Grammy nominated country singer and songwriter Cam delivered a TEDx Talk and performance on January 21st for the TEDxUniversityofNevada conference in front of a live audience in Reno, NV. The talk is entitled 'Life Can Be Tough. Music Can Help.' and it is available to watch now HERE. See Cam's performance from the event HERE.
Initially TEDx's event coordinator, Dr. Bret Simmons, reached out to the country superstar to appear as a performer but upon learning she has worked in psychology labs at both Stanford and Berkeley, he invited her to take the speaker's stage as well to discuss her firsthand knowledge of the power music has on the human condition.
"It only lasted about 11 minutes... but I was more terrified than I've ever been in my life. To share knowledge publicly means I had to first believe that I have knowledge worth sharing (and questioning myself is pretty much my superpower)," said Cam. "Then came the task of crafting a speech (NOT a song. Very different, for the record) that could help people see the world in a new way: A world that is full of music and has always been full of music. Why that's not an accident. How we need music on a basic human level. It's not new information, but it's just often forgotten that music is an essential part of our humanity. I couldn't let people miss out on that understanding."
During the conference Cam also performed three songs off of her debut album,
Untamed and spoke about the emotional inspiration that was involved in the making of those songs ("Burning House," "Runaway Train," and "Village"), reiterating that "Life Can Be Tough, Music Can Help."
Cam closed her speech with the following message to the audience:
"Are you getting the most you can out of music? I really want to remind you that music is not just the background at a shopping mall, it's not just weekend entertainment. It's a tool that our species developed to help us heal ourselves and soothe our souls. Music carries the burden of our heartbreak. It allows us to process grief. It reminds us that good things are coming and it lets us know that we are not struggling alone. So let music do its job. Life can be tough, Music can help."
Cam is currently in the process of writing and recording her second studio album. She is also headed to the ACM Awards in Las Vegas, airing April 2 where she is nominated for New Female Vocalist Of The Year. Shortly after on April 7 she kicks off as the opener for George Strait's residency in Las Vegas, Nevada at the
T-Mobile Arena that runs through December 2017.
About Cam California-born singer/songwriter Cam emerged as one of the past year's true breakthrough artists, achieving her first Platinum record and first #1 country single with "Burning House," which earned her a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Country Solo Performance. In fact, she was the only female country act to release a song in 2015 and amass a million downloads by the end of the year. The success also sparked Cam to six nominations for the 2016
Academy of Country Music Awards (most-nominated female), two nods for the American Country Countdown Awards, three nominations for the CMT Music Awards (tied for most-nominated artist), two nods for the 2016 CMA Awards and one for the Music American Awards. Her
Untamed album on Arista Nashville/RCA Records, which released December 11, 2015, debuted at #2 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart with the year's best first-week album sales by a debut country artist. Co-produced by 2016 Grammy Producer of the Year winner Jeff Bhasker and multiple Grammy nominee Tyler Johnson,
Untamed released to widespread critical acclaim from The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, PEOPLE, Associated Press, and many others. Cam, who co-wrote each of her 11 debut album tracks, has appeared on national TV programs including
Good Morning America, Today, CBS This Morning, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Talk, LIVE with Kelly, The Voice, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Grammys, ACM Awards, CMT Music Awards and CMA Awards. As the opening talent, this rising country star toured on Brad Paisley's Crushin' It Tour and Dierks Bentley's Somewhere On A Beach Tour. After recently headlining her sold-out headline concert series, The Burning House Tour, Cam is looking forward to 2017 shows on George Strait's tour, Stagecoach, C2C country festival stops in London, Dublin and Glasgow and a
Bush Hall headline show in London, and multiple Grand Ole Opry appearances, among others.
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