Gainesville’s Savants of Soul has acquired its newest member, a lead singer who will be making her debut with the band Friday.
Hairstylist by day, singer by night, Chelsea Oxendine will take the stage for her first-ever performance with the band at The Jam, located at 817 W. University Ave.
“We’re always looking to book quality because it’s important to us,” said Blake Briand, The Jam’s owner-operator, “and Savants of Soul are definitely one of the top local Gainesville bands.”
The band will perform at 9 p.m. and tickets can be purchased for $7.
Ray Vigil, the band’s alto saxophone player, heard her singing for the first time during karaoke.
“Ray pretty much told me that I had to do it,” Oxendine laughed.
The singer was selected after competing in the band’s three-round audition against 10 other female vocalists, according to its website.
“Dude, when she first walked in and sang for us I was just like ‘whoa,’” said Alex Klausner, drummer for the Savants of Soul. “She’s got such a powerful voice, man.”
It was an exciting but stressful time, Oxendine said.
All of her stress and work paid off when her voice and personality earned her the spot.
“She brought a lot of energy; she has a lot of charisma,” said Jason Beverung, trombone player for the band. “She’s very confident in herself.”
Oxendine attributes her confidence to her experience as a performer and daily interactions with customers as a hairstylist.
“If you looked at me maybe six years ago, you wouldn’t have said I was confident and charismatic,” Oxendine said.
At a young age, the vocalist began singing at church in her hometown, Live Oak. In high school, she began taking formal lessons with Anita Countryman.
Her next voice teacher, the late Owen Wingate, taught her a lot about her voice and herself as a person, Oxendine said.
After graduating from Stetson University, she began performing in the Nicole Nouveau Band.
The band’s breakup was a tough time for her, but she remained passionate about music and would perform whenever she had the chance, Oxendine said. During that time, she said she missed the synergy that came from being a member of a band.
“Now I’ve got nine of them around me during band practice, and it’s amazing,” Oxendine said. “They all write, they all give great input, they’re all extremely well-educated; and I couldn’t ask for anything better at this point.”
Anticipating the upcoming show, the singer said she’s excited for first-timers to see what makes the band so special and for fans of the band to see what she can do.
“All I can say — it’s gonna be a really good show,” Oxendine said. “It’s going to be different than any show they’ve had before.”
Showing part of the charisma and confidence that made her stand out, the singer joked, “Because I’m going to be there, duh.”
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 6/11/15]
