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<\/p>\nThough she\u2019s barely into her 20s and still in school, Hendersonville native Izzi Hughes is a seasoned performer. Gaining experience in musical theatre and acting as a youngster, she first appeared onstage fronting a rock band, Calculated Error, when she was just 10 years old.<\/p>\n
Izzi doesn\u2019t come from a musical family; needless to say, her parents were surprised and pleased when they witnessed her rock \u2018n\u2019 roll debut. \u201cThey had never seen me in a rock band-type setting before,\u201d Izzi says. The band\u2019s set featured young Izzi belting out Adele\u2019s 2010 hit \u201cRolling in the Deep.\u201d She recalls her parents\u2019 reaction: \u201cThey were like, \u2018Who is this little diva who just walked on stage?\u2019 Because I had really taken a lot of the sassiness that I’d learned from acting and kind of put it on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
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By age 12 Izzi turned her attentions fully to music. \u201cI decided to put the acting on the back burner,\u201d she explains. Encouraged by her parents to learn to play an instrument, she chose the guitar. Her reasoning had everything to do with her performance-based focus. \u201cGuitar seemed like an instrument that would lead into me being able to sing with it,\u201d she says. By age 14, Izzi was writing songs. Though she describes herself as primarily a \u201ccovers artist\u201d (playing the music of other songwriters, she enjoyed the challenge of songwriting.<\/p>\n
Inspired by a Robert Frost poem, Izzi wrote \u201cStraight Through\u201d when she was still in middle school. Her second composition, \u201cThe Jones\u201d \u2013 about societal pressure to keep up with those mythical neighbors \u2013 followed during her early high school years. Izzi would eventually travel to Nashville to record both songs in a professional studio.<\/p>\n
She says that the subject matters of songs were relevant to her life at the time, but \u201cthey could also be relevant to anybody at any age. I tried to take a theme and [write] about things we all [experience],\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
But songwriting isn\u2019t a primary endeavor for young Izzi, currently a student at Belmont University in Nashville. \u201cI don’t write very frequently, because I don’t have that passion for it when I’m by myself,\u201d she says., noting that she is looking into co-writing \u2013 a practice quite popular in Music City \u2013 in the near future. \u201cMy true passion is singing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Izzi looks back at a contest win at age 15 as one of the landmarks of her budding music career. \u201cI entered in to a Wild Wing Cafe \u2018throwdown\u2019 contest,\u201d she recalls. It was one of her first solo voice-and-guitar performances, and while she lost in the competition\u2019s first round, the organizers asked her to return. \u201cThey had a final show where 10 or 12 participants all appeared,\u201d she says. Izzi sang and played one of her original tunes and a cover of Imagine Dragons\u2019 \u201cRadioactive.\u201d Instead of a judges\u2019 panel, \u201cThere was an audience vote, and I won that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
These days, Izzi\u2019s entire life is about music, and she approaches it from multiple angles. \u201cI’m going into my senior year, studying music business with an emphasis in production,\u201d she says. Izzi acknowledges the go-for-it mindset embodied in the adage, \u201cIf you really want to succeed as a musician, you can\u2019t have a back-up plan.\u201d But she doesn\u2019t see things that way.<\/p>\n
In one sense, earning a music business degree is her backup plan. \u201cBecause that would [allow me to] be involved in the music industry and<\/i> make a living and be able to feed myself,\u201d she says. But there\u2019s more to it than that. The degree will help equip Izzi with a more well-rounded approach to music. \u201cI’m learning how to market, how to make publishing deals, and about contract law,\u201d she explains. \u201cAll of these things are beneficial for myself as a musician, and they\u2019re also beneficial to help [me to help] other musicians.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though she spends most of her time in Nashville the days \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m hoping to move there permanently,\u201d she says \u2013 Izzi\u2019s busy schedule allows her to book live engagement back in her Western North Carolina hometown. \u201cThe music scene\u2019s opening back up after COVID really messed things up for awhile,\u201d she says. \u201cIn April of 2020, all my performances were stopped.\u201d But she understands that it made sense to put things on hold during the worst of the pandemic. \u201cIt could\u2019ve been a whole lot worse,\u201d she acknowledges.<\/p>\n
She has long since left her acting career behind, but Izzi Hughes continues to draw upon the lessons learned as a child actor. \u201cI\u2019m a pretty introverted person,\u201d she admits. \u201cI have my acting background to thank for the stage presence that I do have.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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