Carly Witt has always loved singing and playing music, but it wasn’t until she was twelve that she really began to take singing seriously. Like many pre-teen girls, her first musical inspiration was punk rocker Avril Lavigne. Carly especially loved listening to Lavigne’s single, Complicated. As Carly matured so did her music taste. She listens to a lot of folk music, and admires Taylor Swift for not only being a talented musician, but also for writing her own songs. One of her favorite parts of being a musician is songwriting. “I love the feeling of writing a new song and actually being happy with it because it’s original and it’s my own” Carly says.

Her sophomore year in high school, she took guitar lessons from Tom Proutt, and after a year she decided to continue playing on her own. She also enjoys performing, both by herself and with friends at Mudhouse’s Open Mic Night and other local venues. Her favorite performance happens to be her first, in Crozet’s very own Mudhouse. She loved having all of her family and friends there for support, and she was excited to see her music career begin to flourish.

In addition to juggling the stresses of high school, Carly has managed to develop a blossoming career as a singer and songwriter, and has already started to be recognized for her talent. She entered a songwriting competition at Rapunzel’s, in Lovingston, Virginia, and was one of the thirty finalists, which meant she was asked to perform her original song for a local audience. Carly had an ambitious New Year’s resolution for 2013: to make her own album. Incredibly enough, she did just that. She was able to record six original songs and four covers in a friend’s recording studio and compiled them into her very own acoustic album. Her fine, delicate voice, and melodious guitar playing give the album a very relaxing and soothing sound.

Carly has big plans for the future. She is currently writing songs that she hopes to compile into another album called One Year. She plans to study music at Appalachian State University and major in music performance. During or after college she intends to live in Nashville for a year to expand her music experience. She will continue to write new songs, and is eager to collaborate with other songwriters in the future. At some point, she hopes to take her talent to a new level and form a band.

Carly will pursue a music career as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. “Playing music is something I do everyday and cannot go without. It’s like second nature; like eating and sleeping,” she says. Being a musician, Carly is very attached to her instruments. Firstly, her unique voice is what sparked her musical aspirations. She also has two guitars: a big Baby Taylor and a small Takamini electric guitar, which she uses for playing shows when she needs to use an amplifier to have a louder sound.

Carly’s talents are quickly being recognized locally, and with good reason. If her first album is any indication of where her career will go, she is off to a very good start. Her creative lyrics, mellow sound, and the overall “feel good” vibes that she conveys through her music makes anyone want to sit down, close their eyes, relax, and just listen to the sound of her voice. She is determined to make it in the challenging music business, and she hopes to broaden her musical horizon somewhere else next year to continue her success.