Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridget Cushman.
Hi Bridget , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Well, I grew up in a very musical family that always loves to sing and have a good time- so from a young age I felt very connected to music as a whole and already kind of knew that would be my pursuit when I got older. Throughout my childhood, I was very active across the board with various activities- always doing five different things at once (which hasn’t changed) and so I also just fell in love with dance and performing as a whole. As I grew up, I kept taking any and all opportunity to sing in front of a crowd or perform in public, trying to gain experience and build on my abilities and passions. My family- specifically my mom- has always been a supportive and crazy cheerleading team for me, which I am insanely lucky and grateful for- especially as I’ve moved my way through obstacles as the years have gone by. Eventually, I went to school for music performance along with a minor in Business and a Certificate in Fine Arts Administration (subtle and simple, I know)- beginning at Columbia College in Chicago, where I was exposed to so many artists who knew who they were and what goals they wanted to achieve at that young of an age. At that point, all I knew is that I wanted to perform, but I had no clue what that might look like for myself individually. It wasn’t until I visited friends in Eau Claire, WI that I started to feel a sense of direction. I remember everyone telling me how incredible Eau Claire was for musicians and how insane their jazz program was, but me being the stubborn independent human I am, initially pushed back on the idea of transferring to a school that was in state for me. Little did I know that Eau Claire would be the place where I not only creatively came into my own, but also met some of the most talented and humbling musicians that I now consider apart of my close circle. I went to their annual Jazz Fest that takes over the entire downtown area with thousands of people and musicians and something just clicked. It was here that I expanded not only my love for performing, but my range of knowledge and technique as well as a vocalist, performer, choreographer, and eventually fine arts administrator. I was so insanely lucky with the opportunities that I found in Eau Claire- getting to sing with Jazz Band, choreograph and be the production manager for their all student produced Cabaret, leading vocals for a kick *ss funk band, choreograph workshops, work for Jazz Inc. in planning Jazz Fest, multiple musicals and operas- the awesome list goes on and I am so grateful. I also met my fiancee at Eau Claire as well, so I can safely say transferring was the smartest decision I’ve made so far. After Eau Claire, I felt very ready to “be an adult” and get myself out into the world, so I moved to Minneapolis in September of 2019, and after a few months of trying to break through the scene, COVID hit. So not only was I fairly new in the cities, but any and all opportunities were cut short. It was also during this time that I was continuing to struggle with vocal health issues that had begun in high school/college- so needless to say, my first year in Minneapolis was somewhat of a mental health roller coaster. This ,however, led me towards teaching voice and piano lessons, which I honestly never anticipated I would pursue within my career. I also found myself joining the ranks of bakers hanging out in their kitchens during lockdown and eventually was lucky enough to join the team at Cafe Ceres in Linden Hills – which is still crazy to me. Throughout COVID, I struggled once again to find a sense of direction within a time of pure survival mode. But, as I grew my private lesson studio, I also leaned into my love of baking even further and truly enjoyed my time being apart of the Ceres/Rustica team. This was also the time where I started to rifle through old journals and found all these unfinished originals that I never initially wanted to see the light of day. I never really thought I would be an original artist to be totally honest- I always knew I’d be a performer, but not really one producing original material. That was until shutdown hit and life felt even more chaotic- so I leaned into one of the only things I could control- writing my own music. As I gained seed by seed of confidence in my writing, I started to reach out to those friends that I found in Eau Claire to collaborate on these crazy ideas that I wasn’t entirely sure how to execute. That was when my first song finally crossed the finish line, and it became another moment of something clicking into place for me. I decided to take the leap and commit to creating my own musical project, B n’ the Spice Cabinet, that pulls influence from both artists that I’ve always loved like Sara Bareilles and Aretha Franklin and artists that I’ve only more recently discovered like Lawrence and Couch. I’ve also had the very lucky connection with Aspire Music Academy, with whom I did a musical revue right before COVID, and have been apart of their show choir programming as a choreographer and admin while also finding my home base for my private lesson studio here as well! So, it goes without saying that my affinity for doing five different things at once has strongly carried into my “adult” life. The crazy and awesome thing about the music/performing industry is the opportunity to carve your own path and make your own footprint. This is something I have both loved and resented throughout the process of continuing to build my own path- being able to pave your own way is such a powerful thing but it can also feel occasionally isolating and disheartening. What I find to be important that brings me back to the reason why is not only the passion for all the things I do but the people I get to do it with and the people that have helped me along the way. I now run around the city, choreographing for programs such as Hastings, Woodbury, YPC; singing with multiple groups- The EXPRESS Band, B n’ the Spice Cabinet, Barstool Bandit, booking my own gigs, meeting more and more amazing creative people and continuing to carve out my own path.