This Month’s Featured Article

If you don’t already know the name Elizabeth Rose Forbes, consider this your official introduction. I suspect you’ll be glad to have made her acquaintance – especially if you’re a music lover who enjoys unearthing new artists in unexpected places.

Elizabeth, or “E,” as those who know her best call her, turns 18 this August. And while this blond-haired, green-eyed beauty might still be mistaken for a tween, her songwriting skills, soulful voice, and passion for the arts tell of someone who’s mature well beyond her years. 

Close connection

Full disclosure: I’ve known E ever since her little lungs belted out their first howl oh-so many summers ago. I was also present for her older brother Jack’s birth 21 years back.

You see, the Forbes family and I lived next door to each other for 20 years before I moved out of New York. During that time, we became like family.

E’s mom, Amanda (Amy, to me) is among my best friends; her dad, John, I likewise love dearly; her grandfather, Dick Sobielo, is like a second father to me; and her brother, Jack, well, I’ve watched him grow into a kind, intelligent, and compassionate young man with the same pride I imagine I’d feel for my own child.

Amy’s brother, Mike, and John’s side of the family are also absolutely wonderful, but as I must get on with E’s profile, I shan’t name them all individually. Suffice it to say, Elizabeth Forbes and her family are among my very favorite people on Earth.

E’s been fortunate to have parents who provided balance, affording her the structure and support needed to learn and grow along with the freedom to develop a sense of confidence and curiosity. Their guidance and love nurtured an independent streak in E that allowed her creative side to flourish. 

Dancing to the beat

Elizabeth first dipped her toe into the arts – quite literally – by donning a pair of tap shoes and heading to dance class before entering elementary school.

“I have danced since I was four, I think, and I’ve done pretty much everything you can think of dance-wise,” she said, adding she’s studied music since that early age as well. “I love to tap the most; that’s my thing. I’m just a little tapper. I love the movements. I’ve also done lyrical and contemporary. Music is also very emotional, but there’s a lot of emotion attached to dancing, not just for me but for any dancer.”

E explained she has “the same head space” dancing as when singing. 

“I love dancing; it’s another outlet that makes me feel good,” she said. “It conveys my emotions. Dance is just as valuable as music; it gets me moving. Physical activity is great. Some people, like my brother and dad, play soccer; others, like my mom, like to run. Dance is a way to get my mind out of my body and just move. It kind of feels the same to me – when I’m dancing or playing the guitar or writing – I’m out of my body and going.”

Shaping a sense of self, early on 

Personally, it’s been amazing to witness this spunky little creature explore always, anything, and everything: flitting around while investigating her mom’s bountiful vegetable garden, prancing through wooded trails picking dandelions en route to the river’s edge, or organizing dances at her family’s annual Christmas Day dinner, to which I was always invited to. 

Quirky and soulful, E’s artistic streak has always been balanced by the things that count: a stable family, a strong moral code, and a solid work ethic. 

She graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, CT, on June 19, her sense of self intact and her curiosity about the world burgeoning.

“I’m a bit sad,” she acknowledged. “I really liked high school. I enjoyed meeting so many different people there. There were people from six different towns in Connecticut, plus some kids from New York, like me, and there were so many different opportunities to get involved with.” 

And get involved she did. Along with her core classes, Elizabeth participated in HVRHS’s night choir and band, performed in its annual Battle of the Bands and spring musical (with the exception of her junior year’s production), and, although she wasn’t a member of the FFA, took several agriculture classes and attended many ag events.

“I really enjoyed them and spent a lot of time in the ag department,” she said. “I loved the animals. My very favorite time of year was always when they had a lot of baby goats and lambs.” 

Her favorite subject? French! Elizabeth just obtained her Seal of Biliteracy. E particularly relished traveling with her school’s international travel club to France, England, and Iceland.

Traveling adds to the creative well

“I take inspiration from everything,” explained E. “France and Iceland were very cool experiences culturally, and I brought those experiences back. All my writing comes from emotions. We went to Normandy, France, and it was very sad. We went to really beautiful cathedrals and castles, too, which were very hopeful and uplifting. 

