Art & Life with Tia Penny

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tia Penny.

Tia, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am about to turn eleven years old and am in fifth grade. I have an older brother, an older sister, two dogs, and a cat. Only one of my pets is musical, but I’ll tell you more about that in a minute. My parents say that my brain never stops, because I’m always reading, inventing, or creating.

I have always loved to sing, and began taking voice lessons when I was only four years old. I wrote my first original song and lyrics on the piano at the age of six. I started playing my ukulele at age eight and wrote six more original songs that year. After my parents gave me an acoustic guitar one year later, I wrote an additional eight songs and taught myself over 30 covers; all before I knew how to read music.

[We parents do not read or play music].

My mom started a YouTube channel as a means of sharing my music with family. Six months after starting my YouTube channel (with 11 followers at the time), it caught the eye of an NBC producer from Little Big Shots, hosted by Steve Harvey. While preparing for the show, the LBS staff learned that my dog Tuxie also “sings” and they invited Tuxie to join me on the trip to CBS Television City in Los Angeles. I recorded a segment for the show in October 2017. Since then Tuxie and I have played around with lots more songs that my mom posts to Instagram and YouTube, and I’ve had several viral offers for those videos!  They are pretty funny.

This past year has been an incredible year for me as well. Starting last fall, I began attending a music school, where I study classical guitar, voice, and piano, for an hour each almost every day. I also entered into two talent competitions and was happy with how I performed in them. The first was the National Kidney Foundation of Arizona’s Talent Slam, where I won the $1,000 grand prize for vocal performance (while playing my original song “Stuck on You”). I have also been invited to sing at their events later this year. The second was Alice Cooper’s Proof is in the Pudding, where I was the youngest performer to make it through the first round (competing against musicians as old as twenty-five!).

Can you give our readers some background on your art? 
My songs are not always my own experience. I want my lyrics to make others feel good. Most of my songs are about being as good as you can be. I hope that people take away a happy feeling.

Usually the music comes to me first in my head, and then the words. Once I’ve created a song, I never forget it. It’s part of my permanent memory.

What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I think music can encourage people. I like to write inspirational songs, so the positive message is there no matter what is happening around me. I like to make people feel good with my music. Singing with my dog Tuxie is fun and makes people happy too. It’s great when Tuxie sings right on cue.

[As her parents, we love to encourage Tia to use her talents for the good of the community. She has volunteered her time to sing for a local children’s book launch, a foster kids event, several assisted living facilities, and a camp for kids with kidney challenges. When you have a child that writes uplifting music lead by her heart, we try to find the right opportunities to use her gifts.]

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
People can find me on social media where my mom posts my live performance events.

Follow Instagram, Facebook, and twitter for behind the scenes pics and videos:@tiapennysings.

Songs with my singing dog, Tuxie, can be found on instagram @tiaandtuxie and YouTube.tiapenny.com
Go to YouTube.tiapenny.com to find my recorded performances.

Contact Info:

• YouTube: youtube.tiapenny.com
• Website: www.tiapenny.com 
• Email: tiapennysings@gmail.com
• Instagram: @tiapennysings @tiaandtuxie
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiapennysings/
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TiaPennysings

Image Credit:
Foskett Creative

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.