Community
Lead With Love by Nidia Martinez
What’s your backstory?
Music found me at a young age, intertwined in every way imaginable. My parents are both musically inclined, so naturally I took after them. I grew up under the desert sun and never-ending lights in the 24-hour city, Las Vegas, Nevada. Originally being born in Washington state, I was constantly surrounded by nature and love. The entirety of my family lives within a 20-mile radius in the Yakima Valley, but in 2005 my parents took a leap of faith by hauling three young kids 18 hours away from all sense of familiarity. Moving to a new city when I was 8 years old forced me to stretch my comfort zone at a young age. I think this set the tone for the way I live my life now and how well I adapt to new situations. I took to the familiarity of music and immediately joined choir at my new school and followed up with it every year after. I took up guitar at age 12 and performing for family events eventually turned into playing venues like Brooklyn Bowl and Foundation Room at 18 years old. Within the last two years, I’ve been more focused on the production of my original music and making my ideas come to life. I released three singles over the course of this pandemic and plan on releasing a few more over the next few months.
What made you decide to choose this career path?
I think it chose me. I consider myself a visionary creative. I am constantly seeking ways to innovate and create positive opportunities for fellow creatives. Growing up in Las Vegas was different. I was exposed to various cultures, corporatization, poverty, sex, pretty much everything imaginable and at such a young age. ‘Sin City’ maintains its name in every way imaginable. However, from seeing both sides of the coin, the good and the bad, it has been placed on my heart to turn this city from ‘Sin City’ into ‘Significant City’ through my music and the platform it allows me. I plan on curating large scale events to showcase local talent that is not limited to musicians but also includes local vendors, artists, fashion designers, photographers, and everything under the sun that involves the local community and art. The vision I see for Las Vegas is community through love and art.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest thing I’ve ever had to learn is to just be over-prepared. You can literally never be too prepared! I threw my first event in which I was the sole curator, so I handled every aspect of the operation from logistics to what kind of chips would be put out. It came time for the first performance, all was merry and bright until we discovered one of the microphone cords was shot. The harsh, piercing sound of crackling feedback came at full blast from the PA and disrupted the artist mid-performance. He ended up turning off the microphone and just projected his voice to fill the space. Luckily, one of the artists had brought an extra cord. Thankfully he was over-prepared, unlike myself. It just goes to show that one can never be too prepared. Now I just remember to check, then double check, then check again that I have everything I need.
What do you think makes your company/personal brand stand out?
Authenticity. I am not willing to sacrifice who I am as an artist to gain success or limelight. I am naturally very grounded and rooted. It is not common for me to do things out of character. I think that being true to yourself is the best way to maintain your brand. In this day and age people are tired of seeing a false reality. By allowing myself to be truly seen by being vulnerable, I feel as though people connect and relate to my music more.
What’s a quote that you live by?
“Lead with love.” I think this is applicable in every area of life. Love is the highest vibration and I think it is the answer everyone is searching for. We are conditioned in society, especially here in the U.S., to take and to exhaust. We are always wanting more but are never satisfied. Leaving the soul deprived. I think that having pure intentions sets apart people who are happy and the miserable ones. Love is selfless and I believe it leads to fulfillment.