Coretta Sellars

Artist Information

Biography

Coretta Sellars stems from the small town of Lunenburg, MA, contributing her neutral sound and passionate lyrics to the musical blends of Country, Blues, and Folk/Rock stylings. As writing has always served as a means of Sellars being able to vent and deliver her worldly messages to the masses, her signature, soulful, sound has been inspired heavily by such mainstream acts that include The Eagles, Indigo Girls and The Rolling Stones. Sellars began playing the guitar and performing in front of live audiences during her teenage years. Enveloped by music in due part to the modes of singing and instrumental sessions that always framed family gatherings, Sellars decided at the age of fifteen that creating songs and sharing them universally would be her definitive contribution to the world.


Having already recorded four albums between 1996 and present day, Sellars has created a prolific catalogue of songs that have become popular and personal amongst her fellow listeners and fan base. Sellars’ first recording,(1994-1995) Say Something, is a single that she made copies of on actual cassettes and distributed and sold to her high school classmates. Since then, Sellars has received radio airplay, via WXRV, in Boston, MA, with her smash hit, Best of Me. Her belief in unity, as well as her acceptance of life’s hardships, and respect across humanity, has aided Sellars in writing poignant lyrics that she hopes will help her fans to find closure, fill a void or soundtrack a past memory. Emotional songs that include, Sticking Around, Looking For, Just Like Nothing, The Drive, Best Of Me, and Elizabeth, are compilations that have stood as the trophy pieces of Sellars’ career. Ultimately, Sellars would love to receive global recognition for her writing skills, as well as garnering critical acclaim amongst the folk genre. Sellars pays homage, through her talents, to those who have supported her sixteen year career, and who shall continue to extract a sense of faith and hope within the confines of her music.



Past and Current Venues:


The Bull Run- Shirley, Ma.
  The Acton Jazz Cafe- Acton, Ma.
  The Gardner Ale House- Gardner Ma.
  Boston Pride Day at Faneuil Hall 2008
Simmons College- Boston, Ma.
  Kennedy’s Midtown- Boston, Ma.
Rhythm and Roots Blues Festival with James Montgomery, Lydia
Warren, The Love Dogs, Professor Harp and more!
June 2010 Westford, Ma.
Harpers Ferry- Allston, Ma.
  Groton Fest with Livingston Taylor      2003,2004,2005- Groton, Ma.
  Mocha Maya's- Shelburne Falls, Ma.
  Toast Lounge- (now Precinct) with Julie Sweeney, Sandy Rapp, and
Carlyn Hutchins. (Somerville, Ma.)
All Asia- Cambridge Ma.
Nashoba Ski Valley-Westford, Ma.
The Harvest Cafe- Hudson, Ma.
  The Vixen with Trina Hamlin- Provincetown, Ma.  2007 Women’s Week
  University Of New Haven- CT.
Emack and Bolio’s- Roslindale, Ma.
  Becker Junior College- Leicester, Ma.
  The Devens Grill- Devens, Ma.
Sunset Hill House- A grand inn. Sugar Hill, NH.
Slattery’ s Front Room- Fitchburg, Ma.
R.G. Scooters- Lunenburg, Ma.
Fire And Water- Northampton, Ma.
She has also shared the stage with artists Diana Jones, and Ellis.

Coretta has performed at numerous benefits/fundraisers for: Cancer
Memorials/ Research, MS, Softball Leagues,Teen Centers, Battered Women
Shelters, and more!!





Contact:
www.corettasellars.com
www.myspace.com/corettasellars
Like my Facebook music page!
my music is also on iTunes

Instrumentation

Coretta Sellars - Vox/Guitar/Songwriting/Percussion
Derrick Butler - Drums
Neal Ward - Guitar /Vox
Tim Kelly - Bass, and Lead Guitar
John McKusick - Bass, Lead Guitar, and Backing Vocals on "Keeping The Space" album.
Krista Van Guilder - Lead Guitar/Vox (VanRet Duo)

Discography

CD's: 1996- Behind Talking
1997- November Remains
2000- Every Friday
2008- Keeping The Space
2009- Back Roads

Official Website

http://www.corettasellars.com

Links

• MySpace
• Facebook
• jango airplay

Audio

• Velvet Sky Final
  Listen  
• Best Of Me
  Listen  
• Lonely
  Listen  
• Sorry I Am Final
  Listen  
• Want Me To
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Lunenburg singer-songwriter debuts CD at Bull Run tonight [+ Show ]
  

  There are numerous newspaper interviews over the last 13 years, but here is the latest........ ...There are numerous newspaper interviews over the last 13 years, but here is the latest........
  
