Sawyer Fredericks says winning NBC’s The Voice in 2015 changed his life “severely.”
He’s played the famed Troubadour in West Hollywood; met his hero, Ray LaMontagne; and even had a hometown parade in his honor.
But some things never change.
Between tours, the 18-year-old with the Goldilocks mane and the fiery songs of betrayal and heartbreak still cleans his family’s chicken coop.
“I love farm life. A farm will always be my home,” Fredericks insisted earlier this month at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, on a rolling farm that reminded him a little of his family’s 88-acre cattle spread in upstate New York.
Fredericks’ set was a highlight of the three-day Berkshires festival. Others included an all-star tribute to the late Jimmy LaFave, a reunion of two original members of Red Molly, a rollicking debut by the band Upstate Rubdown, and a surprise merger of perennial favorites The Slambovian Circus of Dreams and The Kennedys.
On stage, Fredericks appeared confident and in command, pouring heart and soul into original compositions accentuated by syncopated taps on his guitar that hinted of a drummer.
Pretty impressive, considering he learned his first three chords from an uncle only a handful of years ago. Fredericks promptly mastered Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds,
then prepared for takeoff.
“As soon as I had the chords, it was just like, okay, now I can write songs!” he recounted.
Soon Fredericks was playing his own tunes at farmers markets and open mics. He found inspiration in the lyrics of Ray LaMontagne.
“I wanted to be able to sing with meaning,” he said.
Falcon Ridge 2017: Slideshow photos by Kevin Coughlin
FINDING HIS VOICE
Fredericks’ legion of online followers caught the eye of talent scouts from The Voice, who invited him to audition.
Some tests were involved–the first tests of his life. His parents, fans of “unschooling,” removed him from kindergarten and he never attended another class.
“It’s different from home schooling,” he explained. “Home schooling is like your parents give you homework at home. Unschooling is just what I’m doing right now. It’s life, it’s learning through life and self-directed learning.”
More challenges faced Fredericks on his journey to becoming the youngest winner on The Voice.
He tamed dyslexia with a card game, Magic: The Gathering. (“It’s really wordy.”)
And he won The Voice while his voice was changing.
“It’s still only just starting to settle. I’m starting to get my head voice back,” Fredericks said, using a music term for the vocal register above one’s deeper chest voice. “During a long period of time I didn’t have my head voice and it was extremely hard to control.”
He embraced the transitional tones nature dealt him. It worked out. At 16, he went home with the $100,000 top prize and a record deal.
An introvert, Fredericks found the interview segments of The Voice tougher than performing. And he was far more nervous returning in triumph to sing his own song, Take It All, than he was doing covers during the competition, he said.
“Being on The Voice, I was thinking more of just enjoying the moment,” he said.
‘AN OLD SOUL’
At Falcon Ridge, Fredericks sang songs from his upcoming third album, Hide Your Ghost. They contained enough heartache for several lifetimes–certainly more than he possibly could have mined from his current six-month romance.
“I get a lot of ‘You’re an old soul,’” acknowledged Fredericks, who tunes his angst antenna to TV, movies and the news for ideas.
“When I write music I try to use a lot of imagination, I try to put myself in the situation that I’ve imagined. I try to think of what emotions a person would be feeling and how I would react in the situation,” he said.
Delivering those lyrics to an audience is something he clearly relishes.
“When everything’s going the way it’s supposed to be, I should be connected to the lyrics, and really in the story of the song, and just kind of enjoying myself. Especially if my vocals are decent that day. Then I can actually sing with passion, and not be taken out of the song if my voice cracks or something,” he said.
Pharrell Williams, Fredericks’ coach on The Voice, advised him to avoid reading viewer comments–good or bad.
“Just because it starts getting into your head, and you start catering to your audience instead of catering to yourself,” Fredericks said.
He offers similar tips to aspiring entertainers.
“My advice for people starting off is just to perform for yourself,” Fredericks said.
“Enjoy the music that you’re playing, connect with the lyrics, and not worry about what the audience thinks. Do the best that you want yourself to do, and then if they don’t like it, that’s their problem.”
Back home, near Fultonville, Fredericks tries to keep a low profile. “Mostly, because I get recognized and mobbed,” he said, laughing at the wonder of such a thing.
Yet die-hard Sawyer Fredericks fans know where they can find him.
Just look for the chicken coop.
When Sawyer Fredericks swings through New Jersey, we’ll let you know. Until then, here’s another video from Falcon Ridge:
I was in the audience and his set was definitely NOT a highlight of the Festival. I would say he got a tepid reception, at best. Everyone I spoke with, veterans of many Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals, wondered how he was chosen for a mainstage performance.
Thank you Kevin Coughlin for a very detail interview . and videos
An amazing interview! Thought I knew most everything about the Mulitalented Sawyer Fredericks, but I learned a few new things. Thank you!!!