Who is Becca Bowen? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music
Who is Becca Bowen? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…
Becca Bowen // Photo credit: Kelsey Cotton
Quick Facts:
Full Name – Rebecca Bowen
Birthdate – June 23rd
Hometown – West Columbia, South Carolina
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical Influences – Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Shania Twain
Current Record – County Line EP
The Beginning:
Today’s spotlight shines on singer-songwriter, Becca Bowen. Bowen chatted with us about her journey to country music, her upbringing, and the incredible music that she is currently releasing and sharing with her growing fanbase.
“I actually grew up in West Columbia, South Carolina, and I started singing at the age of five years old in my church. I have a lot of memories of just singing in the church,” began the singer-songwriter. Bowen recalls traveling with her gospel group throughout childhood, honing her talent as a vocalist as she performed with her peers.
At the same time, her family was introducing her to country music. She recalls loving artists like George Strait, Shania Twain, and Garth Brooks, among many others. “I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I started singing country because of my grandfather. He used to sit in the kitchen and play the guitar for me, and we’d listen to Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn, all those wonderful artists. It really influenced me,” she shared. Adding, “My mom’s entire side of her family played country music. It was just so cool to watch them at family reunions and it really influenced me in to knowing that was the path that I wanted to take, going into country music.”
Like many fans and artists in country music, Bowen fell in love with the storytelling aspect of the genre. “I love it for the storytelling, and of course, I’m a songwriter, and when you think of country music you think about storytelling and songwriting.”
The Turning Point:
While there were many turning points in Bowen’s life, there was one moment where she knew that she was meant to pursue country music as her career. “It really didn’t dawn on me that this was what I was going to be doing the rest of my life until I had the opportunity to open for a country act named Alabama.” Teenaged Becca was enamored with performing and loved being on stage. “Once I got on that stage and opened up for that country group, I was like ‘this is it, this is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.’”
Bowen’s life continued to unfold as it should with music being one of the most important components. The singer even moved to New York City to pursue theatre. During this stage in her life, songwriting became a focal point. “I started writing when I was very young. Actually, strangely, I was living in New York at that time, I had went from singing gospel to loving theatre. […] I did some off-Broadway musicals and theatre, and during the time, I started writing. It just came out of nowhere. I think it was because I was around so many creative people, and I haven’t stopped writing since.”
Another breakthrough moment occurred for Bowen during the pandemic, where she decided that she was done with any ‘Plan Bs.’ “During COVID, I think everybody had a chance to reevaluate their lives and what they wanted to be doing. During COVID, that’s when I said, I’m going to put everything I have into this, I’m not going to have a plan B. I’m going to absolutely pursue this, and I think I started writing a lot more, I started pouring my heart out, and being vulnerable with my music, more than I ever had before, and I think it’s very hard to be vulnerable, it’s very hard to let people know what you are going through, and during that time, it really did change my outlook on life.”
Today:
Flash forward to today, Bowen is releasing the most honest and authentic music to date. Her EP, County Line features four songs that speak to the singer’s artistry and songwriting. The collection of the songs is the first time the songstress released a body of work that came from personal experience and showed off her songwriting.
“I had happened to write a song with Sam Wood called “Son of a Gun.” It was about this guy who had cheated on me and we started playing that song at different writer’s round. As people began to hear it, they started saying, ‘I’d love if you’d put that up. I want to hear it and listen to it,'” she began. “And from that, it opened up this idea that maybe I should put out a collection of songs that I have written because people relate to them and I feel like the stuff that I write is geared to my roots in South Carolina and more vulnerable, and people just loved that.”
She went on to write “If I’m Being Honest” next. “We also wrote, “If I’m Being Honest,” which is just the time that I was trying to get over that guy and going out and having fun.” The next two songs unfolded organically to tell the story of healing and triumph despite the challenges and heartbreak along the way.
“I was like I need to put out a collection of songs that tells a story, and that’s what I ended up doing, going from heartbreak to chasing my dreams,” She tells us. Adding, “‘County Line’ is definitely about chasing my dreams, and then after that, by the end of the EP, you realize somewhere in this journey that this girl found herself.”
Bowen created this project both for herself, but more importantly for the fans that relate to it. She is spreading a message of resiliency and going after your dreams. “I just wanted to show people that you can be happy and you don’t need a significant other to do that, you can find happiness in life and in your dreams, so that’s kind of how the EP came to be, because I just wanted to help other people heal.”
Fans can be on the lookout for more new music coming down the pipeline soon.
Connect:
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Becca Bowen’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.