Sadie Blu

Sadie Blu may be 18 years old, but her soulful songwriting and guitar playing is something from another time.

Catapulted by her Myspace.com Web page, an appearance on a local blues radio program and a lot of encouragement from friends and family, Blu is more than a girl with a guitar and some ideas. Over the past few weeks, she has been making a name for herself throughout the Pensacola Bay area.

Armed with a penchant of brazenly honest song writing and a voice that melts ice, Blu's only hurdle , she admits, might be her shyness.

"I can sing into a microphone, but speaking into a microphone is really hard," she said in a soft spoken, giggly voice that faintly resembles the confident one behind her songs. "Just to say, `Hi, everyone; thanks for coming,' is really hard."

For the past few years, Blu, whose real name was Brittany Wasden, has been writing songs and tapping into her inner voice. But her first public appearance as Sadie Blu was at a Fourth of July celebration at the Riverwalk in Milton. Since then, she's been on a ride that she describes as "surreal and overwhelming."

"For three or four years, the emotional burn with in her has been to pursue music," said her mother, Kricket Wasden.

When Blu was 16, she played the self-penned song "Life," for her mom.

"She sang the song and my mouth just fell open," said Wasden, a Pace resident who owns Kricket's Cutting Edge, a salon off U.S. 90. "I told her, `You need to let someone hear that. That's not average.'"

"Everyone who knows her has always said that even as a young child she was like an old soul," Wasden said. "She's always been a deep thinker."

Blu started getting a lot of attention recently after using her mom's laptop to record an original song, "Here's To Lookin' At You."

Wasden heard the song and was so impressed that she played it for her customers at her salon.

One of Kricket's clients heard the song and told her sister, who is a talent agent, about Blu's talent.

Rather than trekking to a local café to hear Blu perform, Crystal Barwis, the talent agent, asked Sadie to create an online Myspace profile so she and her boss, Lesley Daunt, owner of Unity Artist Management in Atlanta, could hear her songs.

Like many other artist, Blu relied on the vastly popular online community as a way to market her songs, which have been sampled by more than 20,600 listeners. The site paid off and the management agency is now working with Blu and hopes to help her produce a demo of songs that can be presented to record label executives.

"She has that old soul quality about her for such a young girl," said Barwis, who is located in the management agency's Miami office. "She's very shy, but when she's singing she's totally different. There's an inner voice coming out."

Blu also recently performed on the Blue Plate Special," a local radio blues program on WUWF, 88.1, hosted by Greg Guzman. On the show, Guzman interviewed Blu and she played songs for the listeners.

Blu just wants to continue to write honest songs and see where they take her.

- Adam Ziglar - Pensacola News Journal

Only child Sadie Blu, born in Dothan, Ala. in 1989 and daughter to a preacher, is described as shy. People didn't begin to focus on her talent until she began performing her style of blues at hootenannies at a Milton, Fla. antique store. Gravitating toward older generations, she began to fine-tune her craft. After a little coaxing from her parents, she authored a few songs in the confines of her garage, which led to the release of a four-song demo. As in many small, rural communities, word of Blu's gift began to spread. She recalls agreeing to perform at Milton's River Walk Festival on July 4, 2007. Just a little over a year later, Blu will record her first television performance for WSRE's StudioAmped concert series on Saturday, August 2, just a few weeks shy of her nineteenth birthday. Despite Blu's young age, her music is melodically mature with a carefully crafted intensity.
IN: It's always exciting to talk with some budding talent, and your career is really just now beginning to take off. Is this where you saw yourself this time last year?

Blu: This time last year, I was merely dreaming of the opportunities that have been afforded me. I am a dreamer, but I'm also a die-hard realist as well! I honestly never believed anything would come of my music. A couple of weeks before July 4, 2007, (which was my first public performance), I decided to go to Mainstreet Cafe in Milton (a haunt of mine that helped to feed my desire to play in public), where a local musician was playing. I asked him not to introduce me, plugged in my guitar, and sang one song. The people dining there responded overwhelmingly positive to me, but I was too nervous to continue. All I could manage to say into the mic was, "Thank you so much, and can someone please unplug me before I pass out!?" (laughs). In those few minutes, though, my life was changed forever, and for the better. From that point on, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life, no matter how frightened I was!

IN: You're described as a shy musician, really just starting to perform for audiences in the last few years. Are you the telltale case of facing your fear to overcome it with your recent/upcoming performances?

Blu: Well, I guess "Sexy Sadie" was already taken-so, "Shy Sadie" is my lot! (laughs) Yes, I guess you could say I'm a telltale case of overcoming your fears by taking them on. I don't know what the future holds, but I know I have already been richly blessed by people I have met and other events I would have surely missed if I hadn't faced my fear of performing. If you can take that mysterious moving shadow on your wall and shine some light on it, cutting it down to size, you often find that it's nothing to fear. Life is too short to be immobilized by fear. I know if I can face my fears, anyone can.

IN: Do you miss us back in here the Pensacola area?

