Heidi Beuerlein has loved music all her life. She said she started singing on stage at church when she was about four years old. She also sand in choir at church, sang in a travelling gospel choir and sang in show choir at school.
“My dad gave me a guitar when I was ten years old,” she recalls, adding that she learned to play the instrument from a book. After learning to play the guitar, the natural next step was songwriting. Beuerlein said she wrote her first song at age 11, which was about a whale.
“I was pretty sheltered,” Beuerlein said of her childhood. Her musical influences as a child didn’t include the country legends that many songwriters list. That’s because she was only allowed to listen to Christian music when she was growing up. She was influenced by artists such as Natalie Grant. Now, she lists influences such as Sheryl Crow, and Jewel.
She went to Lee University at 18, She decided that she wanted to do more than church music.
Beuerlein said she moved back to Ohio when she was 19 and did music there for about a year. “I moved to Nashville for about two months,” she said. She moved home because her dad was ill. After he passed away, she decided to move to Nashville.
However, Beuerlein’s experience was much different the second time. She said the first time she moved to Nashville, she didn’t know how to get gigs. When she moved back, she started doing writer’s nights and she was able to get gigs.
She said she loves going to writer’s rounds. She can be seen doing rounds at places like Hotel Indigo and the Commodore. “I like being in a community of songwriters. I like being around people who love music as much as me.”
Beuerlein said she tries to write at least a new song ever week. “I wrote off what situations are going on in my life,” she said. She has done some co-writes with a friend, but she would like to write with other people as well.
She said the most emotional song was “I Wish I Would Have Known,” which is a song she wrote for her dad.
Beuerlein also has played downtown in places like Margaritaville, The Wheel, Big Shotz and the Underground. She said she had to learn about 100 covers for her first gig downtown at the Bootlegger’s Inn.
She can also be seen as a singing hostess at the Opry Backstage Grill. “They loved me right off. I got the job without any hassle,” she added.
When she’s working, she’s not allowed to do any originals. The songs she sings have to be country. She sings songs from artists like Carrie Underwood and Sugarland.
Beuerlein said her mom comes down every four weeks. She said her mom helps her out with money if she needs it. “It’s very helpful to have a supportive family. It’s not an easy career,”Beuerlein said.
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