On Friday, April 5, three of YouTube’s most popular singer-songwriters are joining forces and performing together at Syracuse University. SUTUBE brings together Kara Della Valle, Grace Doty and Heather Janssen for a concert event in Jabberwocky Café (in Schine Student Center) at 8 p.m.
With a combined total of more than four million views, these YouTube artists are coming together for the first time to perform some of their most popular covers and original material. From Macklemore to Taylor Swift, you can expect to hear an acoustic twist on some of today’s biggest hits from three of YouTube’s most promising young talents. They will also be joined by Otto Tunes, Syracuse University’s all-male a cappella group, for a special collaboration. The show is free and open to the public.
Kara Della Valle
Like fellow Canadian Justin Bieber, 20-year-old Della Valle got her start on YouTube. Unlike most YouTube artists, however, Della Valle’s first video was an original song. While her cover videos have also become popular, Della Valle is first and foremost a singer-songwriter. In November 2012, she released the follow-up to her successful independent debut, “Out Loud.” Her new EP, “Glass,” is now available at all major digital outlets. During its first week on sale, “Glass” hit the Top 100 Country Albums chart on iTunes. Although Della Valle’s blend of country, pop, rock and folk is reminiscent of some of the great female singer-songwriters of the ’90s, “I want to be the first ‘Kara Della Valle,’” she says, “I’ve done things differently my whole life and I don’t intend on changing now.”
Grace Doty
Doty is a pop rock singer-songwriter from Westchester, N.Y. Her musical influences include the complex harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash and the classic rock tunes of the Beatles, and such acts as Paramore, Susan Tedeschi, Alison Krauss and John Mayer. In addition to being a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and classically trained vocalist, Doty is an avid songwriter. Doty’s uniquely edgy and honest style of songwriting balances sweet and haunting melodies with poetry, clever word-play and just the right amount of classic rock ‘n’ roll. Her debut EP, “Stuff From My Brain,” is now available on iTunes.
Heather Janssen
Janssen is a singer-songwriter from Dundas, Ontario. She is known for her acoustic covers on YouTube, tackling artists ranging from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to Justin Bieber. However, her most popular video on YouTube is an original song. Janssen’s songwriting skills can be heard on self-penned compositions like “My Mind’s Made Up” and “Checkers,” the latter of which has nearly 300,000 hits. Janssen’s acoustic mix of folk and pop draws comparisons to some of the greatest female singer-songwriters of our time, like Jewel and Sarah McLachlan. Studio versions of both her cover songs and original material can be found on iTunes.
