Today we’d like to introduce you to Christen Ball.
Hi Christen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a musical family— my mom played piano, my grandpa played guitar, and my aunt was an opera singer. Music was in my blood, so it was natural to lean into my own DNA. My family signed me up for piano lessons early on…but my heart longed to have a different approach than playing classical music from staff music. I walked away from music, thinking I wanted to be a cartoonist instead. But then, when I discovered the guitar…that changed everything. My grandpa showed me my first chords and the rest was history. Writing songs from the guitar was natural to me— I started writing song after song in high school, running back headfirst into music.
Throughout college (I went to college in Tulsa, OK), I played live as much as I could at coffeehouses and any venue that would have me.
I moved to Nashville, TN, after college to pursue music. I explored a few different versions of a music career (I worked at a church for a while and then was a full-time background singer/guitarist for other artists) before finally settling into my destiny as my own artist.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve definitely encountered a lot of obstacles. From a career standpoint, I’ve wrestled with questioning which “lane” I should pursue until recently. Thankfully, I feel like the Lord gave me a lot of clarity on this during a trip to Israel in December…and these past few months have been much more focused than years before.
Personally, there were difficult factors in my childhood (such as my parents getting divorced and my mom being a single mom) that presented obstacles. In my adult life. I’ve struggled on and off with depression and anxiety, but am thankful I’ve been having victory in these areas recently.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a music artist/songwriter in Nashville, TN. My music is somewhere between Alt-Rock and Americana (imagine, if you will, Radiohead meets Sheryl Crow). In the past couple of years, I’ve released seven singles that explore this Alt-Rock to Americana spectrum.
I write songs a lot in alternate tunings on guitar—I love incorporating unique and unexpected chord changes and melodies using this foundation.
I love making music with my friends. My favorite part of getting to do music full-time is getting to create and play music with friends. I have a band here in Nashville and my favorite way to perform is with them. My husband is my drummer!
Speaking of a full band setting…I’ve been hosting a full band songwriter night in East Nashville on the 4th Wednesday of the month at Living Waters Brewing in East Nashville. Each month, four songwriters (including me) perform songs backed by this band. It’s been a blast to get to be a part of the music scene in Nashville in this way. I hope that something I can always do is be supportive of other artists, and this has been a great way to do that.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’ve done my own album art for five of my last seven singles. Since I used to want to be a cartoonist, it has been fun to express myself visually in this way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christenballmusic.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/christenballmusic
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/christenballmusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ngcAn3TiuTGsanhq8C5RN?si=g3_UgBAOSh2jIwlpko0Adw
Image Credits
May Yao
