Crystal McKee

Hi my name is Crystal McKee and I'm a singer/ songwriter/ musician from Riverside California. I literally started singing at age 2. My mother, was once a dedicated musician and orchestra member and at early age I was fortunate to be able to experiencing an array of musical styles. I grew up listening to Jazz, Swing, Dixie Land, and all types of classical . My mom had played Clarinet since she was in high school and when I was about 9 she encouraged me to take up the instrument. I played it for awhile but didn't take to it the way my mom did. Even though I enjoyed it I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Years had passed and at age sixteen my dad bought me my first guitar and I taught myself how to play and immediately started writing songs. Shortly after I began professional vocal training. After about 3 years or so I started doing open mics. I was able to make friends who shared the same interest in music as me and it was very inspiring. Since then I've played at many venues and events such as, The Orange Blossom Festival, downtown Redlands Market Night, UCR, Coffee Depot, Borders Book Stores, It's a Grind, to name a few. A couple years into performing I learned to play paino and not too long after I started writing songs and recording. I just recently finished my debut album entitled "Take Me Away" and was nominated for “Best Song” and won the award for “Best Pop Rock“ at the 2008 Inland Empire Music Awards. I have grown a lot as a musician singer songwriter in the past few years. I have written over 60 songs for my album. I hope to continue to learn and grow as a singer/ songwriter and musician for as long as I possibly can and take it to the next level.