NYCS Swag Spotlight: Carolyn Miller

Carolyn Miller

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Carolyn Miller is our next Swag Spotlight.  Just like Tommy Cole and Lauren Davidson, Miller is pursuing a career in country music by growing her fanbase up north and taking frequent trips down to Nashville for meetings and songwriting sessions.  She tells us in a recent phone interview that like most performers, she was performing before she even knew it.  “When I was 2 in church if my parents blinked I would run up onto the altar, as I  got older they just realized it was I just loved to perform and be in front of people,” she laughs.

Besides not having the typical ‘growing up on a farm’ experience, Miller also went a different route during her early years, acting for television and Broadway. Starting with local community theater when she was merely six years old, and being signed to a top children’s talent manager when she was eight, Miller has worked professionally since then, working on a national commercial with Rosie O’Donnell, voiceover work for Jenifer Lopez’s perfume, landed a role in Daredevil with Ben Affleck and guest starred in Law and Order SVU.  All of this before she exited her teen years, Miller was accepted to the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College on scholarship.  After graduating college she was inspired by some friends who were posting cover videos on YouTube. She gathered some friends, Mikel James and David Wong and they recorded their own version of A Great Big World’s “Say Something”. Within 48 hours the video garnered over thirty thousand views, reaching now almost a hundred thousand views.

The exposure from the YouTube cover lit a fire under her to start exploring the recording artist side of her passion, something she had never really thought about before.  Although she grew up on Long Island, which did not have a country radio station for almost 20 years, she recalls seeing Carrie Underwood win American Idol and being hooked.  “the reason why I connect with it so much is country music is so real, honest, authentic, it tells a story, it’s vulnerable and it has something to say and there is always a purpose,” she explains.  “Coming from my acting background I love authentic stories and I love really getting up and singing I don’t want beats and autotune, country is just that real beautiful pure genre of music.”

After a chance meeting with Russ DeSalvo who has produced Celine Dion and Lionel Richie, Miller started working with him on her debut EP which will be out this summer. The EP features five songs that songwriters in Nashville, LA, and NY wrote, songs that she felt spoke to her.  She looks forward to honing her songwriting craft and performing songs in her live shows and for future albums that she has written herself.

Her background in performing and acting has given her the foundation in this industry to move at a much faster pace than someone just starting out. “I learned discipline, dedication and work ethic from the time I was 8 years old. I understand how it works, I’ve been exposed to it all from a young age,” she tells us. “Everything I’ve been through just proves to me that I know I am ready for this and I know this is what I am meant to be doing and the ups and downs of the industry are expected.”
Miller considers herself pop-country crossover, very New York City meets Nashville and is excited to release her debut EP, Unbreakable later this year.  While in NY she has performed at shows all around town, including the Country Christmas Showdown, was a Nash Next Finalist and is booking opening slots with bigger acts for the remainder of this year. “You have to live and eat and breathe and sleep your craft and feel it in your blood and DNA that there is no other option,” she thoughtfully exclaims.  “If that this is your happiness then you just know that this is what you are meant to do.”
Follow Carolyn Miller on her social media platforms, Facebook,  and Instagram, for announcements on upcoming shows and releases.

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