“I’m an aspiring wordsmith and a lifelong music lover,” says Angelica Garcia. “ I began songwriting when I first realized I could fuse my passions together.”
The 21-year-old California native, now a resident of Richmond, Virginia, has reached a milestone in her creative journey by completing a collection of 15 original songs to be featured on her debut for Warner Bros Records, slated for release in 2016.
Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with producer Charlie Peacock, the songs cover a wide range of themes. Some explore self-definition; others narrate the process of loss and recovery. While each song has its individual personality, they are all the confessions of an acutely observant young person.
Born in Los Angeles and reared in El Monte (east of East L.A.) and the Glendale/Pasadena foothills, Angelica early on experienced life on both coasts. She studied creative writing at New Haven, Connecticut’s Cooperative Arts High, then returned to Southern California and graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA). At LACHSA, she studied vocal jazz and sang at the iconic Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, California.
Then her family relocated to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Angelica split her time between crafting the songs that would eventually comprise her record and earning an Associate of Arts degree from Eastern Shore Community College.
Intending to transfer to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (UVA), Angelica auditioned for Warner Bros on the West Coast and received an offer from the label the very same week she was admitted to UVA’s American Studies program. The decision to put academics on hold for a while has freed her to focus exclusively on her artistry. Along the way, she has honed her musicianship, begun to build a growing fan base and toured regionally as an opening act for label mates Delta Rae.
This summer’s move to Richmond has awakened in her a heightened sense of artistic awareness. “I am refreshed by the city’s love of art and culture,” she enthuses. “I’m inspired by the fire in my peers and the history rooted in the landscapes around me.”
Listeners and audiences are in for a treat when Angelica hits the road in 2016. Her music has the potential to resonate with a diverse and discriminating populace. The songs on this premiere offering have been described as quirky in their youthfulness, thoughtful in their honesty and often philosophical.
The same could be said for Angelica Garcia.