Erika Van Pelt wows audience in Garden City

Posted 7/23/14

Erika Van Pelt of “American Idol” fame sang on July 17 during the Citizens Bank and Garden City Free Summer Concert Series. The original concert on July 16 was delayed due to weather.

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Erika Van Pelt wows audience in Garden City

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Erika Van Pelt of “American Idol” fame sang on July 17 during the Citizens Bank and Garden City Free Summer Concert Series. The original concert on July 16 was delayed due to weather.

Born in Providence, Van Pelt sang with the adult choir at church starting at age 6. In fifth grade, her family moved to South Kingstown, where she sang with the Chorus of Westerly and continued to sing at church.

She was in the All-State Chorus and Jazz Choir all four years, and also performed with the New England Chorus and the National Choir.

“In my senior year, I won the Judge’s Choice Award at the Berklee Jazz Festival, which prompted my choice for my college education. I started at Berklee in 2004, studying production and engineering and vocal performance,” said Van Pelt during an interview. “I did not graduate but came home to Rhode Island to start my business, a full-service DJ company called VP Entertainment.”

She started gigging with countless bands in the New England area, and finally found a more permanent home with the Sultans of Swing. She was hired to perform multiple times for clients such as Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden.

“Before ‘American Idol,’ I had the opportunity to open for, or share the stage with, artists and bands like Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Darren Criss and Maroon 5,” she said.

In November 2011, Van Pelt auditioned for a Dream Ticket at the “American Idol” experience at Hollywood Studios in Disney World. She won the ticket, and advanced to the front of the line at the Pittsburgh auditions for the show’s 11th season.

“I advanced to the top 10, out of more than 100,000 performers,” she said. “I secured a spot on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012, where I played arena shows in 46 cities around the world.”

When the tour ended in the Philippines in September 2012, Van Pelt returned home and began looking for a recording deal.

“I began working with a team of songwriters and investors who helped me write and record my full-length debut album called ‘My Independence.’ The title became a theme for the process, mainly because the record was made on my own independent label, EVP Records,” she said. “It was released along with the music video for the single, ‘Listen, Learn Then Delete,’ which was followed by the release of the second video/single for the third track on the album, ‘Hurricane.’ The CD is available for purchase through my website, and also at Newbury Comics, iTunes, Google and Amazon, to name a few.”

Van Pelt will be headlining a show at The Met in Pawtucket on Aug. 17, along with her talented friend and bandmate Eric French.

“We will both be doing a mix of our originals and favorite covers,” she said.

Tickets are $10 and are available for purchase at www.themetri.com.

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