Today we’d like to introduce you to Amelia Oke.
Hi Amelia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story all started in a small two bedroom house just me and my parents. There was always being music played at that house; voices like John Denver and Alan Jackson. Thus, I found my voice at a very young age. I absolutely loved to sing and was singing all the time. I remember teachers and classmates that would tell me to stop singing.! Well, I didn’t! From my at home bedroom concerts to being a participant in every talent show from kindergarten to 7th grade, I was immersed in song. By my middle and high school years I participated in the school choir and always excelled the best in music. Once the iPhone was released and social media began to expand, I began creating YouTube content of a lot of cover songs. Looking back on said videos some of them are definitely a bit cringy to watch but I was a very green musician at that time. By the time I reached my senior year of high school I began to dabble in songwriting. Also growing up I loved to write. If I wasn’t singing I was creating some type of story or journaling. I figured all of those years of writing and wonderful English teachers that inspired me would give me the tools I needed to write songs. At first I had no idea where to start but I had ideas. I wanted to write stories of my own personal experiences while making them relatable to others who are listening. So I gave it a go; even got a few recorded acoustically at the Musictown sound studio in downtown Detroit and entered one of those songs in a local radio station’s song contest! After high school I moved to a new town and started going to a couple open mics and even landed myself a few gigs! I had learned enough cover song material that I could go out and share my voice, even if I was singing somebody else’s songs. My first repetitive music gig was at the local farmer’s market. At that market is where I was able to work out all the kinks and start to feel comfortable singing and playing in front of people. By 2024 things really started to take off for me. I began cold calling and showing up to different bars and restaurants inquiring if they were looking for new musical acts. I got a lot of no’s but those few yeses I got made all the difference to me! I began getting booked more and playing regularly scheduled gigs. I picked up on my social media posting, being able to post more music content. Leading up to this year I’ve now been playing and singing more than I ever have, and I get to do it as my job! Many years of practicing in my little bedroom and keeping an eye on my goal has helped me succeed. I still got a long ways to go but I’m going t0 follow this music career path for as long as it allows!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course it hasn’t been a smooth road! All good journeys have some bumps in the road and hills to climb but the outcome at the end of your journey can be oh so rewarding! Life has its way of going this way and that. Try to focus on one task and get pulled every which way. Can’t have those good days without the bad and let me be frank and say I’ve been through some shit! 10 years ago now when I had graduated high school, I lost my father to Leu Gehrig’s disease. The world I knew was completely flipped upside down. I had originally changed my college plans to stay closer to home for my dad, so I was projected to start at the community college in the fall. I was so lost in everything I really had no clue what career path I really wanted to pursue, but always in the back of my mind all I could think about was music. So I took some pre-requisites, my mom and I moved to a new town, I went to therapy, broke up with my first boyfriend and started to really focus on what I wanted for me. Besides everything going on I knew I wanted to work on my music too! I was still creating YouTube content but wanted to get out in the public. When I went to the open mics I was so shy and afraid of messing up. Doing the whole music thing I never had a mentor to help guide me or teach me certain things I now know. But I guess those are the growing pains of learning a skill; you can’t always have somebody there to guide you. As I’ve mentioned, I think when I got my gig singing at the local farmer’s market, that spot really helped shape the musician I am! I remember my first day singing at the market. I had this tiny 4’x6′ canopy tent, my guitar and music stand. It rained that morning. The ladies set-up next to me in the State Farm tent were so kind to me that day. Pretty sure they let me come under their canopy! After that day things got a bit better. At first it was a weird feeling playing openly in the public because you don’t have a designated crowd to directly sing to. Everyone’s walking around doing their thing not always paying attention to what I was doing. So, I started doing my own thing and began getting more comfortable and confident. There was a couple of seasons I didn’t sing at the market at all! The one year was because of the COVID=19 pandemic and the latter was because of another ex boyfriend! So word to all y’all reading this… never let any one person stop you from doing what you love! I fell into such a deep depression from not singing publicly for a year. Just getting through a day was such a hard task. I think it’s more publicly accepted now to talk about mental health and I definitely agree. The first day I ever went to therapy I went there kicking and spittin. After going for a while, it really made a huge difference in my life. We all struggle with day to day frustrations some more severe than others. Many of the reasons I believe either stem from grief or from your job. There was many a job I tried out and worked at that really took a toll on my mental capacity, I’d say not so much the workload itself but sometimes it was the people I worked with. Throughout my 20’s so far I’ve come to find that not everyone has the same heart that I do. And not everyone is as organized either. That’s what I had to learn when it came to booking gigs. It’s hard enough getting them scheduled but also being a solo acoustic musician, there’s only so many a place and crowd for that kind of sound. I’d say that bands or even duo’s more so get gigs booked over solo. Although I will say within this last year I have found a lot more places wanting that acoustic sound! So again, got to take the bad with the good and keep rollin with the punches life throws at you!