By: Jason Freeze – Originally printed in October 2017

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During the month of October 2014, you may have seen a young face starring up at you from the shelves and counter tops. If you were one of those people to pick up a copy and take a read, you might recognize that same face. At the time there was this new magazine that just came out, which featured a local 13 year old Jazz singer on the cover. The magazine was completely new in the community, and the singer was just starting her career as well. Fast forward three years and its now October 2017. The magazine has grown and so has the singer.

That face starring out from the pages was none other than Avery Raquel on the first ever edition of BScene. We were so excited to be able to showcase this amazing local artist. And three years later, we’re even more excited as we get to see how much she has grown and perfected her craft.

In our first article, Avery was 13 years old and was looking forward to her Highschool career. And at the time she went by her real name Avery Kadish. Now, the 16 year old is looking toward the future and what lies ahead.

The first big change we noticed was to her stage name. She now goes by the name Avery Raquel, which is her middle name. She found it was easier for people to pronounce her middle name rather than her last name, plus it adds a bit more pizzazz.

Another change we’ve seen over the years was a shift in her singing style. Initially, she was heavily focused with Jazz. She did many covers and had some gigs here and there. Since then, she has grown as a singer and taken on a more personal style to her singing.

From her Jazz days, she has progressed to Contemporary Soul. As she puts it, “It’s a mix of things from Soul, R&B and Jazz.” But throughout all of her music there is still an undertone of her Jazz roots. Avery still enjoys Jazz, but she says, “I have a bit of a secret passion for this music too. And now I get to show it.”

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Besides her change in style, she’s also progressed from being just a singer to also have two CD’s under her belt. Early in 2016, she created her first album which mostly had Jazz covers. Then earlier this year she released her second album titled “Without a Little Rain.” This second album has progressed into more Contemporary Soul and has led her to create her own songs as well. This was a big shift for her as she started to write her own music. “Writing your own music is hard. I was scared at first, because it’s like putting a piece of yourself out there. But I got a good response and haven’t stopped writing since.”

As 2017 starts to come to a close, Avery is looking toward her next year and what will come after that. As she progresses with her music she’s excited to see how things turn out. One of the next steps for her is her third album. She’s hoping to showcase even more original songs in this album and keeps on writing and perfecting them. “I have six songs ready, but I’m hoping to add four more.” Lately, she’s singing more about her personal experiences that come from the heart. Whether they’re good or bad experiences, she brings herself to her music.

As she looks toward the future, I asked her what’s next for her and her career. Soon, she’ll be getting ready to go to Post Secondary School where she’ll be studying music. She’s hoping to get to as many gigs as possible around the country and abroad and to keep up the writing. Eventually, she’d love to perform at Madison Square Gardens and to perform with singers like Michael Buble.

From a 13 year old with a love for music to a 16 year old performer and songwriter, Avery Raquel has grown and developed a rich, personal sound that has seen her through two CD’s and many performances. As this talented, young artist continues to develop for another three years and beyond, she’s bound to get her wish and will be selling out Madison Square Gardens in no time.

You can stay up to date with Avery’s career and listen to her music by visiting www.averyraquel.com