The Center for Education and Performing Arts (CEPA) offers a local talent series featuring singer / songwriters from the surrounding areas. The event, called Local Sounds, features skilled performers on the stage playing both original and cover songs. 

“Over the past year, we learned that acoustic performances sound incredible in our theater,” Executive Director Jeff Thompson said. “With that in mind, we set out to find musicians from the area that can be considered top-tier talent in that field.” 

The Local Sounds series helps build community identity by providing a performance space for local artists, and CEPA plans to continue the series through 2018 to build it into something bigger while keeping a low price point for tickets. 

 On February 3, Ingrid Marie and Alexzander Isaiah kick off the 2018 Season 

Ingrid Marie has an internationally released album with Ken Watters on the Summit label with their jazz sextet, Watters Felts Project. Her regional performances throughout Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia include Huntsville’s Big Spring Jam, Microwave Dave Day, Folk Off, and Rally Together Birmingham, joining with local acts Dave Anderson of ARS, singer-songwriter Amy McCarley, and blues great Microwave Dave; as well as with her full band at Moonlight On The Mountain, The Nick Rocks and Oasis. 

She currently has a full-length solo album, Manna, produced by Wet Willie’s Rick Hirsch, and is now recording in LA with Smashing Pumpkins’ producer Kevin Dippold on several pop co-writes. Her songs are influenced by Carly Simon and Burt Bacharach, with a modernized feel in the vein of Brandi Carlisle, Susan Tedeschi, and Fiona Apple. Originally from Rochester, NY, she studied cello, piano and flute at the Eastman School of Music before attending Virginia Tech. Having found warmer weather and Southern cooking, she now considers Alabama her forever home. 

Alexzander Isaiah formed when local students Alex Duck and Ben Willingham put their heads – and two different tastes in music – together in 2017. The two friends, who will be attending UAB in 2018, quickly gained attention for their mix of rock and blues guitar with electronic sampling and powerful vocals. 

Local Sounds Tickets are on sale now. Prices are $7 prior to the event. On the day of the event, tickets will be sold at the door for $10. Kids under 12 can attend free. 

To purchase tickets, visit pellcitycepa.com/tickets. You can also call the center at 205-338-1974 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on weekdays or visit during the same times at the office next to Pell City High School (25 Williamson Drive, Pell City, AL 35125).