  
  
  Sun, The (Lowell, MA)
  
  March 21, 2008
  Section: Local
  
  News
  
  Lunenburg singer-songwriter debuts CD at Bull Run tonight
  The Lowell Sun
  By Kate Czaplinski kczaplinski@sentinelandenterprise.com
  
  SHIRLEY -- Singer/songwriter Coretta Sellars always carries a guitar pick in the pocket of her bluejeans. The plastic ties on loaves of bread also work in a pinch, Sellars said.
  The desire to play might come up at any time or anyplace.
  Sellars, a Lunenburg High School graduate, explained her passion for music and performed one of her new songs "Best of Me" at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley yesterday. "Best of Me" is the second track off her fourth compact disc Keeping the Space.
  Yesterday, she recalled weddings she used to attend at the Bull Run when she was a child. Tonight, she'll be back at the restaurant for her own CD-release party and live performance.
  This CD is like a new start, she said.
  She started writing and performing at 15, and now at 31, she's trying to make things happen in her music career.
  "I think it's really up to me," she said of her success. "I have to stop procrastinating. I wish I had promoted myself more when I was younger."
  Sellars grew up in Lunenburg and remembers performing some of her original music at the Lunenburg High School Talent Show in 1995.
  Sellars works with Derek Butler on drums and John McKusick on bass and lead guitar in a variety of live performances in the Boston area and central Massachusetts.
  Her fourth CD has been eight years in the making. Sellars writes many songs but chose 14 of them for the new CD.
  Her music mixes many genres.
  "I have three biggest influences," she said. "I love Jim Croce, the Indigo Girls and The Eagles."
  She enjoys writing songs everyone can relate to, like "Pink Lemonade." The song focuses on difficulty in a marriage.
  She also uses her own experiences in her songs. "Boston By Now" details her first love experience growing up in Lunenburg.
  Her song "One Night" is one of the most upbeat tracks on her album.
  "It's a mischievous song. It's just fun," Sellars said. "It's actually my mom's favorite song."
  Sellars now lives in Templeton, but her family and friends will be in attendance at the Bull Run tonight.
  "It's going to be a lot of people I haven't seen in ages," Sellars said. "It might be a big Lunenburg reunion."
  The release party is also a chance for Sellars to focus on playing her own work.
  Bar audiences often request more cover songs than originals, she said.
  "I hate playing 'Sweet Home Alabama,'" Sellars said. "Every band plays it, and it's so overdone."
  Sellars' CD release party starts at 8 p.m.; Julie Sweeney of Somerville will open. Tickets are $10, and CDs will be available for sale.
  Sellars hopes she can master the music world and make it her full-time job.
  "I just want to play," she said. "I don't really understand the business of it."
  
  (c) 2008 The Sun (Lowell, MA). All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

• "Walk The Line" comp. cd [+ Show ]
  

  11.4.2008 Urban Angel Music of Belfast, Ireland/UK is putting together a compilation CD called "Wal...11.4.2008
  Urban Angel Music of Belfast, Ireland/UK is putting together a compilation CD called "Walk the Line." They have chosen my song "Best Of Me" for the CD. Urban Angel Music is one of the fastest growing Music Production Companies, Record Label and Music Publishers in all the UK and Ireland. Distribution of the compilation will start in January 2009 all throughout Europe and the US.

• Give singer some "Space" [+ Show ]
  

  March 21. 2008 12:28AM Give singer some ‘Space’ SOUNDS Do not cross Coretta Sellars. The Nort...March 21. 2008 12:28AM
  
  Give singer some ‘Space’
  SOUNDS
  
  Do not cross Coretta Sellars. The North County singer-songwriter is pretty good at eviscerating through song. Several tracks on her new “Keeping the Space” CD take aim at men who treat women awfully, and the singer supplies empowering anthems such as “Pink Lemonade” and “Want Me To.” Sellars, who brings a rocking sensibility to her word-rich songs, can also spin off brassy narrations as heard on “Boston by Now” and “One Night.”
  
  Sellars’ latest will likely appeal to fans of old-school Indigo Girls. The one-time local opener for national acts playing at The Bull Run is now headlining the venue herself tonight to release “Keeping the Space.” Sellars’ show begins at 8 with opener Julie Sweeney. Tickets are $10.
  
