Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherita Perez
Hi Sherita, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a seventh generation Texas independent songwriter, bandleader and Gulf Coast queen born in the small town of Texas City, Texas and raised under the continuous glow of the chemical plants.
When I was five, I began hearing melodies and words coming from the sky. I started writing songs before I knew what I was doing. I quickly discovered songwriting was the most important thing to me and everything I did from then on would revolve around the practice of songwriting. My life would forever be consumed with rhythm, melody and words.
My wanderlust adventure started when I was around twenty years old. Since then, I’ve preformed both nationally and internationally, traveling through exotic locations like the wild lands of New Zealand and crisscrossing the coasts of the US. I have enjoyed touring the path less traveled, particularly staying in the wildland urban interface (WUI). The WUI is the place between the city and the woods. It’s also the most volatile place for fire danger.
Constant touring transformed me from being a quiet introvert into a defiant road warrior. Along the road I have made some incredible friends and have had some wildly unique experiences. These include writing an album with volunteer wildland firefighters in the Redwoods of California, which led to meetings with National Parks Service and various fire departments, winning Synapse Star Search in Nashville, opening the last Kate Wolf festival at Black Oak Ranch, California, where Taj Majal, Ani Defranco and String Cheese Incident also performed.
Additionally, I was flown to New Zealand to play an illegal cannabis festival near Gore. That festival turned into a six month tour all over New Zealand, where I got to do fun stuff including experiencing glow worms near Mokoia Island and glowing phytoplankton while playing in the nearby ocean waves.
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to travel freely and enjoy the road nonstop, transforming life’s experiences into songs. One of the things I really like about life on the road is the people that I meet and experiences that we get to share together. It’s an endless creative space where we all share the beauty and adventure of life. I can’t imagine living any other way.
Some of my more meaningful experiences have occurred recently in Austin Texas. It was an honor to be selected to perform shows for the nonprofit, Swan Songs. Swan Songs creates a sense of connection for individuals near the end of life by gifting them private concerts and supports live music in the community by compensating artists for those concerts.
I recently wrote a suicide prevention and end of life care Christmas song that was endorsed by the The Sims foundation.
Here are their words about, “I’ll Help You Make It Through This Christmas.”
Words from The SIMS Foundation
In the spirit of the powerful message conveyed by “I’ll Help You Make it Through This Christmas,” we, at the SIMS Foundation, share a mission dedicated to supporting individuals facing the challenges of mental health, especially during the holiday season. The lyrics beautifully capture the essence of empathy and connection during difficult times.
At SIMS, we recognize that the holiday season can be particularly tough for many, and our commitment extends to providing assistance and fostering a sense of community. Our mission revolves around mental health and substance use support for the music industry, and we want everyone to know that they are not alone in their struggles.
If you or someone you know is grappling with emotional pain, depression, or thoughts of self-harm, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255). This hotline is available 24/7, offering a lifeline to those in need. If you are an Austin musician, music industry professional, or a dependent of one, please reach out to us at simsfoundation.org.
The power of I’ll Help You Make it Through This Christmas lies in its affirmation of being there for each other, and it resonates with our commitment to suicide prevention and mental health advocacy. We encourage you to share this song and its message widely, as together, we can make a positive impact on those who need it the most.
-SIMS Foundation
Other great ATX experiences include performing on Austin’s Fox 7 and at Morning Glories childhood educational series, “Here a one The Hero’s,” event at Waterloo park, which honored the Austin firefighters and police officers. I also have had meetings with Austin’s Wildland Division, where I was consulted about innovative ways to help educate the public on fire safety and the wildland urban interface.
This month Dale Watson asked me to sit in with him at The Continental club ATX. It was a packed house and a blast. My Tequila & Bear songs were both hits. I’m looking forward to doing that again. Also, this month, I was asked to curate a showcase called, SXSCongress Sunday Sessions at Gueros. A lot of stellar, hard working and fantastic local singer songwriters are on this bill.
