Westfield’s Bekka Dowland has been making up songs since she was a little girl, but she didn’t actually learn the guitar until she was a teenager, and she didn’t start to learn it seriously until she was in her 20s.
“I was always writing songs — at least from a little kid’s standpoint. I didn’t have musical ability then, but there were always melodies in my head,” she said in a recent interview with The Republican. “But then when I went through my first really huge adult breakup, I took some lessons because I thought,’ I really have to put music to these words.’ And that’s how it’s been from then on.”
Dowland will play Element Brewing Co. in Millers Falls on Jan. 17 from 3 to 5 p.m.
Dowland’s passion for music — especially country pop — came from her family, which was always more interested in radio than television, she said.
“We always had the radio on, and I grew up in the ’90s era of country music, which is my favorite. So I think that’s where a lot of musical influence comes from — just based off of what we were listening to,” she said. “Seriously, I could live without a computer, I could live without TV, but I could not live without radio.”
Dowland works with the NI Music Group out of California and has released a handful of singles and an EP over the past five years. While she has recorded in the Golden State, she now mostly records in Florida.
“We recorded there and it’s just an awesome place, and ever since then we’ve just figured that’s the place to be because it has a great crew and really good vibes,” she said
She also has produced a half-dozen videos for some of the songs. Unlike many artists, Dowland just doesn’t just play and sing in the videos but acts out a part consistent with the song’s narrative.
She said this aspect of her career isn’t difficult for her.
“When I was little, I would put on shows in the living room for my parents. I definitely always wanted to be an entertainer,” she said. “And I do have a bit of an acting background. I took some professional classes when I was 15.”
Dowland just released a new single, “Be a Little Kinder,” which was inspired by the California wildfires and other natural disasters. Tackling this national and more existential topic was a change of pace for Dowland.
“The song is definitely different from what I put out in the past,” she said. “I still mostly write from a very personal perspective, but I was sitting here just living my regular life while wildfires were going out in California and made me realize that no matter who you are, things can happen to you whether you’re famous or just a Joe Schmoe off the street. So, it did open my eyes to write from a broader spectrum.”
The single is the first song off her upcoming debut album, which will be released this year.
“The release date is to be determined because I don’t want to jump the gun with it,” she said. “Because I really do want it to be everything I want it to be.”
