By Audrey Sellers
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Boundingbrinto the little chapel on the grounds of White's Chapel United Methodist Churchbr(UMC), an iced coffee in hand, Cammie Avers exudes happiness. She's stylish in abrlong-sleeve, blue tunic dress and gray suede ankle boots. “Everything I'mbrwearing is from Altar'd State. They styled me for the photo shoot today,” shebrbeams.
Aversbris talkative, upbeat and in disbelief at all the attention she's getting. “I'm humbledbrthat anything I could offer the world would be worth writing about,” shebrgushes, taking a seat at the piano in the corner of the chapel.
AbrSouthlake native and Carroll grad, Avers is part of the Christian pop duo,brKaleidoscope, along with her best friend, Natalie Brown. The duo has traveledbrall over the world, including stops right here in Avers' hometown. Kaleidoscopebrperformed at Oktoberfest last month before jetting to the United Kingdom tobrlead worship at a youth conference.
Inbrthe spring, Kaleidoscope will perform at the much-anticipated Girls of GracebrTour, a nationwide event founded in 2002 by Christian-music sensation, Point ofbrGrace. The tour is geared toward teen girls and their moms, and includes livebrperformances and worship from some of the industry's biggest artists.
“Ibram so excited about the tour,” Avers says. “To share the stage with Point ofbrGrace and to travel around the country telling thousands of girls that God hasbran amazing plan for them is a dream come true.”
Webrvisited with Avers to find out what life is like as part of an up-and-coming musicalbrduo, how she got her start and what's next for the Southlake songstress.
Getting Her Start
Likebra happy songbird, Avers has long been chirping. Her parents say she's beenbrsinging since before she could talk. Her musical career began with yodeling inbrcowboy boots and belting out old-time country songs at opries all over Texas.
Aversbrtraveled with the Texas Girls' Choir, performed in show choir at Carroll andbrhelped lead worship at White's Chapel UMC. “It was a bunch of littlebrperformances here and there that ultimately led me to want to do music for thebrrest of my life,” she says.
Afterbrgraduating from Carroll in 2007, Avers headed to Nashville to attend BelmontbrUniversity, the largest Christian university in Tennessee. The school boasts abrnumber of famous musical alumni including Steven Curtis Chapman, Brad Paisleybrand Trisha Yearwood.
Belmontbris where she met Brown, the other half of Kaleidoscope. The two roommates becamebrfast friends, writing songs together and chatting about their aspirations ofbrreaching people through music.
“Itbrwasn't until after college that we realized our dreams were so similar that itbrwould make no sense to pursue the same thing apart from each other,” saysbrAvers. “Who wouldn't want to work with their best friend? We love doing musicbrand ministry as a team.
Onebrof the first songs Avers and Brown wrote together is called “Kaleidoscope.” Abrlyric from the chorus goes like this: “like a kaleidoscope set in motion, He'sbrmaking beauty out of the broken.” When Avers' younger sister, Quinn, suggestedbrKaleidoscope as a potential band name, it stuck.
“Thatbrlyric is exactly the message we want to convey – that God is able to makebrbeautiful things out of our broken mess,” Avers says. “We love the idea of allbrthese little pieces coming together to make a picture that is bigger and morebrbeautiful than we can imagine on our own.”
Thebrduo admires artists such as Natalie Grant, Britt Nicole, Bethel and HillsongbrWorship. “And, let's be real, we're also huge Taylor Swift fans,” Avers laughs.
Shebralso counts CeCe Winans, the 10-time Grammy Award-winning gospel singer who hasbrsold more than 12 million records worldwide, among her greatest inspirations. ButbrAvers doesn't just listen to Winans' music from afar; she is personal friendsbrwith the singer. Winans and her husband even served as pastors at Avers'brwedding.
“CeCebrhas been a huge influence on me as a person and an artist,” Avers says. “She isbra woman of integrity who puts her family first and has really taken me underbrher wing in so many ways.”
