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Abby Wells, a rising star from Edgewater
By Anne Jardine
For some babies, life is a song. Abby Wells was such a child.
Her mother and grandparents recall Abby joyously singing away in her car seat whenever her family drove anywhere. Abby sang in the bath, in bed, at meals, out in the yard. She sang with the radio or television. She recalled songs easily. She made up her own songs to relate the narrative of her days. Abby lived her little life inside her music.
Abby’s mother, Trudi Wells, knew that this little girl had a gift. There was no question about music lessons. Abby would get them if she wanted them. And she did. Edgewater music teacher Carol Wilkie has tutored many gifted children and has worked with Abby for the past few years. She is impressed by the range, clarity, and consistency of Abby’s voice, and her enthusiasm for music. This is a girl with a song in her heart, and a need to share it with whoever wants to listen.
In 2012, 13-year-old Abby appeared for a brief set at the Steamboat Mountain Music Festival. She was all set to do one or two songs a cappella. Backstage, she met 17-year-old Elijah Beingessner who offered to accompany her on one of the songs. Abby stepped up bravely to the mike unaccompanied and sang The Rose with a plaintive purity that sent an appreciative hush over the festival grounds. Then with Eli on electric guitar, she delivered a powerful rendition of Rollin in the Deep, an Adele song. The crowd went wild. Abby connects to her material through its emotional content – then she uses that to connect to her audience. She channels the feelings.
Last year, she played on the Steamboat stage and captured the hearts of the audience once again. Her vocal confidence had grown noticeably, and she teamed up with Marty and Eli Beingessner as her back-up band for a pair of country numbers One Time Around, and A Thousand Years.
Asked about her musical influences, Abby is quick to name her mentors Carol Wilkie and Marty and Eli Beingessner. “The Beingessners have been especially kind and supportive, and they’ve helped me overcome my shyness,” she says.
This year, as a mature 15-year-old, Abby will perform for her third time at the Steamboat Mountain Music Fest. She’ll have four songs on her set, with her back-up band Abby Road. She plans to reveal a different side of herself with material by Pat Benetar, Guns and Roses, and Alannah Miles. She says she is taking things up a notch, “This year I’m coming out of my shell.”
In regards to the future, Abby is about as definite as a 15-year-old can be, “I plan to graduate Grade 12, and then I’m already considering university programs. I want to study the art of vocal music.”
Don’t miss Abby Wells at Steamboat Mountain Music Festival on Saturday, July 5 in Edgewater.
