On April 22, singer/songwriter and FRHS sophomore Alexa Shanley performed live on local radio station 88.9 KRFC’s show, KFRC at Lunch.

Shanley, originally from Evergreen, Colorado, has been growing within the local scene since she started performing at age 13.  Although, she has modest feelings about it.  “It’s not about the recognition for me.  I could care less.  I just love to do it.”  She used to be “lucky” if she performed once a month, but this summer will consists of a more busy schedule, sometimes scheduled for two performances a week.

At first, music was just a hobby of hers that she would come back to at her leisure, sometimes singing once in a while just for “the heck of it.”  But as time has gone on, music has become a passion of hers.  She gives credit to Fort Collins for this.  “There’s a great music scene [here].  I would have never known.”  Now, performing on stage, just her and her acoustic guitar, music is the flame that lights up her life.  “I’ve become attached to it because I feel like I could sometimes reach people and get them to kind of get emotional through my songs.  I just feel like I’m doing something by speaking to them, I hope.”

Her sound is that of what she calls “singer/songwriter” and is based on her influences, which include Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Ed Sheeren, and other singer/songwriter and alternative music.  Other than that, her musical tastes range from Ellie Goulding to even dubstep.

Now, performing is possibly Shanley’s future.  She hopes to make it into a career. The possibility becomes more and more real every day, as she just recorded a demo a couple of weeks ago.  Although, currently, her father, a lawyer, is the closest thing she has to a manager.

The clubs she’s performed at range from clubs all over Fort Collins, such as the Aggie, Everday Joe’s, the Lyric Cinema Café.  She has also performed other venues in different locations around Colorado including Evergreeen, Greeley, Denver, and Arvada.

One adventure in Shanley’s performing career was when she performed at Little Bear, a bar in Evergreen.  The audience there was different than her usual audience, consisting of old men and bikers.  “It was cool because they actually dug my music.  And I wouldn’t think they would,” she remarked about it.

“I feel like I’ve always just known that my heart is where I write my music.  It’s just one of those things that I really enjoy and I love.”