“When you’re surrounded by so many talented people, it inspires you.” Building her music
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“It was intimidating at first but I kept thinking, ‘No one here is going to know I only know how to play a few chords on the guitar. Cullen was one of the youngest people in the room. When her mom, Anne, heard “Fly Away,” she decided Cullen should go to a summer songwriting program at the Boston-based Berklee College of Music. But when she realized she could simultaneously sing and play Taylor Swift songs on her guitar, something clicked.Īt 13, Cullen wrote her first song, “Fly Away,” sparked by an afternoon strumming guitar in her backyard against the backdrop of neighborhood noises like her dog barking at chirping birds. In 2019, she played Margo, one of the female leads, in “Bright Star” at Sonoma Academy, where she went to high school.Īt 10, when Cullen saw her brother taking guitar lessons, she was so intrigued she decided to learn the instrument, too. Cullen also acted on stage as a kid, playing a “wild thing” in “Where the Wild Things Are” and a princess in a Shakespeare play, both at Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma. She comes from a family of music and entertainment lovers, most notably her grandmother, who sings in a choir. Later, she joined a choir made of singers from all over the world to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Soon enough, she was performing at high-profile venues, such as at a 49er halftime show in Candlestick Park and at the Olympic Park in London, both with the children’s choir. “It’s always been a huge part of my life.”īorn in Millbrae in San Mateo County and raised in Petaluma, Cullen started singing in a children’s choir when she was just 5. “It’s been a part of my identity for as long as I can remember,” she said. The award is just the latest step in her journey, which started when she was just a little girl.Ĭullen can’t remember a time when she wasn’t humming a tune or singing songs. Now 19, Cullen is continuing her momentum as a performer and musician, having recently won the annual Nashville Songwriter Scholarship from the BMI Foundation, a nonprofit that supports music and music study with scholarships and commissions. It also gave her the confidence she needed to find her calling. It made me grow as a performer and artist.”īusking on the street gave the Petaluma native practice in front of an audience.
That time in my life truly helped me find my voice. “It was even more nerve-racking when they’d stay and listen.
“It was nerve-racking when they’d pass by and didn’t listen,” Cullen said. Each week, with a sign and a jar to collect donations she would send to Rwanda, Cullen sang songs she wrote herself. If you were living in Petaluma a few years ago and went to the Boulevard 14 Cinema for a movie, you might remember a young woman busking in front of the theater, with her guitar and soft, angelic voice.įor five years, starting when she was just 13, Chloe Cullen shared her budding talent with downtown visitors.
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