LITTLE ROCK — For Little Rock’s Charity Vance, her brief run as a 2010 (Season 9) contestant on Fox’s American Idol was a boost for a young singersongwriter. But not as much as you’d think.
“It’s definitely opened a lot of doors,” says Vance, now 18, who recently moved to Nashville, Tenn., where she’s working as a fledgling singersongwriter.
“They were really good to me, with the air time and everything,” she says, even though she was cut in an early round.
“I think they shot themselves in the foot, but I’m grateful.”
Vance will show off her own originals and sing some pop covers with the band Half Priced Hearts at 7 p.m. Saturday at west Little Rock’s Wildwood Park for the Arts, the second in the park’s Emerging Artists Series.
“I call my sound ‘indie pop,’” Vance says. “It’s mainstream music, radio friendly. I write all my music at the piano, then I take it to my band and we figure out how it’s going to fit that sound.”
Vance is working on a debut album with the production team ZodLounge (which also produces for Emily Osment, Leann Rimes and Richard Marx); in the meantime, she’s releasing an EP, which will feature four or five of her songs. She has just posted the latest, “Icing,” on her YouTube music channel (www.youtube. com/charityvancemusic#p/ a/u/0/SyLRz6cgfHo).
She has worked occasionally with Half Priced Hearts, an upand-coming Nashville group — Bobby Banister, vocals; Teddy Cheek and Trevor Hinesley, guitars; Mike Geiger, bass; and Jason Weidman, drums.
“They’re their own band in themselves,” Vance says. “I’m a fan of theirs, and my boyfriend is their lead singer and the writer. We write together, and I’m close to all of them.
“I’ve played shows here in Nashville with them, but this is kind of different for them to be my band. We just all agreed that it would be fun and to introduce Little Rock to them, too. They have a really cool sound, very Disney.”
That fits one of Vance’s growing-up achievements. While still in her ’tweens, she won the Radio Disney Superstar Kid Contest, which led to a summer-long state concert tour.
“That was an incredible experience,” she recalls. “Thinking back on it, I think I played every festival in Arkansas that summer. I was probably 11-12. I think I did 20-25 concerts.”
At age 9, she won the title role in the musical Annie at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, donning a red wig for 50 performances. By age 11, she was doing voice-overs for radio commercials at Little Rock studio Soundscapes.
“I’ve done a lot of stuff growing up in Little Rock,” she says. “I’ve [performed at] Riverfest every year since I was 7, except for this year; I’ve done lots of church stuff.
“I love performing in Little Rock. That’s my home. And I’m sharing also something I’m really excited about with this show. I’ve been working on writing for my next EP, my next project, and I’m going to play three or four songs that have never been played at this show. I just thought it was right for me to do it in Little Rock.”
Charity Vance
7 p.m. Saturday, Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre, Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock. Doors open at 6:30. With Nashville band Half Priced Hearts. Second concert in Wildwood’s Emerging Artists Series.
Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the door; $50 VIP tickets include an autographed CD and poster and backstage passes to a post-concert party
(501) 821-7275
wildwoodpark.org
Weekend, Pages 35 on 08/11/2011