Country music touches fans all across the United States. Our Swag Spotlight artist this week, Belles is a shining example of that. Growing up in the middle of the country in Omaha, Nebraska, Belles fell in love with country music at an early age. She spent her childhood watching her mom on tour and falling in love one song at a time.

“I always wanted to do music, ever since I was a little kid. I wanted to be just like my mom and my aunts, and my grandma,” she begins. “My grandma was actually a Jazz singer in Chicago and then my mom was in a Pop band with her three sisters.” Despite the fact that her mom was in a Pop band, Belles credits her mother for introducing her to country music.

“I grew up listening to The Judds and Brooks & Dunn, and 90s country like Shania [Twain] and then Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, the [Dixie] Chicks were a huge influence,” shared the songstress. Belles also mentioned a love for artists like Dolly Parton, John Mayer, The Civil Wars, and Kacey Musgraves.

Although her grandmother had taught her to sing at an early age, it was not until she was fourteen that she started to perform. “When I was about 14, my mom was kind of playing coffee shops around Omaha and writing her own songs, and I asked to be her backup singer. It took a little bit of convincing,” she shares. Adding later, “Eventually she said yes and that kind of slowly turned into us becoming a duo.”

The Turning Point:

Belles took a short hiatus from music, when she followed the more traditional route after high school. She went to college for two years to pursue a degree in Chemistry with the hopes of becoming a doctor. “I ended up not really loving Chemistry,” she laughs. “I really just loved music and so after two years of that, I ended up moving to Nashville and started to write songs and meet as many people as I could.”

At nineteen years old, Belles made the move to Music City. Since being in the country music capital, the songstress worked to craft her songwriting and cultivate her artistry. She did not originally set out to pursue country music, but the organic nature of the genre captivated her. “I run the gamut of genres, but ultimately though, I just love country music,” declared Belles.

During her time in Nashville, Belles got a call from her friend and entertainer JoJo Siwa asking her to audition as an opener for Siwa’s tour. The songstress nailed the audition and Belles and her mother opened at arenas across the world for Siwa for an 82-city arena tour.

Although not used to the down time, the singer-songwriter continued to write songs even during quarantine, writing with anyone who wanted to write with her. “My goal was to write at least one song during every work day […] Through that, I grew so much as songwriter and as an artist.” She lated added, “I will always look back at it as a very pivotal time in my career.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Belles is making the transition to become her own artist, rather than a band with her mother and brother. She has already released her EP entitled All Hat No Cowboy. The record both introduces fans to her talent, as well as, showcases her personality.

“I like to write songs from a really strong female point of view, so when I was crafting this EP, I was really picking out songs that I felt like encapsulated my journey, a little bit of coming of age during the pandemic, and being this strong female figure that is really important to me,” she shared.

Belles also let us know that the EP was only supposed to be four tracks, but after a couple of songs went viral on TikTok, she knew she had to include them. “So I chose most of the songs and the people chose some of them as well.”

One song in particular, “Human Kindness”, was written during the pandemic and truly captures the emotive side of Belles. On the other hand, the title track, “All Hat No Cowboy” was one of the singer’s favorite tunes, but it almost did not make the project. Belles ultimately included the song because fans fell in love with it on social media.

Clearly this is only the beginning for Belles! After another stint out on the road for January through March with her mother and Siwa, the songstress promises there is more coming! “For the rest of the year, I’m going to be writing and playing a bunch of writer’s rounds here in Nashville and definitely playing shows next summer.” Another EP is likely on the horizon!

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