Singer and songwriter Cameron Bedell performed in the Ronnie Williams Student Center food court Nov. 15.

He performed a variety of songs from country, pop and R&B genres, featuring cover songs and unreleased music he has been working on.

Bedell enjoyed being able to perform at UCA because he was surrounded by younger people. 

“It’s always great when I can come to a college campus and play for the youth. It’s always a cool experience because it’s not what I am used to,” Bedell said. 

He uses his experiences at campuses as inspiration for his writing.

“I am used to playing for older crowds, so I can keep my youth spirit alive by coming and playing for younger guys and seeing what they gravitate towards,” Bedell said. “So, as a songwriter and as a musician, I keep that in the back of my mind as I continue to write songs for other people.”

Freshmen Kara Nast and Elle Cooper enjoyed watching Bedell perform as they ate their lunch. 

“He’s really talented. We were just sitting there talking, and he started singing and our attention just went straight to him,” Cooper said. 

Nast enjoyed the lineup of songs Bedell chose to play.

“I liked that he sang songs that we knew, and he sang songs that were unreleased,” Nast said. 

Bedell said he had gone viral on the internet for his covers of “Issues” by Julia Michaels and “Earned It” by The Weeknd. His performance of these songs also caught the attention of senior Presley Sayakhoummane.

“I enjoyed it. My favorite part was when he sang “Issues” because it was a song I knew, but the other songs he was singing were actually really good too,” Sayakhoummane said. 

Cooper said that the performance was a nice break from academics. 

“I think it’s really neat that UCA can bring someone in from Nashville to sing for the students and give them a little leeway before finals,” Cooper said. 

Alongside performing, Bedell spoke on his experience in the music industry and working with artists such as Jimmie Allen. 

“I’ve been in Nashville for about 12 years trying to get on the radio and have a successful career, and this past year I finally got my first song on country radio, and it’s sitting at number nine right now,” Bedell said.

Bedell spoke about what he hopes to accomplish in the music industry.

“Definitely a future goal is to have more [top songs] with multiple artists. I would love to run my own publishing company one day, and have writers underneath me that write for artists as well,” Bedell said. 

Freshman Kathleen Armstrong appreciated Bedell’s performance and learning about his career. 

“I enjoyed going to watch his performance. It was inspiring to see a small artist pursuing their dreams,” Armstrong said. 

Bedell gave some words of advice to artists just starting out.

“Honestly, the really interesting thing for artists is that nobody is looking at you and thinking about you as much as you think they are. So don’t be shy to just do it. Don’t be shy to post,” Bedell said. 

Bedell said that through social media, artists can gain a dedicated audience. 

 “If they like it, they usually love it, and they love you. They most of the time will follow you for the rest of your career,” Bedell said.