Sheridan
Gates ’14
Singing has been a lifelong passion for Sheridan Gates; country music is a newer pursuit. Since moving to Nashville in 2016, the theatre and pyschology major has embraced the city’s teeming music scene, collaborating with other young performers as she writes and records her own songs.
What’s your essential tool for songwriting?
a. Piano
b. Guitar
c. Pencil and paper?
b. Guitar
c. Pencil and paper?
Lyrics are really my thing, so for me, it starts with a pencil and paper.
Which female lead in A Star is Born is your favorite?
a. Judy Garland
b. Barbra Streisand
c. Lady Gaga
b. Barbra Streisand
c. Lady Gaga
I adore all three as performers but only know the most recent version. I admired Ally, Lady Gaga’s character, and how she ends up staying true to herself.
Which of these albums would be your essential desert island disc?
a. Shania Twain’s
“Come On Over”
b. Faith Hill’s
“Breathe”
c. Carrie Underwood’s
“Some Hearts”
“Come On Over”
b. Faith Hill’s
“Breathe”
c. Carrie Underwood’s
“Some Hearts”
I’ve been listening to that album since I was 5 or 6. I would read the lyric sheet while I sang along. I think that let my parents know I was going to be a performer.
“I admired Ally, Lady Gaga’s character, and how she ends up staying true to herself.”
4. Which performer from the “golden era” of country music would you want to sing a duet with?
a. Johnny Cash
b. Willie Nelson
c. Hank Williams
b. Willie Nelson
c. Hank Williams
He’s such an icon, and not just in country music. You still hear him everywhere, both his solo music and his duets with June Carter. Hers are big shoes to fill, though.
What iconic stage would you most like to perform on?
I think everyone in this town wants to perform at the Ryman Auditorium. The history of country music in that building is just mind-blowing.
Which performance at Bucknell prepared you best for writing and performing songs?
Being in Two Past Midnight was my first experience of having a solo and getting to perform as myself, not just as a character in a show. I remember at my first Christy’s concert I had my first solo, singing “Lucky,” a duet by Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz, with Alex Pastena ’11. These days, I do a lot of touring with two other artist/songwriters, and we sing harmonies on each other’s songs. Singing a cappella definitely trained me for that.
Photo: Courtesy of Sheridan Gates