{"id":298119,"date":"2026-10-02T04:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T04:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/298119\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T04:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T04:40:15","slug":"october-artist-of-the-month-lyndsey-smith-qa-with-local-singer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/298119\/","title":{"rendered":"October Artist of the Month: Lyndsey Smith – Q+A with local singer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AImage via Ashante Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

Q+A with singer\/songwriter Lyndsey Smith on coming back to Pittsburgh, performing in New Orleans, and her rebrand\u00a0<\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter Lyndsey Smith is back in Pittsburgh! She spent the past seven years performing in New Orleans, showcasing her powerful vocals five nights a week. Smith is happy to be home, where she\u2019s previously headlined Light Up Night, sang the national anthem for the Penguins game, and recently played a solo gig at Heinz Hall. Smith has exciting plans for a full rebrand of her music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over a phone interview, I talked with Lyndsey about coming back to Pittsburgh, performing in New Orleans, and her rebrand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Performing in New Orleans\u00a0<\/p>\n

Josh: What was it like performing in New Orleans?<\/p>\n

Lyndsey: So, New Orleans is a different kind of excitement. Very artistic, very beautiful. I typically worked 5 days a week, sometimes 5-6 hours at a time. So you gotta have stamina. It was a lot of fun. In Pittsburgh we have a little bit more autonomy to be creative. Our professionalism in Pittsburgh is second to none in my opinion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AImage via Ashante Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AImage via Ashante Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

Coming Back to Pittsburgh\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: What made you want to come back to Pittsburgh?\u00a0<\/p>\n

L: Pittsburgh has always kind of been the place that my heart felt the most seen. New Orleans doesn\u2019t really give a lot of space for creativity and branding. I knew that I wanted to go through a rebrand. I knew that my goal has ultimately always been to be on national and international stages and to get a Grammy. In order to do that, I knew that I had to probably change my environment. And there was no place that I wanted to bring that Grammy back home to than Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Live Show Experiences\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: I saw you perform at the Women Who Rock concert with Sheila E. in 2019 at Stage AE. What have you learned throughout your years of playing shows?<\/p>\n

L: I think the thing that I\u2019ve learned the most, which was one of the lessons that I took from women like Sheila E., is that I don\u2019t have to sit within a certain archetype in order to still be valid. I really noticed towards the beginning of my career that I was being kind of pigeonholed into this R&B typical sound and image. And I knew that wasn\u2019t authentically who I was. I have this big old powerful voice, and you know, I\u2019m kind of an anarchist in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n

J: In good ways (laughs).<\/p>\n

L: (Laughs) In good ways. I learned throughout performing, and especially from the women and men that did it before me, as a black woman, it\u2019s ok to be unapologetic about whatever it is that my soul is connected to authentically. That\u2019s rock music. That\u2019s soul music, that\u2019s being big and loud, and I didn\u2019t have to be quiet. I didn\u2019t have to be well behaved or fit within a certain mold. I can make this whatever I wanted it to be. I\u2019m honing in on that style and that imagery and it\u2019s taken off.<\/p>\n

J: You just played Heinz Hall.<\/p>\n

L: I did. It was incredible. I\u2019ve played Heinz Hall before but never solo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: That must have been impactful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

L: I think the only performance that I\u2019ve ever done that has really impacted me more was when I did the national anthem for the Penguins game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: Like when it\u2019s totally silent and you hear your voice soaring through PPG Arena?\u00a0<\/p>\n

L: Oh baby, it\u2019s incredible. It\u2019s a space where there\u2019s nothing happening and they feel it. There\u2019s nothing like it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: What was it like playing \u201cFirst Night<\/a>\u201d on NYE?\u00a0<\/p>\n

L: Doing \u201cFirst Night\u201d was so incredible. The crowd was electric, the energy was there, the fireworks going off, everyone putting their lights in the air like fireflies. For sure, the best experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AImage via Ashante Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

Live Set and Influences\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: Your cover of \u201cDirty Diana\u201d is incredible to hear live.\u00a0<\/p>\n

L: So, \u201cDirty Diana\u201d is the song that everybody requests, no matter what. And En Vogue \u201cDon\u2019t Let Go.\u201d Those two songs are probably the most impactful songs that I have.<\/p>\n

J: Was Michael Jackson an influence growing up?\u00a0<\/p>\n

L: Oh no, I loved Michael though. I would probably say Etta James, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton. I loved Etta James because she just didn\u2019t care. I\u2019ve always marched to the beat of my own drum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: Your song \u201cRhapsodize Me\u201d has a good groove.<\/p>\n

L: Oh thank you. Some of the songs we\u2019re actually rearranging to fit more of the style that we\u2019re moving into with this rebrand that\u2019s coming up.<\/p>\n

Rebranding\u00a0<\/p>\n

J: What\u2019s Next?<\/p>\n

L: I\u2019m in the middle of a complete and total overhaul rebrand. Lyndsey Smith & Soul Distribution was about the band and me being this powerful front woman of this incredible band. But moving forward it\u2019ll be about Lyndsey Smith and how the instrumentation accentuates me as an artist. So it\u2019ll be more of that rock forward, very heavy vocal, angst, tension, and musical rebellion, so to speak. You can just be an artist, and it\u2019s so important. I did a show at Blue Nile in New Orleans. This woman pulled me to the side after the show. She was crying, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh my God, why are you crying?\u2019 And she\u2019s like, \u2018I just need you to know that for the first time in decades I actually feel sexy and I feel like that because of you.\u2019 I took that with me. You feel seen through my performances, you feel seen through my vocal, seen through just me living and existing. And that\u2019s what I want people to take away.<\/p>\n

J: Pittsburgh\u2019s excited to have you back.<\/p>\n

L: Thank you. I\u2019m so happy to be back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AImage via Ashante Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AImage via Ashante Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

For the latest news on Lyndsey\u2019s music, follow her on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. You can find her music on streaming platforms.<\/a><\/p>\n

Check out last month\u2019s artist of the month here!<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.<\/p>\n

\t\tTags:
\n\t\t412<\/a>, Artist<\/a>, band<\/a>, best of pgh<\/a>, best of pittsburgh<\/a>, concert<\/a>, Events<\/a>, lifestyle<\/a>, live music<\/a>, local artist<\/a>, local band<\/a>, Music<\/a>, PA<\/a>, pgh<\/a>, pgh made<\/a>, Pittsburgh<\/a>, Pittsburgh events<\/a>, Western PA<\/a>\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\tJosh McCann<\/a><\/p>\n

Josh has been writing for Made in PGH since 2018, where he writes about upcoming events. He\u2019s a Point Park University graduate and teaches high school English. In his free time you\u2019ll find him playing guitar and writing new songs.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t