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been an insane roller coaster with some strong whiplash to be totally honest. When I was really young, my parents went through an extremely rough divorce that kind of altered everything. My family is very close knit, and so this adjustment period was years in the making for me. For a long time, I struggled with self confidence and self worth due to this kind of jarring part of my life, and still sometimes feel these insecurities push through to this day. However, I believe I came out stronger in the end. Even though this was a shattering time of my life, I learned to become more independent but also how to lean on the important people around you- especially my mom, who is one of the strongest and most badass people I know. I have also struggled with health on and off along the way as well. When I was in high school, I got to be apart of an auditioned performing group called KIDS from Wisconsin (which I had been dreaming about being apart of since I was itty bitty/since my sister was a performer in the group) where we travelled around the state, performing over 60 shows in three months. I loved the intense process and schedule but eventually I became extremely sick during the last year and sub sequentially came out with vocal hemorrhages on my vocal folds. This led to months of on and off vocal rest while trying to continue school as a vocal performance major in college, and has carried on throughout post graduation life as well. This, in turn, highly limited my ability to go out and actively gig as a musician for a good chunk of time, and as a result I fell into a darker place that made me question my entire path in life. There was a period where I was not sure if I could actually pursue this career physically and it was honestly heartbreaking to think about the possibility of dropping everything I had been working toward and dreaming of doing my entire life. But, I’ve finally come to a good place thanks to the incredible network of professionals in the Twin Cities that have helped me along the way- shoutout to Lions Voice Clinic at University of Minnesota!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am someone who has a very difficult time sitting still and relaxing so it comes at no surprise that my work reflects this in that I kind of wear many different hats in my day-to-day life. I love performing, so I do consider that my main career label and goal setter- but I have always loved not only being able to multitask but also find love in various facets of the performing industry itself. I am a choreographer throughout the cities and work with various companies and programs whether that be musicals, cabarets, or show choirs. I also have my own voice and piano studio that I operate out of Aspire Music Academy in Woodbury. Both of these jobs are things I truly never really thought I would be doing, but experiences throughout more recent years have led me to expand my abilities as a creative and add them both to my roster of work -which is amazing. I also work within the fine arts admin world in my day to day, booking my own shows, talking to venues, organizing gigs, and have helped with rehearsal scheduling and admin at Aspire as well. So, I’m kind of a mixed bag of creative craziness. My fiancee is also a sound technician in the cities, so our projects occasionally coincide with each other, which makes things even better. I do think, however, my main gig is and always will be singing. My confidence in myself has always wavered as a whole throughout my life but, singing onstage is where I’ve always felt the most at home in my own skin. I now think I can add songwriting to my list of career identities as well- which I also never really anticipated either. I think my strength lies in my excitement to keep learning more within my craft and not just limit myself to a singular job description- which is why I always have five things rotating on any given “work” day. There’s so much about the music industry that you can learn from and grow in, so I think being a creative not only makes you a curious person, but it also gives you this superpower to be able to dip your toes in collaborative waters in order to expand your knowledge and abilities as whole. I’d like to think that I’m most proud of my ability to adapt and learn as a musician and creative- I think there’s always exciting new things to learn that can help you become a better and more well-rounded professional, so I think that’s a strong point for me as a person! I am also a fairly collaborative person and find strength in numbers when it comes to pulling people together for a singular creative outcome. It’s so cool to be able to put your head together with someone to create something that wasn’t there before for the world to hopefully enjoy! This is also why I am strong at bringing people together and making connections, which bodes well for my line of work as well and part of why I love what I do. I always come back to singing/performing at the end of the day since that was the thing I can remember doing for what feels like forever. It’s not only what I think people would associate most with me, but it’s also something I’m very proud of in terms of the work and experience I’ve put into it as my passion and what feels like my happy place.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My family plays into most of my happy childhood memories- which I know is a very lucky circumstance. Being that we are a loud, outspoken, fun, and musical horde, I have so many memories of blasting music in the living room and putting on fully produced shows for and with my family members. More specifically, I remember planning a show for my grandparents anniversary/my grandpa’s birthday. My mom was the choreographer for around 75 people in our family, helping to create a gigantic variety show to put on during the party. My sisters and I sang a groundbreaking rendition of “Lady Marmalade”- which we cleverly changed to “Lady Barbara’ so my grandma could be the star of the number. I am very lucky again in that I grew up being very close to my grandparents as well, so this memory always makes me smile especially since my Papa has since passed- this an extremely awesome musical childhood memory and pays tribute to my Papa’s memory in my heart as well.
Pricing:
- Voice/Piano Studio Lesson Rates Available on Aspire Music Academy’s website
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/BridgetBCushman
- Instagram: @bridge_bcush @bnthespicecabinet_band @barstoolbanditduo @theexpressband
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550862925769
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/_NTi1tWEp-0?si=Rq-KxozLVApFHmZc
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1wdm0Hs9x8hSC7oSXUWezc?si=4le31NBCS7CLEgt9EEEnvw
