Odessa native Alyssa Micaela will be returning to town next week as she will open for Ashley McBryde on April 16 at Ector Theatre. (Courtesy Photo)
Next week, a familiar face returns to the stage in Odessa.
Country singer-songwriter Alyssa Micaela will return to her hometown when she opens up for CMA and ACM award winner Ashley McBryde at a concert at the Ector Theatre.
The show will take place at 7:30 p.m. April 16.
For Micaela, it’s an exciting homecoming that she’s looking forward to.
“I’ve grown so much as an artist and a writer since the last time I played in Odessa, and I’m excited for my family and hometown friends to get to hear the new songs I’ve been writing,” Micaela said in an interview via email.
Over the years, McBryde has become a well-known figure in the country music scene, receiving one Grammy Award from six nominations in addition to one Country Music Association Award, three Academy of country Music Awards and has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy.
Micaela has been a long-time listener and friend of McBryde, making her even more excited to open at next week’s concert.
“Not only am I a fan of Ashley’s music, but I also think she’s a great person,” Micaela said. “It’s always an honor to open for an artist you look up to, and the show being in my hometown is the cherry on top.”
Unsurprisingly, Micaela’s schedule is very busy but she still finds time to return back to the Permian Basin.
“My family means the world to me and I have two little nieces that I’m just obsessed with, so I actually make it back home pretty often and I don’t miss a holiday,” Micaela said.
It should go without saying that music is a way of life for Micaela and always has been.
Nurturing her talent at a young age, Micaela’s mother enrolled her in an after school music program as a way to help her with shyness.
“My mom put me in an after school music program called ‘Entertainers’ in hopes it would bring me out of my shell,” Micaela said. “I didn’t realize I was actually any good until I tried out for a solo and got it. The music teacher’s name was Mrs. Keefer, and I will never forget her encouraging me at that young age. Teachers often don’t get enough credit for how much of an impact they have on kids’ lives.”
From there, the up-and-coming starlet’s voice naturally matured and slid into the country music world. It was a place that she always felt she was meant to be.
It was a chance encounter with hit songwriter Liz Rose via a family friend who further set Micaela’s destiny in motion in Nashville, Tenn.
Rose is an American country music songwriter, best known for her work with Taylor Swift.
“I went to Nashville for the first time when I was 15, and I remember thinking it was this magical place,” Micaela said. “I was introduced to Liz Rose and, by the grace of God, she wanted to work with me.”
Throughout high school, Micaela and her mother would take trips to Nashville so that Rose and Micaela could write songs.
Micaela would move to Nashville in 2011 and write with anybody she could with the help of Rose.
It wasn’t long until Micaela was signed to her first publishing deal.
“Liz would give me numbers of people to call and I would reach out and set up a meeting with anyone that would give me the time,” Micaela said. “In 2015, Liz signed me to my first publishing deal and it’s been an honor to write songs for her company all these years. My entire Nashville journey wouldn’t have been possible without her.”
Micaela’s debut single and one of her most popular songs “Getaway Car” was made into a music video that was aired on CMT in 2016.
That song was featured on Spotify’s Hot Country Playlist, garnering over three million streams.
She describes herself as a ‘tell it like it is’ kind of person, which she thinks that comes through in her songs.
“It’s important to me for my music to show my personality, which I like to think is pretty fun and sassy,” Micaela said. “My biggest goal when people hear my music or see a show for the first time is for them to think ‘she seems cool, I wanna drink a beer with her.’”
Her upcoming album “The Hard Way,” which is scheduled to come out on April 28, chronicles a shift in the focus of her art.
She’ll be playing mostly new songs at next week’s concert.
“I’ve spent the last few years writing songs specifically with a live show in mind and I’m really excited to get to play some of them in Odessa,” Micaela said.
She’s also talked about how much she has evolved as a singer-songwriter during her career.
“Just like with anything else, if you put the time and work into something it’s going to evolve and get better,” Micaela said. “I feel very lucky to have spent the last 10-plus years in Nashville getting to learn and make music with some of the best of the best. The biggest difference now from when I started writing music is that I have more of my own sound now. I’ve found what sets me apart from others which has made me feel more confident in myself and my music now than I ever have.”
For more information about next week’s concert, go to tinyurl.com/2uz8w974.
If you go
What: Ashley McBryde and special guest Alyssa Micaela.
When: 7:30 p.m. April 16.
Where: Ector Theatre.
Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/2uz8w974