Blu: I definitely miss seeing my fans in Pensacola. I have been lucky enough to have people travel from Pensacola to Atlanta for shows, and that is always a heartwarming reminder of the support the Pensacola/Milton area continues to give me. For that, I could never properly express my appreciation. I relocated to Atlanta, admittedly, with a bit of trepidation, but it's just part of facing my fears. The move has been very rewarding. There are so many amazing artists in Atlanta, I'm learning more each day.

IN: What's your fan base like in Atlanta? Pensacola?

Blu: I'm finding my fan base to be very diverse in every aspect. To have a young child digging the music, as well as their great grandparents, that's really inspiring and mind blowing to me. I feel very blessed. I think my fan base consists of the most generous and kind people you could ever hope to meet.

IN: Do you still sport any of your handmade jewelry you sold to pay for your first guitar?

Blu: More often than not, I am indeed sporting some handmade jewelry.

IN: Being the daughter of a preacher, was blues more of an acceptable type of music for you to pursue?

Blu: Being the daughter of a preacher, there wasn't, and still isn't, an acceptable type of music to pursue. I don't think music would last if you only did what's considered "acceptable." If you aren't feeling what you're playing, no one else will, either. With that said, I guess the blues pursued me.

IN: You've got some pretty well known musicians listed as your musical influences. What is it about Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix and John Lee Hooker that inspires you?

Blu: All of the artists listed inspire me in different ways, but one of the main points would be the intensity of the connection between themselves, the music and their audience. Connection is key, and it's not always easy, I have found.

IN: Growing up, you spent some time with the older generations, rather than folks your own age. What do you take away from that knowledge and experience?

Blu: I have always gravitated to people older than myself. As a young child, I began seeking answers to questions that would plague my mind, and just simply over thinking in general. I quickly found the company of my elders to be more intriguing and intellectually satisfying, I suppose. The knowledge and experiences have led me to where I am today, so I couldn't ask for more.

IN: Say you were as good at playing the guitar as I am, which is not very good at all. What else would you be doing?

Blu: If I wasn't doing what I am now, I'm pretty sure they'd have me locked up in the loony bin! Music is continual and cheap therapy for me! (laughs)

IN: Is this show your first television performance? Talk about overcoming your fear of performing. Are you excited?

Blu: Yes, this will be my first TV performance, and, hopefully, not my last! I am so far beyond excited. I can barely contain myself! I am so grateful for this opportunity.

info@inweekly.net

- by Bradley "B.J." Davis Jr.

WSRE's Concert series StudioAmped will feature local blues singer/songwriter Sadie Blu on Saturday, July 19 at 7 p.m. StudioAmped is a concert series that features local artists/bands in concert at the WSRE performance studio. The performances will be taped and edited for a television series that will air this fall on WSRE.

Who:Sadie Blu

What: StudioAmped, concert series from WSRE

When: Saturday, July 19 at 7 p.m.

Where: WSRE Amos Performance Studio

Cost: $7.00



Sadie Blu is a shy 18 year-old girl from Milton with brazenly soulful and honest lyrics. She grew up listening to blues and rock'n'roll and names some of her influences as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Norah Joes, Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks. Sadie began to play guitar and write songs at the age of 12. Too shy to share her music publically, Sadie was discovered by one of her mother's friends that works as a talent agent. On May 14, 2008,Sadie and her band had their first show in Atlanta for Epic and Atlantic Records. - Corsair.com (Pensacola Junior College, FL)

After becoming a favorite at Milton's Mainstreet Café and making her mark on the Atlanta music scene, local singer/songwriter Sadie Blu is preparing to hit the public airwaves.
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Today, Blu will perform at the Jean and Paul Amos Performance Studio on the Pensacola Junior College main campus. The performance will be recorded by local PBS station, WSRE-TV, and aired in September, making it Blu's first televised performance.

"I'm honored they (WSRE) chose me," said Blu, a Milton High School graduate. "I was shocked that they contacted me. I appreciate the opportunity."

Blu's performance will be the third installment in the first season of WSRE's "Studio Amped" series, a concert series that features local and regional talent. The show's producers chose Blu among a number of local artists and approached her earlier this year, said Robin McArthur, manager of marketing and promotions for WSRE.

"We sought out talent we thought would be good for our program," McArthur said. "I think she's quite a young budding talent. She's wise beyond her years as far as some of her writing goes."

In recent weeks, Blu has had to battle shyness and sickness to perform today. Approximately two weeks ago, a virus temporarily robbed the singer of her voice, forcing her and WSRE to delay the performance, which was originally scheduled for late-July. However, now that her voice is back, all Blu has to overcome are her nerves. But, that shouldn't be a problem.

"I am a little nervous," Blu said, "but I get nervous over basically any kind of performance. I have a good feeling about it (the WSRE performance). It's not a dread kind of nervousness."

Blu began playing guitar at the age of 12, though she said she began writing poetry long before that. Initially too shy to even play and sing in front of her parents, the former Milton resident made her debut at Milton's Riverfest last year. Eventually, the singer/songwriter began playing her bluesy, soulful music on a regular basis at the Mainstreet Café and Blues Cafe in Pensacola.

Blu moved to Atlanta a couple months ago and has been active in that area's music scene. Earlier this week, she performed in the 10th Annual Great Atlanta Blues & Music Festival.
- Pensacola News Journal