When I told a friend of mine that I would be writing the
Arts and Culture column, she recommended that I meet a young singer by the name
of Pearl Clarkin. She spoke very highly
of Pearl and said she had something special.
So, of course, I had to see it for myself. Before meeting Pearl, I searched the Internet
to see what she was all about. I would describe what I saw as a beautiful girl
with lots of confidence and a zest for life.
Upon meeting her, I would definitely add to that list kind, humble and
determined.
Pearl says she wrote her first song “Even Though I Want To”
at the age of 12 with Macy Gray at an American Idol camp. She was chosen to be in the finale of the
camp, and the camp director told Pearl’s mom that she had it all. At age 14, Pearl recorded the song and made a
video. Pearl’s parents moved her from
Pensacola, Florida to Nashville for professional training. On her second day in town, CMT called wanting
her to be in a songwriter contest.
Things started happening really fast for Pearl and she says, “It just
got crazy”. She moved back to Pensacola
to live a normal life for a while.
Now 17 and living in Brentwood, Pearl is back on track and
headed in the right direction. She has
been working with Cowboy Troy at AStar Promotions and has opened for Charlie
Daniels and Zac Brown Band. She will
also be opening for Montgomery Gentry in the fall. She’s been seen around Nashville on stage at
the Hard Rock Café’, Just Kickin’, and she performed at the CMA Fest.
With all that she’s done in such a few short years, Pearl knows
she is still learning and has a lot more to experience. As I was interviewing her, she had a lot of
questions for me about my experience in the Nashville music scene. My advice to Pearl and anyone in this crazy
business is to take good care of yourself, find musicians you can rely on and
get along with and don’t let anyone take advantage of you. I hope Pearl listens to my advice. I will be following her and wishing her the
best in her career!
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