Clinton Singer Amanda Cote Achieving Early Success

Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Jeffrey Starr, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Amanda Cote performing at Greendale's Pub. Photo courtesy of Richard Paul Hoyer.

Clinton's Amanda Cote is an up and coming star on the Central Mass music circuit. She started her professional performing career relatively recently under the name The Amanda Cote Project (in August of 2012 to be exact), but she is already making waves thanks to her obvious talents, averaging an impressive two gigs a week at area establishments.

A Blend of Many Genres

Her music can best be described as a seamless blend of blues, jazz, rock, soul, R& B and folk with a little of her own unique spice thrown in thanks to her incredibly potent vocals. Other members of the Project usually include Scott Sheehan on bass and Hunter Amabile providing additional guitar and vocals.

"The band’s repertoire touches many genres, including pop, rock, blues, and even jazz. My style, however, I’m finding hard to define," says the singer.

"I’m really so new to being a performer, I feel like my voice and the songs evolve every time we perform. We like to do funky covers, turn ballads into dance songs, or turn a folk tune into a seductive blues work with fantastic guitar solos from Hunter. Only time will tell really where I’ll settle, musically, if I settle at all."

More specifically, as far as her style goes, people who have seen Amanda's performances usually describe her as "powerful" and "soulful", but most importantly, no matter how you define her, those lucky enough to see her live are sure to have an enjoyable time.

"Good times are contagious. If I’m up there having fun, it often transfers to the audience. I just usually try to help people leave the venue at the end of the night feeling better than they did when they came in," she says.

Where to Find The Amanda Cote Project

The Amanda Cote Project has already performed at numerous local bars, pubs and restaurants in Central Mass and the greater New England area including the Dark Horse Tavern in Southbridge, the Black Sheep Tavern in Sterling, Funky Murphy’s in Worcester, and Uno Chicago Grill in Leominster. They have also been featured at Brett Brumby’s open mic nights. There are also a number of new venues on tap for them in the coming months, including JJ’s in Northborough and McNally’s in Westminster, and they are especially happy to start working with Whippersnappers in Londonderry, NH this summer.

Amanda Cote has no idea where she'd be without music, a sentiment many musicians can relate to. Though she was away from the musical world for a few years, pursuing a separate career after college in Western Mass, the pull of the art seems to have finally overwhelmed her.

"I’ve just always felt that, in the end, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve been singing as long as I can remember, and it’s really all I’ve ever wanted to do, but life takes you down a different path sometimes. Well, I’ve rounded my way back around and am trying to seize it by the horns," says the singer.

"I’ve sang songs that made people laugh, made them cry, made them grin from ear to ear, made them dance, or even just prompted someone to hold their lover’s hand. I’ve been in the audience, too, and done all of those things. Music is just a fantastic art form."

Judging by her obvious enthusiasm for the art, she clearly won't be stopping any time soon. The sky is the limit for this young entertainer.

"Singing is something I’ve done as long as I can remember, and I can do it no matter how I’m feeling (there’s always a song for that!). Being an entertainer is still fairly new to me, and, simply put, I absolutely love it," she remarks.

For more information on Amanda Cote and to hear some of her music please find her on Facebook.