Artist Chelsea King (Chelsea Gilliland, PHS ‘17) has never really known life without music. She started classical piano at five, wrote her first songs before becoming a teen and has been singing and playing music ever since.
This fall, she’s joined Andy Bell of the legendary duo Erasure on his solo tour throughout the Americas. As the only other singer on stage with the 80s/90s pop icon, King performs songs from Bell’s new album “Ten Crowns” and Erasure classics like “A Little Respect” and “Chains of Love.”
Later this week, the tour reaches San Francisco, with two shows at the Palace of Fine Arts on Friday, Nov. 28 and Saturday, Nov. 29.
“We’re playing a bunch of Erasure hits and classics that everyone will know,” King said. “It’s a really, really fun show.”
King is no stranger to Bay Area stages. Her first shows were in high school with a band she formed through Berkeley-based BandWorks. Together, they wrote music and played at local venues like 1-2-3-4 Go! Records in Oakland. She also took one year of a capella with Joe Piazza at PHS.
“I really loved the community that a cappella gave me,” King said.
After graduating from PHS, she earned a scholarship to study songwriting at Belmont University in Nashville, where her love of music only deepened. Now she releases music under the name Chelsea King, including producing and playing all the instruments on her latest two albums.
Connections through her own music helped her land the job with Bell. Working as a radio host at 96.7 fm (Young Country Radio) in Nashville introduced her to the producer for her first EP, who told her about the tour when they recently reconnected.
Chelsea King performing with Andy Bell at Majestic Theater by Elina Carrasco
Sleeping in bunks on a bus with 11 people, King said the tour has been an amazing experience that “feels like summer camp.” She has been on the road since October, with the North American dates wrapping up in December and the South American leg starting in January.
She sings backup for most of the set but also does lead vocals for a number of songs. Performing with Bell, King said she likes to watch and “see how a true iconic frontman owns the stage.”
“I mean, he’s a legend,” King said. “He’s insanely talented, doesn’t miss a note on stage and dances the whole time.”
King said she’s also learned a lot from the other band members who also make their own music on the side, like her.
“They’ve all been so successful in their careers, and it’s just been a really, really awesome opportunity to get to be around such incredible talent,” King said.
King brought her whole production setup on the road and is now working on another album. Her next single, “The Rabbit Hole,” comes out this Friday, Nov. 28 — the same date as the first San Francisco show.
The first Palace of Fine Arts show has already sold out, but tickets for Saturday are still available on Bell’s website. The band is also playing tomorrow, Nov. 26, at Menlo Park’s Guild Theatre. King said she encourages anyone who wants to sing and dance all night to come to a performance.
“The whole show is so fun — it’s impossible not to be dancing and singing,” said King.