EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. There are several new features this year: Voodoo Productions’ street theater will include roaming graffiti stilt walkers, contortionists and living master works of art. Salt Lake Acting Company will appear for the first time at the festival, offering a sample from its upcoming summer show, The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive. Urban Arts is offering its largest live graffiti mural installation, while a row of several other artists will be demonstrating their creative process in real time. For kids, as admission for those 12 and under will be free, there will be plenty of make-and-take art options in Frozen Spaces in the Art Yard. The City Library auditorium will be the home to the 22nd edition of the international Fear No Film program, with the strongest slate of narrative short films in the event’s history. Of course, dance, who wears the empress jewels in performing arts, will be represented by Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Echoing Spirit Dancers and, of course, the ever-popular 1520 Arts, at The Round. For tickets and more information, see the Utah Arts Festival website.
KAYLA VON DER HEIDE
From Bisbee, Arizona, Kayla Von der Heide is a singer and songwriter whose muse is the desert Southwest. Fans of The Voice will recognize her from the show’s 22nd season (2022) when she was on Team Gwen (Stefani). She won her first songwriting contest with Gems on VHS in Nashville in 2020. For more, see these links about her music and videos.
TUR: Would like a brief account of how you started and decided to set out on its performing and writing music platforms.
KVH: I started writing music when I was really young on my keyboard, then it evolved to guitar when I was around 17. The reason I wanted to learn an instrument was so that I could sing out all of my big feelings because I was always such a shy person. It’s very therapeutic to me and I’ve been writing music ever since and it’s just something I think I’ll never be able to stop.
TUR: What is your musical training and background coming in as a performer?
KVH: I had an amazing guitar teacher when I was a teenager that showed me the general stuff on a guitar. Her name was Ms. Sandy in Apple Valley, California. Other than that, I’ve always played and enjoyed writing things by ear and just having fun with creating my own stuff! I had some desert rock bands when I first started out. I also got to work with Gwen Stefani a little bit on The Voice and I definitely learned a lot about the vocal cords that way and how to take care of your signature style as an artist.
TUR: Who do you consider as role models, inspirations and influences in your music and performing?
KVH: This is always a tricky thing for me to answer, but right now I’ve been diving back into a lot of the stuff I used to love as a teenager and Lauryn Hill has always been someone I deeply respect and enjoy as an artist. I loved Best Coast after I graduated high school and then I really gravitated towards the older music in my early twenties like Velvet underground, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt. I love all kinds of genres and my first concert was Britney Spears!
TUR: If you were to encapsulate your musical base into a simple phrase or tag, what would it be?
KVH: “Dreamy Desert Music.”
TUR: What do you consider the most essential elements of writing or performing a song for yourself that not only resonates with you but also with the audiences who have been coming to your shows?
KVH: I think the most essential part of songwriting is being genuine. Don’t be afraid of what you feel. Most of us humans in the world all go through similar things, and to never be afraid of your vulnerabilities. If you’re angry, write about it. If you’re sad, write about it. Transmute all of it into a good song and yell it out to the world with no shame! That’s the beauty of music.