An up-and-coming country musician is on a high note as she moves from one big stage to another this summer.
Within days of being named a finalist in the Calgary Stampede Nashville North Star competition, Michela Sheedy was accepted to perform in the Diamonds in the Rough Showcase in London, Ont. as part of the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Music Week for Sept. 8 to 11.
“I am over the moon,” she said last week. “It’s one thing to just go to this event, but it’s another thing to be able to perform in front of a lot of other amazing people who can either help me out or we can work together.”
Sheedy has been making a name for herself in the Foothills with performances at several open mics and local events, as well as on Calgary stages and competitions.
This year was the second she competed in Nashville North Star where she was up against nine other aspiring artists.
The rising star belted out Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon and Hiptown by Jason Aldean on the Nashville North stage July 9 and 11, finishing in the top six.
Sheedy said she will be back next year.
“The Nashville North Star competition will see me again,” she said. “I’m not going to give up. Being able to participate in something like that I feel like a winner as it is. It’s a great experience and a lot of fun.”
Sheedy overcame some hurdles as she entered the Stampede finals. The evening of her first performance on July 9 she struck a deer on the highway, totalling her truck, and just days before the performance she caught a cold.
“That set me back a little bit,” she said. “I did whatever I could to prepare my voice to compete to the best of my ability.”
This included a lot of steam with eucalyptus oil and drinking plenty of tea and hot water.
“It was a very intensive regiment that I had leading up to the competition,” said Sheedy. “I’m very proud of how I performed given my situation and circumstances. I didn’t let that shake me. It made me buckle down and focus on what I needed to do.”
Days after her performance, the official announcement was made that Sheedy, among dozens of others, will perform at London’s Diamonds in the Rough Showcase.
“I was very lucky to be chosen, considering it will be my first time going to the event,” she said. “I’m really excited to be a part of that. It’s going to be an amazing opportunity.”
The opportunity to perform on both the Nashville North Stage and Diamonds in the Rough Showcase fits well with Sheedy’s plan to make a career in music.
“I’ve been very proud of the small steps I’m taking because they are big steps in my eyes,” she said.
“I feel like it’s a very crucial thing to do for anybody who is trying to develop a music career. It’s being able to network and meet people across the country that have the same goals, aspirations and talents as me.”
Of course, Sheedy doesn’t plan to miss out on the CCMA annual awards show on Sept. 11 in the London Music Hall.
“It’s going to be fun to dress up and do the country music awards show at the end of the week,” she said. “That’s what I’m most excited about is seeing people that I look up to and a bunch of my friends being able to perform. One of the most satisfying things in the music industry is seeing your friends succeed.”
In addition to performing and taking in the awards, Sheedy plans to network with other artists at songwriters series and do some writing of her own.
“I am building from the ground up,” she said. “It’s going to be a slow process, but I think it will be worth it in the end.”