Music With a Message
Kaleidoscopebrreleased three of their songs as singles last year and another single earlierbrin 2015 before releasing their self-titled debut EP in September. The sevenbrmelodies are catchy and singable, similar to what you'd hear if you tuned in tobra Christian contemporary music station.
Avers'brfavorite song to perform is Kaleidoscope's “Walk Beside You.” She and Brownbrwrote the song about their siblings who have suffered with anxiety andbrdepression.
“Sometimes,brwriting a song is a long process and we would get hung up on finding words thatbrrhyme and perfecting the melody,” says Avers. “This song took us about an hourbrto write because we felt like it was coming straight from our hearts into abrsong.”
ForbrAvers, that's what it's all about: using music to speak to people. And thebrpeople are listening. The duo has garnered thousands of fans, called “TeambrKaleidoscope,” and it outfits those fans in branded merchandise such asbrt-shirts and headbands available at KaleidoscopeDuo.com.
Avers'brdream of reaching people through song has become a reality. Kaleidoscope travelsbrall over the world for ministry and music, allowing Avers to connect with peoplebron a global stage.
“Onebrof the coolest things about traveling is that we get to meet so many differentbrpeople and hear their stories and struggles,” she says. “I love interactingbrwith people and hearing how in some small way our music has impacted them.
Withbrthe Girls of Grace Tour on the horizon in 2016 and several other shows on thebrbooks, Kaleidoscope has plenty of opportunity to connect with others. Thisbrmeans a busy schedule, but that's okay with Avers. She embraces life on thebrroad. She's even learned to enjoy living out of a suitcase. “I feel like I canbrput together an outfit much quicker,” she laughs.
Knowing What's Important
Aversbris no stranger to travel, though she hasn't always journeyed for music. She'sbrbeen on 11 mission trips with White's Chapel UMC, visiting poverty-riddenbrlocales in Guatemala, Mexico, Haiti, Botswana, Africa, the United Kingdom andbreven here in the United States.
Eachbrexperience has been different. When you go on a mission trip to help those whobrneed it the most, you don't leave the same person, she says. Though the peoplebrshe encountered faced intense poverty, one thing stood out to her: They were stillbrjoyous.
“Moneybrisn't everything. God is, and these trips have taught me that,” Avers says.
Whereverbrher travels take her, Avers stays true to her Dragon roots. She attendedbrCarroll ISD from first grade at Durham Elementary all the way to her graduation.brShe was class president, Homecoming princess, a part of Emerald Belles as abrfreshman, and she was also involved in show choir, theater, Spanish club andbrkey club.
“Ibrdon't know how to not be busy, and I think that started in high school,” shebrsays. “I love being a Dragon and I'm proud to protect the tradition wherever Ibrgo.”
Aversbrmarried her high school sweetheart, Steven, who was a catcher for CarrollbrBaseball. The two met in gifted-and-talented English class their sophomorebryear. After graduation, Avers pursued music while Steven pursued a medicalbrcareer. He's now a doctor at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, the city inbrwhich the couple resides.
Thoughbrshe enjoys hiking, going to the beach and exploring different parts ofbrCalifornia with her husband, there are pieces of Southlake that Avers misses. Forbrstarters, she says there's nothing like the city's small-town feel andbrwelcoming culture. And, surprisingly, she also misses the Texas weather. Itbrdoesn't feel like summer in California because it doesn't get hot enough, shebrsays.
Returning,brif even for a few days, for a hometown performance makes Avers smile. “I'mbralways proud to bring Natalie to my local shows because they are always thebrbest,” says Avers. “She makes fun of my Texas pride, but who can blame me?brTexans are the best.”
Asbrwe visit at White's Chapel UMC, the place where Avers composed many songs andbrwhere she worked as a worship leader for nearly three years, she feels gratefulbrthat she gets to do her favorite thing on earth.
Withbrher songs, Avers says that, more than anything, she wants to express that “Godbrloves us and is for us, and He has a plan for our lives that is bigger andbrbrighter than we ever could have imagined.”
Howbrsweet it is to be living the message behind the melodies. SS