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m going to start with that typical phrase of “when you love what you do you never work a day in your life.” Which technically you’re still working but a lot of the days are just better than others! Still going to have those long, tough days that you fight to get through sometimes and other challenges along the way. Being at the age of 28, throughout my 20’s so far I’ve worked a decent amount of different jobs such as: horse caretaker, Santa’s elf at Cabela’s, construction supervisor, a farmhand, greenhouse worker, landscaper and pet sitter. Not always the ideal work environments but I had to keep trying! I’ve always loved working with my hands and working outside so I kept going back to jobs of that type. What I always wanted to do as a profession was to be a musician/performer. I’d say as early as 7 years old I can remember that I wanted to be singing up on the stage. My first concert that I went to was Gretchen Wilson (female country singer) and I was in awe! I don’t think I had ever had so much fun in my small childhood life! I could see myself up there doing something just like her. Bringing people from all around to enjoy some good time music. A few years ago I went through another rough patch in my life where I don’t think I picked up my guitar let alone even looked at it! Broke my own heart. Then one day I said to myself. “Amelia if you’re going to go for this music thing, it’s now or never.” My childhood dream in the palm of my hand. I needed to clear my head so I left town. Planned a trip south and went and visited my cousins in Alabama and Florida. That trip really got some gears turning for me. I came back home and went to work. I’ve been able to work as a musician since. So what I do now is I get to share my voice and entertain the community! Being able to finally do that has brought me so much joy in my life. Getting paid to do it too has been a bonus but overall for me it’s never been (and hopefully never will be) about how much money I can make. Being a musician is a competitive business and at the end of the day for me, I am over the moon that I get to share my talent with the world! It is a gift to be able to sing just as it’s a gift that someone has the love and compassion to save lives. We all have different talents and skills that we all get to equally contribute to society. I was so lost for so long searching for my purpose and what I wanted to invest my time doing, but I think I finally figured out where I’m meant to be. Living and being from Michigan you probably wouldn’t expect a country music singer but that’s majority of my songs and the ones I cover. Although I would say I am also influenced by “Detroit Rock City.” Some of the greats like Bob Seger, Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper are all Michigan natives I grew up listening to. But on the country side I am very much influenced by John Denver, Alan Jackson and Dolly Parton. We do love our country music up here and I get to bring those favorite tunes to life! I always try to cover songs that no one else typically covers. I get tired of hearing the same stuff so I’m sure some other people feel the same. I’ve sang anywhere from a 2-4 hour set at restaurants, breweries, the farmer’s market, private events, etc. Sometimes two sets in one day! I can now say that being booked every weekend can be exhausting but it’s also very rewarding. Being a solo musician I am my own roadie, stage crew, sound guy and performer. Sometimes I have people offer their assistance or my mama helps me out too but not all the time. I am very grateful to now be able to do what I do and what I love the most. Again, it not only brings me joy but I hear and see the joy it brings to people and that to me means the world.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I grew up in a different city, St. Clair Shores to be exact Nine years ago, a year after my father’s passing my mom and I moved out to Chesterfield/New Baltimore. I live right on the borderline of both cities but I hangout more so in New Baltimore. There’s many a thing I like about the city compared to my hometown. When I moved I finally felt like I could be who I really wanted to be. I was able to get away from a city that I never felt a part of and away from the people I grew up with who never accepted the artist that I am. So one of the top things I like about New Baltimore is the feeling of community. All the shop owners and restaurant owners downtown all know each other and are always supporting one another. There are so many awesome events that the New Baltimore Business Alliance puts on to bring the community together and the farmer’s market that has been going on every Sunday from spring to fall for 19 years! I’ve been able to sing at the market for seven seasons and it gets better every year! The market and most of the events are held in the downtown area and down by the park on the water. All little parks in New Baltimore and in Chesterfield are clean and welcoming to hangout at. Another great entity is both cities being on the water, St. Clair Shores is also on the water but I didn’t feel as close to the lake as I do living here. When I find the time for it, I can load up my kayak and in 10 minutes I can be launching it out onto Anchor Bay or the Salt River that’s nearby as well. And one other thing I like about the city I live in is the convenience and variety of stores available in the surrounding areas. Chesterfield is way bigger than New Baltimore with a population comparison of 45,000 to 12,000 people. Chesterfield holds majority of the shopping plazas, fast food and a lot more. New Baltimore gives you that small-town feel with intimate restaurant/bars and small family owned businesses. Now for the dislikes,,, I have a few of those too just like in every city, got to take the good with the bad. Speaking on Chesterfield’s size, it definitely can be a challenge sometimes to navigate on the road due to high volume traffic. It’s not all the time but there are certain times of the day I know which streets to avoid. I am thankful there are shortcuts I’ve learned to get back home more peacefully. Living off of 23 mile road I swear it sounds like a racetrack some nights during the summer! People drive so fast and there are many an ambulance siren we can hear from the house. I won’t even get started on the topic of construction because that’s just an everywhere occurrence for all Michigan roads! Another thing about both cities is that there aren’t really enough adequate sidewalks available. I do see many people who walk or ride their bike in the area and they often have to chance going in the street. There have been too many reports in Chesterfield of pedestrian versus vehicle accidents. There doesn’t seem to be enough space for sidewalks but there sure is space for a ton of new infrastructure. Within these last nine years, I swear every piece of vacant farm field that once was or patch of woods is being bought up, excavated and built up with some new building. Not ragging on the construction industry because we do need to keep people working and I guess continue to grow as a society but it’s a little overkill in my opinion. And another topic too that I won’t get started on but will mention is the rising concern of data center placement. There are many a “no data center” sign posted on people’s lawns. Too much valuable and workable land developed into cityscape that there needs to be a point where enough is enough! In New Baltimore there’s not enough spaces for parking so I’m not sure how it would even be considered to put something like a data center out here. The town of New Baltimore has definitely grown and has become a popular place to come visit. But because of its small downtown it can’t quite accommodate all the vehicles hence the parking issue. There had been a parking infrastructure proposed but honestly it would be an eyesore of seeing the lake! Not sure if that ever will be developed but I sure hope it doesn’t. I feel like once you bring in big city concepts to a quaint small town, it loses that small town feeling. Overall, I am pretty content with where I live and I love that I get to be a part of the community.
Pricing:
- $50 an hour for singing
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/callmeoketree?igsh=Mm85dGwybzlmbnlo&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19ZiZmiPZP/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ameliaoke?si=NqWTd-wikXW6Dntx
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/amelia-oke/1777361780
