ICW
a.k.a. In Conversation With
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In conversation with Kelsey Blackstone: making music with friends, for friends
Kelsey Blackstone’s relationship with music has spanned her entire life. From early piano lessons and cello rehearsals to a cross-country move from Boston, Massachusetts, to Nashville, Tennessee, music has remained both her anchor and her ambition. “I started classical piano when I was 5 years old,” she says. “I always loved performing—I always loved being
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In conversation with Kiersten Blue: looking at the ‘Girl In The Mirror’
On the outside, Kiersten Blue is exactly what her name suggests: blue hair, melancholic lyrics, and even a single appropriately titled “Blue.” On the inside, though, Kiersten is overcome by an unmistakable drive and love for creating music. The singer is relatively new to the music world, having started during the COVID-19 pandemic almost six
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In conversation with Emmalee Rainbow: her new slow-building anthem, ‘I’ve Had Some Wine’
Emmalee Rainbow celebrated her 21st birthday in Las Vegas, battling a cold. She commemorated this moment in her notes app, which turned into her newest single, “I’ve Had Some Wine.” Rainbow, who is from Los Angeles, began her career in entertainment as a child actress, appearing in national commercials, films, and popular TV shows such as Modern Family and NCIS. Surprisingly enough, she is also a trained chef, appearing in Lifetime’s cooking competition show Man vs Child: Chef Showdown. “It instilled work ethic within me,”
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In conversation with Billy Carrión: pushing toward ‘Higher Standards’
Billy Carrión grew up in a family of singers. With his father being a salsa singer, Carrión was constantly surrounded by music; not just Latin, but a little bit of everything. This allowed him to become well-rounded, to fall in love with Jazz through passion. Jazz holds a universal conversation on the stage and is
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In conversation with Chris Messineo: bringing ‘The Strange Dark’ to light
Before movies ever felt like a career path, they felt like a kind of magic for Chris Messineo. Growing up, Messineo believed the people who made films lived somewhere far away on the West Coast, in a world that felt unreachable. It wasn’t until his twenties, as independent film began flourishing outside of Hollywood, that
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In conversation with Ron Gallo: honesty over expectation
Ron Gallo never set out to be a musician. In fact, picking up a guitar came without much intention at all. “I can’t say there really was much of a passion to play guitar,” he admits. “I kind of just thought it was a thing I should have.” “I think the thing I was most
