Music has been a part of Harrisburg-based singer-songwriter Camela Widad’s life for, well, pretty much all of it.
The folky songstress (she pronounces her first name like ‘Pamela’ with a “C” and her last like saying yes in French, Wee-Dod) began her musical training at age 7 and continued through high school. But, despite her immersion in music, she never really considered it a career option.
“When I as a junior in high school, I was accepted into five universities and, on a whim, I applied for a theater scholarship at one and got it,” she explained. “So, sort of last minute, I decided to let out the secret that I always saw myself on the stage.”
Widad got a degree in theater performance and spent several years as a working actor. And, although she did venture into musical theater every now and again, she found that her musical abilities were called upon fairly often.
“I would add music or singing to roles that had none or add harmonies to songs in shows that previously didn’t have any,” Widad explained. “People started to take notice, more often than not, guys in bands that wanted a singer or playwrights who wanted a song or music in their show.”
Eventually, she was given an opportunity that set her on the path she is today.
“When I was 23, I ended up with an amazing theater gig: sketch comedy, avant garde theater and live music with a ‘real’ rock band all in one company. I was in heaven!” she said.
Widad was performing more and more music, and people like it.
“The regulars in the audience started really responding to my singing, and I took it as a sign,” she explained. Widad took her one original song, started hitting open mics, and things began to take off.
“Within six months, I had 10 new songs, was in the studio and had a manager,” she said. She decided to hit the road and head to Austin, Texas, “just to see what would happen.”
“I just thought, okay, let’s try this for a while, and it turned into 10 years of being an indie artist, learning the art and craft of songwriting and meeting so many amazing people,” she said.
Widad describes her sound as having the “passion of old school soul, but then, at the last minute, some softness kicks in that makes it feel like ‘60s folk.”
“I’ve always been drawn to the human experience,” she said, “good, bad, darkness and lightness of living, so the writing reflects those stories of hope and heartache. Songs about real folks.”
Widad released her first album, “Eve,” in 1999, which she describes as “a gritty folk rock album.” She then recorded 2001’s completely acoustic “Call to the Soul,” followed by “Food for the Traveler” (2005) and “Before You’re Gone” (2009), both of which were recorded with a full band.
“From my first album, I’ve explored sound,” she said. “[I wasn’t] sure who I was as an artist and insatiably curious about so many genres, [and I was] wondering where I wanted to land.”
Widad’s fifth studio album, “Warriors of Love,” will be released this spring. She describes the album as “folk, acoustic, Americana,” and she had a specific vision for the album.
“[The album] inspires the concept of being a warrior,” Widad explained, “not of hate or revenge, but one of the hardest things to be when you’re down, hurt or angry: a warrior of love.”
“Warriors of Love” was funded, in part, by a campaign on the crowd-funding site Indiegogo. Although the Indiegogo campaign has ended, she is still collecting donations through her website to fund a corresponding radio campaign in support of the album.
Widad now lives in Harrisburg, which is exactly where she wants to be.
“I am finding that there is a renaissance happening for Harrisburg on many levels,” she said. “So many creative people are coming here to not only find inexpensive spaces to live and create, but there are new venues popping up. The grassroots community is gathering to create space for art and music, farmers markets, green initiatives… this is how great cities are made.”
She believes that artists can lead the way to create a social scene that attracts tourism and gathers people together, while creating something beautiful.
“I feel like being in Harrisburg right now is the perfect time because the wave has begun,” she said.
Learn more about Camela Widad and her music at www.widadmusic.com.
