Sierra Sellers on her upcoming show at the Pittsburgh Winery, playing gigs in LA, and accidentally releasing her debut album.
Sierra Sellers keeps moving with her music. Currently based in LA, Pittsburgh-born Neo-soul singer made a name for herself through playing concerts at venues like Stage AE, Con Alma, and basement shows. Her excellent debut album, Samira, was released this year.
Over a phone interview, we talked about her upcoming show at the Pittsburgh Winery, playing gigs in LA, and how she accidentally released her debut album.
Performing in Pittsburgh
Josh: How long have you been performing?
Sierra: I started singing in church when I was a kid. I remember my first gig ever was in a gazebo and nobody came besides my dad. It was raining, and the three people that were there had their umbrellas.
J: What’s it like performing your own songs in front of a group of strangers?
S: Honestly, I think because I’ve had such huge support in Pittsburgh, it’s allowed me to get really excited to share those things. When I first started, I was afraid of whether or not somebody was gonna like it. If it touches somebody and it’s meaningful to someone, that’s what I value. I’ve had people who have my lyrics tattooed on them.
J: What Pittsburgh venues have you enjoyed playing?
S: The best Pittsburgh shows are the basement shows. I literally remember performing at this one house in Oakland and it was one of those basements where you entered through the outside, and it had these Wizard of Oz doors. Those shows are cool. It was awesome to do Stage AE, Club Cafe, the Rex, and pretty much every venue in Pittsburgh. Being in LA now, I just am so grateful for all of the opportunities that I’ve had in Pittsburgh, especially because people believed in me really early on.
Playing in LA
J: What’s it like playing in LA?
S: It’s cool. How do I describe it? The musicians and the diversity out here has really been great for my ears. I’ve become a better singer living out here.
J: Oh, that’s interesting.
S: You don’t even know the people until you show up. No rehearsals. Having to adapt on the spot has made me a better singer because it’s made me a better listener. It’s different.
J: Would you say there’s more of an opportunity for someone from a label to come and see your show out in LA?
S: That’s true. I had a show. I sang one song and that’s how I got my residency at the Maldives for a month. I got to be on an island at a five-star resort singing at night.
J: (laughs) That’s not a bad gig.
S: (laughs) I know, right? You don’t know who’s paying attention, you don’t know who’s in the crowd. It’s just kind of like a lottery thing.
Songwriting
J: Do you ever write for other artists?
S: Yeah. I love doing that. That’s why I wanted to move out here. I love sitting in a session and just talking about what somebody’s going through, what their music means to them. What kind of song they like and their inspiration. It’s a form of therapy. That’s how I feel I give back to music.
J: Anytime I play guitar it’s a form of therapy that makes me feel good.
S: I’ve never been somebody that likes attention. I like commanding a room and performing on stage. There’s not a single part of me that wants to be on social media. There’s not a single part of me that wants to be famous. I want to be respected. I want to be well known for what I do. But I don’t want to be followed around. So, moving out here has opened opportunities to make a career for music.
New Album, Samira
J: Your song “Unspoken” is an inspiration for you moving to LA.
S: Yeah, I actually wrote it on the trip that I decided to move out here. I went into that session like, ‘I need to prove myself.’ “Unspoken” was just me living my life and having a good time, and that was my experience. Anytime I visited LA I was just able to exist and have fun.
J: Congrats on the new album!
S: (laughs) Thank you. That’s hilarious because I didn’t mean for [Samira] to be an album. I was kind of irresponsible and didn’t know that things were considered an album based on song count. So then it came out and everybody was like, ‘congrats on the album’ and I was like, ‘what album?’
J: That’s so funny. That gives it character.
S: Yeah. People should come to my show. Why? Because I accidentally released an album. I was fully responsible.
J: Another song off the album that stood out to me was “Alone.” It seems like a really good one to play live. Have you ever performed it?
S: That’s the best one to play live, yeah. It has a really good feel and it’s pretty simple. I love just letting musicians play, as long as we’re listening to each other and not trying to overpower anybody.
Musical Influences
J: Who are your musical influences?
S: My favorite artist of all time is Jill Scott. I love Erykah Badu. I love D’Angelo. I love Stevie Wonder. Lauren Hill also is a huge inspiration to me. I just grew up listening to everything. Honestly, the only thing I didn’t get an education on growing up was jazz.
J: Have you been to Con Alma?
S: Yeah I sang there. John Shannon was the first person to take me and have me sing Neo- soul music, which is just a hodgepodge of different genres—jazz, hip hop, R&B, gospel—all the things that I am. And he would give me a Neo-soul night.
J: That’s incredible.
S: Yeah, so shout out to Con Alma and John Shannon for actually letting me sing Neo-soul music.
Upcoming Show at the Original Pittsburgh Winery
J: Tell me about your upcoming show at the Pittsburgh Winery.
S: So it’s just gonna be a chill night, a family reunion. If you’ve seen me in Pittsburgh before and you wanna come out, or if you’ve never seen me before, I’m gonna do a bunch of old music. I’m gonna do some new music. I’m gonna talk about my collaborations in LA and some new and exciting things. I plan on engaging a lot with the crowd and talking to people. I just want to use it as an opportunity to connect again with my city. I’m just gonna show up as myself and if people wanna come hang, come hang.
Get your tickets for Sierra Sellers’ show at the Original Pittsburgh Winery on Thursday, July 3. You can find Sierra’s music on streaming platforms and keep up with her on Instagram and Facebook.
Check out the June band of the month here!
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.
