fun and I love red wine. The flirty nature of “Every Little Thing” and the memories of the lyrics is what I connect with as well.
Carly has toured with Brett Young, worked with Thomas Rhett and will have a packed 2018 tour schedule with Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Rascal Flatts.
“I feel like I have the best touring schedule of 2018, especially for a female artist. I’m a huge fan of all of the male artists that I’m going on tour with, so getting to play arenas, stages and amphitheaters is very surreal.”
Having been named as People Magazine’s “One to Watch” in 2017, it’s not a surprise that Carly was nominated as “New Female Vocalist of the Year” at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards. “It’s extremely hard to put into words, it’s almost an out of body experience. As a girl, all I ever dreamt of was to be recognized by one of the award shows that you associate great country music with. They think I am worthy of a nomination for New Female Vocalist of the Year and I found out about the nomination while on a plane, where I screamed... loudly in disbelief,” Pearce said.
Of course, Carly then attended the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. She sat in the third row, behind Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban and Florida Georgia Line. “It was just crazy. As I entered the arena, people were yelling my name and I am thinking, "Hey people know who I am."
For an artist who, soon, will be on the road for multiple sold-out tours, Carly still loves the intimate settings of smaller venues like The Pourhouse. “I like the variety. Obviously the big stages and arenas are fun, but there’s nothing like an intimate crowd where you can tell the story behind the song and why you wrote it. I enjoy the ability to interact with the crowd and be close to them compared to big venues where the lights are sometimes so bright you don’t really get to see faces or expressions.”
Finding beauty in different struggles that we all go through in life is something that’s hard to do. Carly’s birthday was last week and she posted a really eye-opening letter that she had written to herself at 14-years old. She was asked what she would say to her 14-year old self. Pearce said, “I know she put so much pressure on herself, wanting it so badly and not knowing how to get there. I wish I could just tell her it’s all going to be okay, it’s all going to work out, don’t stress so much and just enjoy the ride.”
Much like Carly told her 14-year old self that it will all be okay, and it will all work out, the same could be said about the start of Firefighters for Healing. When our founder’s dream of being a Firefighter seemed to come to an end, he could have given up but instead he decided to persevere through the pain of loss. Now, years later, this organization is partnering with some of the best companies and organizations in Minnesota, giving kids a better tomorrow and Jake a purpose filled day to day that is so beautifully rewarding.
There is truly a greater purpose for why the Firefighters for Healing board and volunteers work tirelessly day after day. They want to make the local burn community a better place and provide every little thing to brighten the day of a child or lighten the burden of their parents after burn trauma.
