Had a great time playing at HeraFest sponsored by Project Hera at Clare and Don’s Beach Shack this past weekend. It was my first show playing with a backing band, which was super exciting! Joe DuBois, Doug Imhoff and James Britton did a great job of learning my material and it was an awesome set! Looking forward to playing with them again!

Photo Credit: Mark Webster

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Just returned from spending my summer at Berklee College of Music. Had a blast performing in many shows, and I think my favorite was my rock/metal show! Never thought I'd have so much fun singing Guns N' Roses! Here is a link to my original "Jezebel" which I performed at the Songwriters Showcase. I've got lots of fun gigs coming up this Fall. Sign up for my mailing list and stay tuned!

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The Songwriter's Association of Washington ("SAW") is a great local organization of passionate songwriters who provide an annual songwriting contest, open mics, training and support for the craft. I sat down for an interview recently about my musical, Crystal Skies. If you are a songwriter in the DC area, you should check out their programs.

READ INTERVIEW HERE

I am honored to have been selected as one of six Artists in Residence for Strathmore's 2019 season. I will have the opportunity to collaborate with a slew of gifted musicians and receive mentorship, training, and unique performance and learning experiences.

I will also be the artist in residence for the month of April 2019. Stay tuned for more information on my concerts and for a workshop that I will be teaching on songwriting.

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I have the honor of playing at a Los Angeles benefit called Benefiesta!

The 2018 Jimmy Miller Foundation Benefiesta is May 19th in Manhattan Beach, CA. The event raises support and awareness for the groundbreaking surf-therapy work the Foundation does on behalf of Wounded Warriors, PTSD victims, and at-risk kids. This work was highlighted in a recent Washington Post feature. If you happen to be in Los Angeles, come on out to support a great cause!

DETAILS HERE

Just finished up teaching the music to the cast of my original musical, “Crystal Skies” and I’m so so excited! Everyone sounds terrific! Here’s a song from the show to hype you up so you wanna see it, the show’s going up April 27th and April 28th at H-B Woodlawn Theatre and this song shares a name with the show.

LISTEN HERE

I don't know about all of you, but I'm ready for springtime after this very strange winter. As you know, springtime here in DC means catching a glimpse of the amazing cherry blossoms! I'm psyched that I will have the opportunity to play at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in the Jefferson Tidal Basin this year! It's going to be fab! Come out to play Friday March 23rd 2:00-3:00!

I have received a pretty cool honor of being selected as a 2018 YoungArts winner for vocals/songwriting. National Young Arts is a great organization based in Miami that awards the nation’s most promising young artists from 47 states across visual, literary, design and performing arts.

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I had the pleasure of writing original music for a production of King John performed at H-B Woodlawn Theatre. It was interesting to add a modern flare to the multimedia production. Congrats to the cast and crew! I've also started working on my next stage project, writing book, music and lyrics for a full blown original musical called Crystal Skies opening in April 2018. Stay tuned for more info!

I had a blast as one of 10 featured artists in Berklee's premier main stage Summer Performing Songwriter Showcase this summer. It was awesome to open the show backed by a top notch band at Berklee Performance Center!! Grateful for the full scholarship to Berklee's Vocal Performance Summit next summer!

WATCH HERE

It's out!!! The @halfkingmusic Summer Sample is available on iTunes and Amazon music, and so is Calista's song, "Baby Blue". Everybody everybody everybody go check it out!!!

I had a nice interview with our local paper regarding my Grammycamp selection and upcoming career plans.

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Calista was one of twelve young artists selected for the Grammy Foundation's songwriting program in Nashville. She was chosen from more than 700 applicants nationwide to attend one of two GRAMMY Camp programs this summer. GRAMMY Camp is a 5-day nonresidential summer music industry program for high school students. Hosted by Belmont University in Nashville and USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, students from across the country apply for one of the eight offered career tracks. GRAMMY Camp faculty of music professionals as well as guest industry professionals provide valuable insight to give the campers the best chance at achieving success in their chosen career.

Calista was selected by a three judge panel as the 2017 Bernard Ebb Young Songwriter of the Year after a special evening of live performances by the 8 finalists at the Bethesda Blue and Jazz Supper Club. As part of the prize, Calista received $2,500 and will have multiple performance opportunities over the coming year. She is so excited and humbled by this honor!

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Calista was invited to represent the Bernard Ebb Songwriter Award Finalists in a live TV interview and performance on WJLU's morning news show. The Bernard Ebb Songwriting Awards is produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and recognizes talented songwriters from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia and features a live concert performed by the competition finalists. Calista is a finalist in the youth category and will be performing in the finals on March 3, 2017.

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Calista got the amazing opportunity to play at an event for Amazon in Seattle called "15 Minutes Max". From hundreds of entries, she was one of seven acts selected, and played a set of her own originals.

Calista's vocals highlight the local news coverage of this unique music experience. Singer and song writers unite for summer session workshops. In this Carolina Moment, photojournalist Matt Raisch gives us a look into Warren Wilson College's "The Swannanoa Gathering."

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Local magazine highlights the biggest names in local music, from rising stars and Grammy nominees to legends of blues, bluegrass and reggae. At the time 14 years old, Calista is a rising star feature in the write up.

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In 2014 Calista was featured in the Washington Post for writing the score for a musical at H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program. A very exciting feature for the then 13 year old who wrote her first musical score.

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Daniel Vestal shares on his blog some heartfelt observations after hearing Calista during a 2014 Austin Java Open Mic night. "I remember feeling relevant once, but after witnessing the talents of such young performers like Calista, I am publicly retiring all ambition that I might’ve once had and replacing it with desperate attempts for pity."

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