Sarah Bernadette Visits Section 36 Music!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Sarah Bernadette is an incredible singer whose debut album will be released this week. I was so excited she was willing to visit with us and discuss her music, future goals, and more. I’m sure you’ll love everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when Sarah Bernadette visits Section 36 Music! 

I’m a huge fan of your recent single “Green”. What can you tell me about it?

Thanks so much! “Green” is about the joy of starting a new relationship, and the excitement of the potential for mutual growth as you get to know each other and develop the relationship. That’s why I use so many plant metaphors in the song - a new relationship feels “green” like new fruit waiting to ripen, it’s turning over a new leaf after previous bad experiences. In writing this song I wrote down all of the green-related imagery that popped into my head, brainstorming all the ways I could incorporate the theme into the song. In addition to the nature-related imagery, I also talk about new love being as precious as an emerald, and feeling as lucky as a four-leave clover. 

Is there anything else you're currently working on?

I’m about to release my first full-length album, “New Leaves” which features my single “Green” that I released last year. The album includes both recently written songs as well as songs that I wrote 6-7 years ago that I just never got to record. It features songs about love and loss and self-discovery, and even features what I consider to be a counterpart to “Green”. My song “What Did I Expect?” at the end of the album weaves in plant imagery to tell the other side of a relationship - when the growth isn’t nurtured properly and the love is not sustained. I’m so excited for my album to drop - “New Leaves” comes out Friday May 27th to all streaming platforms! 

You’re a graduate of Berklee College of Music. What’s the biggest thing Berklee’s done for your career? 

My time at Berklee really allowed me to hone in on my songwriting skills - as a songwriting and vocal performance double major, I took several intensive songwriting classes where I was frequently expected to write a song a week. Sometimes this meant that I wrote songs that weren’t my favorite, but that’s sort of the point, I think; it’s okay if not everything you write is amazing, but it teaches you that you can always take something from your previous works, even if they weren’t your best songs overall. It also provided me the opportunity for frequent feedback from my peers and the amazing songwriting faculty at Berklee. I am also grateful for the wonderful voice teachers I studied with at Berklee who allowed me to grow my technique and learn how to better control and manipulate my voice - shoutout to Kathleen Flynn and Kristin Cifelli! 

Who or what would you consider your biggest musical influences?

I feel like my influences are always changing depending on who I’m listening to at the time, but I can pretty confidently say they’re almost always amazing women! As of recently my biggest influences are Cécile McLorin Salvant (especially for her vocal inflection and her incredible delivery of her lyrics, which I can only aspire to) and Amy Winehouse (for her wonderfully blunt writing style and tone). 

What would you say is your biggest career challenge?

So many! I would say for me it’s really hard to motivate myself to post on social media and remembering to promote myself. I think a lot of musicians feel awkward promoting ourselves, and sometimes I wish I could just do music and people would just listen without me telling them about it - but I know that obviously that isn’t how it works! 

What are your immediate career goals?

Right now I’m just hoping to get people to listen to my new album, and that they’ll enjoy it :) I’m easy, as long as I can make money doing music and have the time to do my own personal projects, I’m happy. 

*also if you’re in the Boston area, come out to my album release show at Virtuosity in Boston on Huntington Ave! Saturday May 28, 8pm :) 

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I hope everyone can be there!

As always, I want to thank Sarah for visiting, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I know you’ll all want to follow along with her to see what she's up to. The best way to do that is probably to follow her on Instagram and/or Spotify. In fact, go do both of those right now! Also be sure to visit her website for even more great information.

You can also check out her Section 36 Music page. It's a perfect way to enjoy everything she has to offer all in one place.

Thanks again Sarah, and good luck reaching your goals!