  — Scott McLennan

• Boston Pride Kicks Off at Faneuil Hall With a Whimper... BUT Coretta Sellars was the euphonic highlight of the afternoon. [+ Show ]
  

  Boston Pride Kicks Off at Faneuil Hall With a Whimper • Posted 06/09/08 by Jeremy Goodman Bos...Boston Pride Kicks Off at Faneuil Hall With a Whimper • Posted 06/09/08
  
  by Jeremy Goodman
  
  Boston's Pride Week kicked off with day of music and dance at Faneuil Hall on Saturday. But let’s face it...it wasn't exactly a rousing success. I'm not quite sure when Pride became a week instead of a parade and a night at the bars; apparently, I'm not the only one. When a friend and I arrived, the only gays in sight were the Moving Violations Motor Cycle club, which is strictly for the ladies and I'm sure you can develop a mental picture for yourself.
  
  A sad, broken arch of balloons over the stage was perhaps briefly a proud rainbow, but intense sun and over-inflated balloons are not a good mix – first the greens, then the blues and purples deflated in a series of pathetic little pops. Perhaps that should have shaped our expectations for the afternoon. Those who came out to see a big gay spectacle of the kind that makes Fox News commentators wet their pants were surely disappointed.
  
  Coretta Sellars was the euphonic highlight of the afternoon. We listened to nearly her entire set, with only a quick stop into the Starbucks for a bit of refreshment. As I listened to her music, I commented to my friend that her tunes had a sound that was familiar. Eventually, I realized that musically Sellars evokes the sound of the Indigo Girls, but with a vocal quality that softened the harder edges. Her performance was nothing short of stellar, despite a blazing sun sure to blister the skin. We were impressed enough to walk away with two of her CDs.
  
  The Dejas, on the other hand, left us cold. A cover of a Sting song (or maybe The Police) roused a bit of interest, but the idea of finding something to eat and drink proved more attractive, as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember which song. We settled on Dick's Last Resort, the only Faneuil Hall vendor that seemed to recognize that the marketplace was hosting a Pride event, marking the restaurant with a rainbow arch faring much better than that on the mainstage. Our server Renee provided us with enough entertainment to make up for the lack of fun on the stage, regaling us with tales of her desire to go to Provincetown with her boyfriend and cluing us into the fact that her daughter has two grandmas (okay, most of us do, but I think you get what she meant). She proudly claimed responsibility for the rainbow arch on the restaurant and sent us on our way with souvenir glasses.
  
  Refreshed, we set out back to the stage. The emcee, whose name I never got, surprised us with her rousing version of a couple pop songs. Though she was clearly vamping until the next act was ready, the stunning quality of her renditions truly surprised us. She belted out Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and Alicia Keys’s No One and brought a crowd back to the stage area with her infectious energy.
  
  Gays for Patsy may have been high point of the day. A small troupe of men mounted the stage and taught the crowd to line dance and two-step to the strains of country tunes that one just doesn't associate with the gay world. While they did a few exhibition numbers, it was the teaching that really got the crowd involved, using numbers such as Paula Cole's Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? and Garth Brooks's We Shall Be Free. The line dancing was fun and attracted a (mostly straight) crowd willing to jump in and learn where to put their feet. Later, while teaching volunteers to two-step, a couple of straight boys from the suburbs who jumped in to mock the celebration got their comeuppance, to the amusement of many. The boys didn't realize that the dance they were learning would require them to change partners constantly. To give those boys some credit, though, they didn't leave the floor until the dance ended.
  
  In the end, the afternoon's success as a gay pride event remained questionable, even though it did provide a few flashes of good entertainment. The crowd consisted mostly of confused, middle-aged, straight couples and tourists out for a day's shopping with a few gay teens and older couples sprinkled throughout. Perhaps, though, the day's lack of flamboyance served to show a quieter side of gay life than most of those spectators have seen in media representations, reminding them that your average gay person is simply your average person.

Setlist

Typically a show is 9-1 or 8:30-12:30 which is 3 sets. With my cover band we do 3 sets. Playing Rock, Blues, Soul, Pop, etc...Some bands we cover: Indigo Girls, The Eagles, Rachel Yamagata, Stealers Wheel, Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Ani Difranco, The Temptations, Joe Cocker, The Black Crowes, Etta James,The Beatles, Otis Redding, The Band, CCR, Ray Lamontagne, Bruce Springsteen, Derek Trucks, and more....
I do lots of solo, and acoustic duo shows as well. Depending on the venue, I may do all originals, all covers, or a mix of both. Some gigs are short sets 45 minutes to an hour. Others can be 2 or 3 sets. I am pretty flexible.
For equipment it's great when the venue has their own PA. Makes it easier for the musicians. Especially setting up and breaking down. I do though have everything you would need for a live show.

Basic Requirements

Calendar