The Morro Bay Wine Seller was one of the first venues that Amalia started playing live at in 2014. She gained performing experience every Thursday night at their open mic night which has given her confidence on stage. Though Amalia has moved on to her own solo concerts, she participated last night in the Songwriters at Play contest at the Morro Bay Wine Seller and played two of her newest songs: ¨Inked Tears¨ and ¨Breathing Fine¨. She competed against other adult songwriters and won the Best Song Award for her song Breathing Fine! She wrote the song about how heartbreak can feel like the end of the world but no matter what we get through it: ¨You said you couldn't live without me but i see that you're still breathing fine.¨ You can find a video of the performance on her Instagram(@amalia.songwriter).
Audience Moved to Tears at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
Amalia along with 10 talented young musicians from around the country came together last Sunday to Debut their new album in front of Thousands at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Here is MIke Kappus review of the concert. "The most moving set I've ever seen over 18 years of San Francisco's wonderful Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival was this Sunday by the students who participated in the Little Village Foundation album project, Raise Your Voice. An added plus was Bay Area Grammy winner, Fantastic Negrito acting as Emcee for the festival set. Little Village just released the album last Friday, a compilation of songs by students from across the country who participated in the anti-gun violence protests following the February 14, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. The first track on the record is “Shine” by Parkland students, Sawyer Garrity and Andrea Peña and 10 other songs and spoken word pieces share powerful, personal messages by students standing up for change with their passionately delivered songs. All proceeds from the sale of the album benefit Everytown for Gun Safety. Buy the record wherever you get your music, support the cause and bring it the profile it deserves. This is a crucial time to speak up and support others who are speaking up for all of us. In the meantime, make sure now that you are registered to vote and vote for those who prioritize people over party and profit.”
Debut of “Raise Your Voice” Album!
The album compilation 'Raise Your Voice' is a cross-section of America. It includes young artists standing up for what they believe. From Morro Bay, California to a music class in New York City, these students all share similar motivations in their songs. On the day of the album's release Amalia will perform live, she'll perform her song Renegades along with four other artists at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival on Oct. 7th at 3 pm.
Raise Your Voice features a wide range of students who want to share their music at such a critical moment in our country. The 11-track album, due Oct. 5 through the nonprofit Little Village Foundation, features new songs and spoken-word pieces composed and performed by the students of the high school that was the site of a deadly mass shooting in February that left 17 students and teachers dead.
Proceeds from the album recorded in response to that shooting and other deadly assaults at schools across the nation will be donated to the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety organization.
Amalia Plays Morro Bay High School Surf Team Benefit Concert
One of Amalia’s other interests is surfing, she used to be on the Morro Bay High School Surf Team her Freshman year until she broke her collarbone. She still finds time to surf and was happy she could support the team by playing at their third annual surf team fundraiser on September 30th, 2018. Morro Bay’s surf team won first place in their division this year! Morro Bay’s a small town but because the high school is right on the beach the team has a ton of incredible student surfers! The team sold hats, shirts, and other merchandise at Pizza Port along with an auction to bring in revenue for their competitions. Amalia enjoyed supporting the team by donating 50% of all her CD sales!
Amalia Live Today on KALW Radio
Today, Amalia drove all the way to San Francisco for a radio interview with San Francisco’s local radio, KALW, the Patchwork Quilt. She was so honored to be one of the artists chosen from the Raise Your Voice album to talk about the project. She was asked to play three of her songs including Renegades from the album. The interviewer asked questions about the upcoming show at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and also her own personal music career. Amalia really enjoyed sharing her passion and music through KALW and is really looking forward to influencing even more people next weekend.
Amalia to Perform at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
Amalia was asked to play her song ‘Renegades’ live at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco on Oct. 7th at 3 pm to debut the compilation album ‘Raise your Voice’! The album includes young artists from all over the country who wrote and performed songs for the March 2018 student walkouts to protest for gun control . Amalia will perform along with four other artists from the album. The album is debuting on Sunday at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Hope you can make it. More to come about the album!
Amalia Featured Artist This Week in New Times Magazine Article
Amalia was the featured artist in the New Times, San Luis Obispo Entertainment Magazine, this week.. She was interviewed by Glenn Starkey who wrote a comprehensive article about her music career her upcoming shows, and albums. Here is a portion of the article - click the link at the bottom of the page for the full article.:
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It takes guts to be a songwriter and musician, to get up in front of people and bare your soul. Does she ever get nervous or doubt herself?
"I used to get nervous in the beginning about getting up in front of crowds, but now I've become so accustomed to playing in front of big or small audiences, it just feels natural," Amalia said in an email interview. "Sharing my music is what I love to do. If it were to make me anxious or if I doubted myself, I wouldn't keep putting myself out there."
She's certainly had some practice. She wrote her first song at age 9 and sang it a cappella at the Live Oak Music Festival's kid talent show. The following year she returned with a new guitar and more original songs, and she's been writing almost daily ever since.
She recently recorded her first demo, Vibrations, which you can hear on her website (amaliafleming.com). Last year, she won first place in the New Times Music Awards Youth Category for her song "The Simplicity of Things." A lot of her songs are about global and self-awareness. Where does her inspiration come from?
"My songs are usually inspired from a word I see or a feeling," she wrote. "Most of the time my experiences are what inspire me to write a song. However, once I have an idea that I begin to build off of it's almost my subconscious that is downloading the lines in my songs. The rhyming lyrics and words I've heard previously I may not even know the meaning of but come to me and tend to fit just right with what I'm trying to say."
She says one of her favorite musicians is Sabrina Carpenter, "because her style of music is similar to mine in that it has an alternative pop feel but also differs. Her lyrics also relate to my experiences in life and have similar themes to my songs."
She also likes James Blunt "because his lyrics are metaphorical and melodies are uplifting and upbeat," but she says Ellie Goulding, U2, and Duran Duran also inspire her.
Just 16 years old and she's already an award winner whose music will reach a national audience thanks to the forthcoming compilation. Does this success surprise her? What are her dreams for her music career?
"I'm amazed by all the things that are happening right now," she said. "I was so excited to find out that I made national news and I'm going to be playing in front of thousands of people. I would definitely say that I'm surprised by all of my upcoming events, but it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. I just keep saying yes to gigs and putting myself out there. I hope that I can make a career out of playing my music. I know how unlikely and difficult it is to make a living from being a live performer and musician but it's what I love to do and I can't see myself in any other profession. I plan to apply to several universities that have majors in songwriting and music. As long as I continue writing and pursuing what I want and what feels right, I'll see where this takes me."
'Raise Your Voice' Album Gets National Attention on Billboard Magazine
The Album ‘Raise Your Voice’ that Amalia is a part of, was featured in Billboard Magazine this week. Her song Renegades will be featured on the national compilation album in October, which was inspired by Katherine Meizel of NPR and produced by the Little Village Foundation! To find out all the details, read the link below. All proceeds are going to a great cause.
She will be debuting the album in Golden Gate Park at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival!