Moving to Nashville and becoming a music sensation is something that thousands of little girls dream of. Trinity’s own Emma Shackelford is in the process of making that dream a reality.
Since August, Shackelford has been living in Nashville pursuing her dream of becoming a well-known country music singer-songwriter under her stage name Rhetta Jan. The name combines that of her grandmother with Shackelford’s own middle name.
Rhetta Jane sung to a crowd of 10,000 people at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at UCF on Oct. 12, and that is only one of her numerous musical accomplishments to date.
Rhetta Jane has been a singer since the age of four, and she began playing the piano and violin at ages 4 and 6 respectively. Over time, she became interested in becoming a songwriter.
“I don’t want to be just a voice. I want to have something to say and make connections with people through music,” Janeza said.
After participating in Berklee College of Music’s summer program the summer before tenth grade, she decided that songwriting was something she wanted to pursue full-time. The summer before her junior year, she recorded five original songs at Starlight Studios in Orlando. After that, she sent the songs to an entertainment attorney, who decided that he liked what he heard.
“A series of meetings turned into me working with this guy as a manager. In this business, timing is really important and talks of going to Nashville at some point started in last October,” she said.
Rhetta Jane, then a junior, shocked many of her fellow students when she announced her plans to finish high school through tutoring in order to pursue a career in music. However, her efforts have already paid off, as she continues to score more and more gigs in both Orlando and Nashville.
“For me, there’s not as many opportunities in Orlando as there is in Nashville for country music,” she explains. Nashville, nicknamed Music City, is the country’s capital of country music.
“To make it in Nashville, the first thing to do is be in Nashville,” she said.
After deciding that Nashville was the best place for her at this point in her life, Rhetta Jane and her mom made the trek up to Tennessee at the beginning of August.
Since then, she has become involved with large-scale music publishing companies such as the Nashville Songwriters Association and Broadcast Music, Inc. She is developing her musical talents by taking voice and guitar lessons from renowned Nashville musicians like Renee Grant Williams and Rob Jackson.
“I’ve never really had voice lessons before this, so I’ve grown into my voice and started using the right techniques as well as honing in on the skills needed to be a musician,” she said.
The aspiring songstress has already accomplished several notable feats. She sang an original song for Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band over Skype, and he complimented her on her songwriting. She also was the Judge’s Choice Winner for an open mic contest held at Nashville’s 360 Burger.
Following her appearance at the Race for the Cure, she is headed back to Nashville to put in more hard work. Before you know it, Rhetta Jane will be gracing the front pages of magazines and news channels worldwide, and it will all have started here at Trinity Prep.