“In Iceland, we went to a crater that was very, very cool; that was awesome,” described E. “We got beautiful weather; it was very unusual, sunny and mid-50s. It felt warm for Iceland, and we hiked up the crater and inside it. We went to glaciers, of course, and waterfalls, a couple of cute little towns that were each unique; the architecture was all very different. We saw a lot of farms, and much of the land isn’t civilized. We saw horses that were just roaming, which was beautiful. Even in the US, I try to find beauty in things around me, but it’s easier to do that when you’re traveling. There’s so much beauty around you.”

Inquisitiveness leads to inspiration, support leads to success

This quietly ambitious superstar-in-the-making recognizes her family’s role in allowing her to freely and honestly pursue her art. If not for her parents fostering her own self-expression, E said it’s likely she’d have been more self-conscious or had a greater fear of failure when starting out. 

“My household is very supportive of me and my music,” she said. “My family and friends give me the confidence to go out there and perform.

“I’m sure you remember when I would perform standing on my parents’ balcony and have you sit below; I was six years old and sang short, little tunes,” she recalled. “I got inspiration from my mother, who has a beautiful voice, and I would make up little tunes. My father, too, would love it when I’d do that. He’d be like, ‘add a bridge and you have a full song, sweetheart.’ Then I’d write a full song, and a mix of parents and other adults in my life would say, ‘Go and play guitar.’ My father likes country music and encouraged me to take guitar classes.”

Elizabeth’s mom teaches at Kent Center School and previously taught at Dutchess Day School. About six years ago, she enrolled E in private guitar lessons with former colleague Eric Marshall.

“[Eric] taught me everything I know on guitar,” said E. “I’m not taking lessons with him anymore, but I did for four years, from seventh grade to sophomore year, and he was just great, incredible. He taught me so much, really everything I could possibly need to write music and more. He taught me so many cool things about music, and he was an open ear for my songs. I’d show him all the songs, and he’d help me with different chord progressions. He’d give me feedback. If I had writer’s block, he’d help. I’m very grateful I studied with him.”

Striking the right chord

These days, Elizabeth has taken the musical note and run with it. She continues to write her own songs in addition to recording and performing them. 

And while acknowledging that her first Battle of the Bands was intimidating as a freshman, she’s since fallen in love with performing her music on stage.

“This year for Battle of the Bands I went out and had fun with my friends. I saw it differently; I’ve gotten into a mindset that performing there is no different from singing at home – just in different location,” she said philosophically. “I enjoy it just as much. It’s a very different feeling from writing. It’s different on stage, I’m locked into the emotions, but it’s a different flow. Performing or playing, I’m just having fun. It’s like I’m floating.”

These days, Elizabeth glides through pretty much the entire musical process herself – from composing the melody and lyrics, which typically happens in a single stream-of-thought session, to plucking the strings of her acoustic guitar (though she occasionally plays electric), to bringing her own lyrics to life.

“If I don’t get a song out on the page, poof, it’s gone,” she said. “I figure it out, start playing the chord progression, and start writing while I’m sing-songing it, talking it, and writing it down on the page. I’ll play a verse to make sure it sounds right. That lasts maybe 20 minutes, and then I’ve got it down. I find I don’t come back to my songs often to change them once I’m done. I don’t know if that’s a good habit, necessarily. Once I put the guitar down, after those 20 minutes my brain says, ‘that’s the song.’”

Elizabeth has amassed a collection of hundreds upon hundreds of songs since starting her songbook at the tender age of six. Her four-song EP, Dear Leo, is “a combination of songs from throughout high school that I recorded last year.” 

Many of those songs have been bounced around among her musically minded friends, including film and photography student Simon Markow. “I have a lot of very talented friends and he’s at the top of the list,” said E. 

Simon took photos and shot a music video for Dear Leo. It was “so much fun as a teenager, making a music video. I’m so lucky to have that experience.”

Such know-how proved invaluable when Elizabeth recorded her EP at Stone Studio in Austerlitz, NY, during two seven-hour days with producer, recording engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist Graham Stone.

Stone has worked with major-label artists as well as acclaimed independent musicians, making the experience an invaluable learning opportunity for the young songwriter.

“He was great,” she said. “That was a very unique, new experience in its own right. I went to him with my guitar and my songbook, and he was like, ‘Let’s do it.’ I played my songs and one by one, we went through them.”