Lately I’ve been traveling from Austin to the Big Bend area. While I was there for The Terlingua Fire Fighters Ball, I wrote a my newest release with Marc Utter. The song is titled Cumbia Terlingua. The desert whispered this song into my ear while I was playing at the Boathouse in Terlingua, Texas.
Immediately my friends and I recorded it at Bill Palmer’s Piano house at Terlingua Ranch. The track features Ginny Mac on backing vocals and accordian, Bill Palmer on the lead guitar, and Tito‘s bottle, Marc Utter on upright bass and percussion and myself on vocals and rhythm guitar. Cumbia Terlingua is Executive Production is Michael Shaddox.
I cannot wait to share the upcoming projects for 2025 and 2026. They will be revolving around even more exotic locations and unique topics. They’re for sure to be entertaining and educational.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My life has been littered with constant challenges.
Breaking the cycle of poverty in my life has been an absolute struggle. The life of a solo, female, touring artist is paved with constant threat and real danger.
It is not a journey for the weak. Yes, you can do anything you want, but there are always consequences.
I can say without reservation that I have hit numerous glass ceilings, which I punched my way through. When I couldn’t do that, I just walked the other way and found a new path.
I come from a line of singers and porch players, but they were never in the professional arena. So, there was no one to show me the way through the jungle of the music business.
Early obstacles that I faced, such as illness, lack of money and support showed me that I could not compete for opportunities.
I decided I would take whatever scraps I had available and make art with them anyway. I would become uniquely me.
I’d become such a master of my craft that people would have no choice but to pay me to create songs and actually, it has worked. Things have come full circle in my life, and I am seeing the years of work pay off in the most fruitful ways. I am extremely grateful. I pour everything into my songs. I’m a musician for life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work centers around songwriting and performing as a singer songwriter, band member and band leader. I’ll write a song in just about any style, but I like to focus on vintage music. I’m heavily influenced by growing up on the gulf coast and listening to old blues, jazz and country. There is a kind of wailing in these old styles that sets me on fire.
I like to write about what I experience in my everyday life. I live in my sprinter van and am constantly touring, so I’m always able to create songs in new places on new adventurers. I enjoy writing themed songs and collaborating with friends. When I was working with the fire department in Myers Flat, California, I was able to learn about fire safety and wildland urban interface (WUI) as I wrote. When I was in Terlingua, I was able to get an in-depth feel of the area and weave those elements into a song that I recorded immediately with my wonderful friends that lived in the town. The way each song is written, produced and recorded means a specific local flavor to each project.
I’ve been lucky enough to have had amazing engineers, producers and musicians work with me on these recordings. Some of them are Matt Hubbard, Katie Shore, Ginny Mac, Gabriel Rhodes, Bill Palmer, Mark Hallman, Oliver Steck, Sam Rich, Geoffrey Muller, JJ Plasencio, Chris Burns and Marc Utter.
I also perform in the locations that I tour and write songs in. I just love playing new spots in exotic locations in The Wildland Urban Interface. I love forming new friends and working relationships with venues and artists that last for years.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
When I was a child I was lucky enough to be told I could accomplish anything and so I took that to heart and that has helped me along my way.
I manifest luck, and then I follow through with dedicated hard work.
I’ve been lucky to learn that it’s ok if things don’t work out.
Through failure before finding success, I have learned fearlessness. I don’t fear making mistakes or experiencing failure, so I will never quit. I will keep working, until I achieve a win. Even so, I feel I’m lucky all the time.
Pricing:
- Produce a song $1500
- Produce an EP $5000
- Hire me for a house concert? Price TBA
- Sponsor my van $100-$1000
Contact Info:
- Email: SheritaPerezMusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheritaperez
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheritaPerezMusic
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherita-perez-b1293793
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/u4t33zy7_kw
- Other: https://linktr.ee/SheritaPerez
