ChloeSleeve
America’s big cities get immortalized in songs all the time. How ’bout a little love for the small towns?
Naples’ hometown girl, Chloe Friedman, delivers that in the title track of her new album, Homegrown, which she’ll launch Friday at a CD release party at Momentum Brewhouse in Bonita from 6-9 p.m. Admission is free.
Friedman, 25, has been a regular on Naples’ live music scene since she was 13 and landed her first paid gig on Fifth Avenue. Her mounting career highlights include opening for John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting during the Naples stop of his 2013 solo tour and joining the lineup of Nashville songwriters for the Island Hopper Songwriters Festival on Sanibel and Captiva in 2014 and 2015.
Homegrown celebrates her “salty nose, sandy toes” upbringing, the changes to her community—and the small-town vibe it’s retained regardless of growth:
Now we got Tiffany, Cartier, Luis Vuitton
But that don’t change, the small town we come from
in high school, my friends would hang out by the pier
13th avenue, sneakin’ out our parent’s beer
She said she wanted the song to celebrate Naples, but also prompt listeners to reflect on their own hometowns.
Homegrown is her third album; her first was professionally produced when she was 15. Her music has shifted from pop to country, and she’s starting to promote her work on the Nashville scene.
Sure, she could go on to the big city, but Friedman sees lots of opportunities right in Southwest Florida.
“I love it here,” she says.
For more information, visit her website. You can listen to Homegrown on iTunes.