Charity Stow

A Profile

Musicians, songwriters especially, are a rare breed indeed. They can be some of the most confident people you’ll ever meet while at the same time be the most introverted person in your group. They can control a room with their songs but would rather sit in a comfortable silence than have to make small talk. So what makes these quiet beings become some of the loudest performers in creative circles? Well, for Stamford native Charity Stow it would be the support of her family and friends that would help her awaken a talent she didn’t think she had.

“….I got my first guitar when I was about 15, and my dad taught me a little bit, then we eventually started going to a little village open mic, which I didn’t really want to go to at the time, I felt a bit scared and nervous, but my mum made me go, and that kind of ended up being the stage where I played some of my worst, but also some of my best, and really learned to play properly….” Charity

So, with the support only a mother can give Charity began expanding her sphere and found a new confidence in her own music. Though her home town of Stamford was small compared to the vast music scenes around it, it still played a huge role in getting Charity’s confidence with performing off the ground.

“….I started to do some more local gigs in my hometown at various bars and cafes and things, and there was actually an arts centre where I worked for a while that I’d say, ‘Can I have this afternoon off, oh and can I perform in the bar?’, and that along with a couple of cafes in the area really helped to build my confidence and help me to realise that maybe music was something I wanted to do a bit more professionally….” Charity

With her new direction In mind, Charity took the next step and began penning her own original music.

“….I didn’t really enjoy the idea of writing original songs during my open mic night days, and I kind of reached a point where I felt l

ike if I was going to write songs, I would’ve by now, but then, once I actually settled down and sort of, opened the gates, it came pourin

ng music scene it had going on, I’d loved to have packed up and moved to London, but that just felt like a bigger change than I could handle at the time, so I moved to Nottingham and its turned out to be great for my confidence and my music….” Charity

g out of me, I started thinking about things I didn’t even realise were there, it just felt easier….” Charity

As she wrote and began to think of where she wanted her music to take her, Charity took the decision to move away from her hometown of Stamford and dip her toe into a larger music scene, hoping it would help her reach the next level in her musical journey.

“….My sister and some friends had been to Nottingham and told me how nice it was, and then I started to see what a thrivi

Fresh on to the scene, it wasn’t long before Charity had connected with several other artists and venues and had begun to make a name for herself in the local area.

“….I managed to get in at a few venues here in Nottingham and met a few people, discovered there is a huge wealth of brilliant musicians here, I knew some of them, as Nottingham musicians and so really just enjoyed getting to know them a bit more and even start supporting them at their own gigs and stuff, and now its got to the point where I’ve got myself quite a few gigs now in some great venues in Nottingham, and just feel really accepted and like I’m part of this great scene….” Charity

Settled in Nottingham, 2019 would see Charity release her first single, ‘Here’ to the world.

“….I’d kind of made a demo at home to start with, its nothing like the actual single now, but the roots are still there, but it was the first time I’d ever sort of produced something myself, or at least tried to, like I’m not a bass player, but I thought I could pick out a few notes that I thought might fit and things like that and it went okay, and felt good to do it….” Charity

Demo in hand, Charity hit the studio to polish up her first offering, again with the support of her family behind her.

“….My dad would come with me to the studio and help out, and honestly, in that first year or so I sort of sat back, and was like, ‘well you know what your doing, your the producer, engineer etc, so I’ll trust you’, but now….I’m a bit more hands on, a bit more confident in my own choices, put it this way, I’ve just had a mix back from my producer and me and my Dad have both listened to it and he was like, ‘well here is one thing I would change’, while I’m now like, ‘well here is eight or nine things I’d like to change’, so yeah, its just one of those things the more you do it the easier and more confident you can feel with it….” Charity

With her new found confidence and comfort with the scene and her own musical direction Charity forged ahead with one mantra at the heart of all of her songwriting.

“….I let each song really write itself genre wise, I really do try not to be pigeon holed as one particular style, I do have a core part of me in each song but I just kind of write what I’m feeling at the time, like one time I might be feeling a bit country, the next a bit more pop, its just all about what your feeling in the moment for me really….” Charity

With her clear vision Charity went on to release several more singles to an overwhelmingly positive response and continued to cement herself into the Nottingham scene. Around the same time a local project called Fusion had began to record live sessions at Dubreck Studio’sin Derby and a few of the videos caught Charity’s eye. Little did she know that it would open up a whole new realm of opportunities for her.

“….I’d seen some of the videos and thought that they looked really cool, and so I kind of said ‘Hello, can I do one please?’, and I got invited in and got to record a couple of songs with them and it was just a great experience, then after chatting with Imran, who is in charge of Fusion, it kind of evolved into me taking on more of a presenting role for his future sessions, doing interviews a stuff like that….” Charity

Taking on the role of presenter for the sessions opened up a whole new avenue of creativity and experiences for Charity.

“….Presenting is like an entirely different monster, it made me really think about things I was saying, presenting etc,but I am enjoying the experience it is giving me, and especially in interviews, I like to think that as an artist myself, I know what the boring questions are, what the fun ones are, and can kind of bring my own angle on it really, but I’m just really grateful for the opportunity because on top of presenting I just get to connect with brilliant artists each time and discover more great talent….” Charity

So, as Charity Stow singer/songwriter, now adds presenter and interviewer to her tool kit of creativity she has come on in leaps and bounds from the young fifteen year old who was reluctantly persuaded to take to a small stage and perform for the first time. With many years of creating brilliant music ahead of her, not only is Charity not lacking in creativity and inspiration but also seemingly has a never ending supply of support. Whether its her fellow artists joining her on the unforgiving journey of musician ship, or the warm comfort of her family, one thing is clear. No matter what the future holds for her, there will always be someone cheering her on.

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