Rather than tweaking, Stone merely added to E’s compositions.

“He offered, ‘Let me help you get what you want from this.’ I went in as a 16-year-old girl who was scared. He played a couple of instruments and did some mixing, and he was really great at it,” she said. “He made all my songs come to life. The only thing I could execute was guitar and voice, but he added drums, bass, and occasionally a second guitar. It was awesome.”

Working with a professional engineer was eye-opening. On one song, she translated her knowledge of percussion instruments including the xylophone and marimba into learning more about the piano. 

“The keys look exactly the same; I just hit the piano with a stick instead of my fingers,” she said. “So, I got a keyboard and taught myself how to play during band; I’ve come a very long way on that. Now I’m determined to do this. I know how the chords work, I know the theory, and I’ve taught myself how to play piano.”

While recording, Stone asked E if she’d ever played bass before. She hadn’t, but he posed, “You play the guitar, so why don’t you try?” She wound up playing bass on the same song on which she “hit” the piano keys, entitled “Why Don’t You Care?”

“I learned so much – not just about recording but also about layering,” said Elizabeth. “And now that the EP is out and people are able to hear it, it’s so cool. I also didn’t know how to upload my songs, so doing that whole process was unique, and I’m so grateful I was able to do it.”

Opportunity knocks

More opportunities have landed in Elizabeth’s lap since recording Dear Leo, though let’s be honest: she’s earned every prospect that’s come her way. 

On Saturday, June 20, Elizabeth was the opening act for the inaugural Cornwall Music Bowl, held on the grounds of the Cornwall Market at the junction of routes 4 and 7 in Cornwall, CT. The outdoor music venue was dreamed up by Spotify Head of Music Booking Chris Sampson. Elizabeth was tapped to perform after she brought down the house at HVRHS’s Battle of the Bands on May 22. Sampson was among the judges. 

“He said he really enjoyed ‘Your Toy,’ one of my songs, and invited me to play next to the Cornwall Market in a small amphitheater [he created],” said E excitedly. “I opened, and then Kate from Baltimore played, and then Wavy McGrady from Hartford, CT, performed. That was a great experience; all of us were there having fun.” 

Upwards of 100 people relaxed on the lawn, enjoying the free concert on the hill. Elizabeth said there are hopes for six more concerts this summer (for details, visit cornwallct.org/event/cornwall-music-bowl-cornwall-market). 

“Chris set it up and put it together. It looked great. It was cool to go, play for the community, and just jam. It was super exciting,” said E. “I was on Cloud 9 listening to the other bands. I got over my nerves and was just full of joy, playing guitar for people.”

Next up for Elizabeth is Springfield College in Massachusetts, where she’ll study athletic training and hopefully take a dance class or two, maybe even join the a cappella club. She also intends to keep writing, playing, and performing music.

“I have no doubt opportunities will come to me and I will take them, it’s just part of my life,” she said. “I’m sure I will continue playing. I’m just not sure where.”

For now, those interested in hearing Elizabeth’s songs may do so by searching for Elizabeth Rose “anywhere you listen to music,” including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. 

And to those contemplating picking up an instrument or testing their own vocal cords, E offers her wholehearted encouragement:

“It’s fulfilling. Whether you’re musical or not you can always find a song,” she said. “When I first picked up a guitar, I wasn’t very good at playing it, and I’m still not a professional, by any means, but I’ve come a long way. 

“It’s rewarding, and being able to write songs that other people enjoy is a gift. It’s mind-boggling. I love to hear that other people enjoy my music, but I also love that I enjoy it,” said a humble yet earnest Elizabeth. 

“Everybody gets a very different experience out of it. People connect to lyrics in different ways. They connect their experiences to songs, and they connect emotions to songs – everybody does. I do. The best thing about it is that it’s so rewarding personally. To be able to feel the way I do when I play and when I write … I feel happy every time.”

A momentary pause made me wonder if the call had dropped.

“And you were there from the beginning,” she said with feeling. 

“I was,” I responded, my emotions matching hers. 

And I’ll keep tuning in, I thought, because I know whatever Elizabeth pursues, she’ll do so with purpose – her words, her music, her role in life – guaranteed to resonate with anyone who takes the time to listen. •