Celia Chavez

Celia Chavez enjoys a multifaceted career as performing songwriter, touring singer, session vocalist, educator and coach. With her wistful lyricism tempered by a unique clarity of vocal delivery, Celia aims to create an ongoing love letter to the world as comfort in times of uncertainty, compassion in times of division, and catharsis for a world under pressure. Her songs express different ways to hang on to love and faith despite seemingly hopeless odds. Her music displays a gracefully tenacious drive to overcome all impediments — so beautifully reflected in the story arc of Celia's life.

Her acoustic duo Petty Chavez formed in 2017 and got a boost as tastemaker DJ Nic Harcourt featured their singles on KCSN 88.5 FM radio in Los Angeles. Petty Chavez proudly represented the FAR-West region at Folk Alliance International’s 2021 virtual music conference. Celia sang at a gay New Orleans wedding with Randy Rainbow on the TV show “Better Things”; toured the past seven years as Enrique Iglesias’ romantic duet partner; and has sung with Pink, Julia Fordham, Brandon Flowers and Melody Gardot. You can currently hear her songs on regular rotation on “The Young and the Restless.” 

She grew up in Seattle, the first-generation middle daughter of Filipino immigrant parents. After their tumultuous marriage split, Celia’s favorite childhood escape was into a world of album sleeves and liner notes, her headphones perpetually plugged into turntables, Walkmans and radios. Despite studying music with the intent of becoming a professional performer, she spent her early adulthood holding down a cubicle job with a long commute while her musical ambitions faded into the background. After a decade of feeling artistically starved, her own turbulent marriage came to an end. She began singing again and found solace through songwriting, deciding to move to New York City to restart her life as a musician. 

Now based in Los Angeles, California, Celia shares her extensive experience as a professional musician and performer in her work as co-founder of Empowered Singer Workshops, which she created with partner Felice Hernandez. 

During downtime on her travels, she has composed and refined her own brand of wistful

lyricism, tempered by a unique clarity of vocal delivery as showcased in her four solo

recordings.

“There’s something going on here worth your investigation.”

— Nic Harcourt, KCSN 88.5 FM, Los Angeles