Judge for Heather Michele Cohen

Heather Michele Cohen

Heather Michele Cohen was born and raised alongside the Missouri River in historical Saint Joseph, Missouri. Not unlike Tom Sawyer or Jesse James, she spent her youth running wild and chasing the wind. But, ultimately, it was her love for music that would prevail and lead her down the path to what Heather believes is her destiny. 'Looking back on the events of my life I realize that everything was pointing in the same direction,' she says candidly.

Not surprisingly, much of Heather's family is musical. Her mother played the piano. Her father played the guitar. Her uncle is an actor/producer of musical theatre. Even her younger brother plays multiple instruments. It's not hard to believe that Heather knew from a very young age what she wanted to do when she 'grew up'.

'My grandmother had enrolled me in every kind of lesson that you could imagine to prepare me for stardom. I took dance, piano, vocal, and guitar lessons. Then, came the competitions and pageants.'

For years, she entertained various audiences at local and regional competitions. Rarely did she not at least place. And, more often than not, onlookers would approach her and/or her family to tell them how impressed they were. 'You're going to be a star someday,' they would say. Even her elementary music teacher recognized the talent that she had and awarded her the lead role in the school recital. The frizzy headed kindergartener strutted back and forth across the stage while she sang 'Tomorrow' (from the Annie soundtrack), all the while, the sixth grade choir sang background vocals for her.

Although her teen years were rocky, she found comfort in writing and singing. 'Sometimes I would think that music was all I had.' She would climb onto the roof of her grandparents garage and sing songs that she'd written to the neighborhood.

Fast forward to today and you will find that Heather's determination to follow her dreams has been well worth weathering the bumps in the road. Her self-released single 'Could've Been Me' has been burning up the airwaves since May of 2010 and has made it into the top spots on Indie World, New Music Weekly, and Breakout Country Charts. Also, in May, she was a top 10 finalist in the Wildflower Festival's prestigious Singer Songwriter Competition (out of 300 contestants). And, she was second runner up in Gary Allen's 'Best Song in the World' competition.

She's been spotted playing her originals (both full band and acoustic) around Nashville, TN at venues such as; Commodore, Red Rooster, The Listening Room, Richard's Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, Hotel Indigo, Picks, Paradise Park, Blue Bar, and Calhoun's. And, she's been interviewed on over thirty stations nation wide.

You can bet that she's not going to stop here. Heather's career is well deserved and on a steady incline.

Find out more about Heather Michele Cohen by visiting her website:

www.heathermichelecohen.com