Meet Hannah Herrera | Singer/Songwriting & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Herrera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I chose to pursue an artistic and creative career because I love doing things outside of the norm and expressing my individuality in a unique manner. Music and songwriting is an art that allows me to be completely raw with my emotions and enables an outlet for showing the world my true self. I am a very sentimental person and I love being able to connect to others through my feelings. Art in any form is a form of communication of one’s self. I have a joy and passion for singing. It has been something that has brought me much happiness from a very young age. It has been a hobby and interest of mine since I was very little and songwriting has also come very natural to me as I have grown and progressed as a musician while playing keyboard. I have always enjoyed writing and excelled in English class and I have been able to apply my storytelling abilities to my songs and through music.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I would like to see myself as someone who is ambitious and who has a lot of goals set for my life. While I am hardworking, I am still able to have fun and be myself. I am sociable and love making connections with the people who I have met and hope to meet during my career as an aspiring musician/artist. It is never easy, but I have a lot of fun and enjoy doing it so much that it numbs the hardship that comes from it. I’ve overcome many challenges and obstacles during my time as an artist. Not everyone is going to like you, you are going to make mistakes and sometimes say or do the wrong things. That is okay. All that matters is that you learn from those mistakes and always be respectful, humble, and open-minded of others. I’ve learned that this career is not easy and it is not only based on how good of an artist you are, but how good of a person you are and how people perceive you. I want people to know that I enjoy what I do and I am open to be friends and bond with anyone, no matter who they are. The art I create is for everyone. I want my music to be able to relate to any struggles or situations someone is going through. I want them to feel something from my music and know that whatever emotions they may have or experience, chances are someone else has or is experiencing those emotions too and music can potentially bring people together and help someone get through anything. I want to offer a helping hand and company through my work. My single just released on February 12th and my music video on February 19th. I have more music in the making; another single and music video will be released in early April before my EP releases in May. I will be putting out multiple videos as I prepare to release my whole album over the summer. I am highly appreciative of the people who have helped me fulfill my goals and I only hope to continue working on my craft and to carry out the dreams I have.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I were to bring one of my friends to Houston, I would love to take them to Eleanor Tinsley Park. It has a large and gorgeous area to do many activities such as work out and have picnics! It even has a skate park. It’s so pretty that I decided to take my senior portraits there this year with an amazing photographer, Mike Fox of Mike Fox Photography. The landscape is genuinely nice. I would also love to be accompanied while I visit the Museum of Fine arts and Museum of Natural Science. I love both subjects and places and I always have an exciting time learning about something new. In my opinion, those are a couple of the most interesting places people could visit because they gain more knowledge when coming to them. I find Houston to be somewhere people can enjoy doing many activities. If we were to venture outside of Houston, I would take them to Kemah, Galveston, and Lake Conroe as those are some other amazing places I like to visit. We would also have to go shopping at the Galleria or Baybrook Mall. We would also have to hit up some open mics and some live music venues in the area. There are so many supportive venues that I have been blessed to play at and so many talented musicians in this city. It is so much fun singing and jamming with others who share the same passion for music. I love sushi and any type of Asian food really so I would definitely take them to a few local Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants. Houston has so many great places to eat. No matter what you crave, you can find any type of food and so many great restaurants. There are also so many coffee shops to choose from. There are so many restaurants and areas to explore in Houston that I can’t just pinpoint a few specific ones. There are also so many that I have yet to even visit.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family has been a large amount of support in my life. They always are encouraging me to pursue my passion of music and without them, I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I am getting right now. They have helped me through hardships I have faced while being young and still trying to accomplish what I want to do. I would like to give a shoutout to my producer, Billy Dorsey, for giving me the opportunity to become a recording artist and for mentoring me through the process of becoming a growing musician. He has not only provided me with assistance, but with friendship. I consider him to be family as well. Through Billy, I have also met amazing people who are among the music and arts scene; such as fellow musicians, artists, photographers, video producers and directors. One example is David Nguyen and his crew who have helped me shoot multiple music videos for my songs. My talent agency, Pastorini Bosby, who has also provided me many opportunities to meet people in this industry and the television/film/commercial/acting community, which included Amelia Rico, who directed my music video for Fall Apart. Amelia is so talented and I love how she wants to shine light on diversity in the arts and empower women to lead this industry. I would like to include shoutouts to my vocal teachers and schooling I have received as well, some of them I have known for years. Tom McKinney, Relana Gerami Luss, Cassandra Black, the School of Rock, Purple Box Theater, Jarret Marcel, and my school choir are all people and establishments that have all aided me in striving to become a better musician and artist. Another big shoutout goes out to my band members in my band Velvet Roads (Ty Ganz, Jarret Marcel, Carter Pevoto). I have to give a shoutout to two of the local recording studios that I have used here in Houston which have included Wire Roads and Sugar Hill Studios as well as Nash Overstreet’s studio in Los Angeles. I also want to thank all of the amazing cowriters that have shared their talents with me on some of my songs such as Shane Stevens, Billy Dorsey, Josh Grider, Will Carter, Shellee Layne-Collee, and Morgan Wilson as well as Kyle Hutton of Real Life Real Music for providing camps for inspiring songwriters like me to learn and grow through a mentorship process. There are so many people that I have met along the way that deserve so much recognition so I just want to thank anyone who has contributed to my growth and has inspired me along the way.

Instagram: hannah_r_herrera

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahrherrera

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdxKT1KeIue10DyBxkLFig

Image Credits
Mike Fox Photography Gavin Wegener Jimmy Fontaine Jessica Law Davis Melissa Herrera