Meet Grace Anne Cascio

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Grace Anne Cascio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Grace Anne below.

Grace Anne, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose through music.

From a young age, I was always drawn to the arts. Whether it was dance or musical theatre, I was apart of it. Whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always told them that I wanted to be a musician. I never imagined myself doing anything else.

When I was 17, it came time to actually decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And when it came down to it, I was scared. I was always told music wasn’t “practical”, whether it was onstage or behind the scenes, but music was quite literally all I wanted to do. I went with my gut.

Since I wanted to pursue a Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Music & Entertainment Industries (Classical Voice) at William Paterson University, I had to build my resume. Even though I have been singing my whole life, I had never been confident enough to put out my own music with my own singing. I have worked with friends on music projects before – writing, recording, and producing songs, but I really wanted to do something from start to finish on my own. Starting in my senior year of high school, I began to write my very first EP, “Heart Half Empty: Trilogy from the RUBA”.

Thankfully, I have always had such an amazing support system. My mom was a business woman herself, and she would always help me advocate for myself. My dad built his very own recording studio in our basement, where he helped me record all my new music. As an independent artist, I had little to no budget. We wanted to go big or go home, but with the lack of money that I had to begin this project, it was difficult to achieve this. My dad and I created a GoFundMe, in efforts to crowdfund my very first music video, featuring my first single, “Just A Ghost”. Our goal was to create a music video in a historic Jazz Club in Philadelphia called the RUBA Club. It has been in business for over a hundred years, and was a speakeasy during the 1920s. We raised over $2,000 in donations, which all went towards the cost of the video production including renting out the club for the shoot, costumes, equipment, editing etc.

With the support of my family and friends, the music video was set in motion. The music video for “Just A Ghost” came out on May 24th, 2024, and began my journey in finishing my very first EP. Three songs and three music videos later, I can say that I have not only accomplished something I never thought I was capable of, but I have found my ‘why’ in life because of it.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Grace Anne, I am an independent music artist. I have written and released 3 of my own original songs, all from my EP, “Heart Half Empty: Trilogy from the RUBA”. All three of these songs were written about letting go of people and experiences that have held me down for a very long time. Not only was this project in efforts to build my resume when applying to music schools, but it was a way of starting off my career as a musician.

I write and record everything in my little home studio with my dad. My dad, Jason Cascio, has been my rock throughout this entire process. Not only did he help give me the confidence to write and release my very own songs, but he stuck with me by my side as I recorded and produced them in their entirety. If there’s anyone I have to thank, it is him. I have learned so much from this project, and it is all thanks to my dad.

I started out with close to no budget. My dad and I created a GoFundMe to crowdfund this project, and we raised over $2,000. With this money, we were able to create three songs and three music videos, all taking place at a super cool jazz club in Philadelphia, the RUBA Club (hence the name of the EP). I advertise my music all over my social media pages, on Instagram and TikTok (@graceacascio), in hopes to gain an audience. Although I have released all three songs with their respective music videos, I have more projects in the works for the future. Make sure to listen to “Just A Ghost”, “Sacrifice”, and “Heart Half Empty”, they are on all streaming platforms now!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1) Learning how to advertise myself – A big part of starting off a career as an independent artist is making sure you know how to promote yourself. Gaining a large presence on social media is extremely important. Learning how to navigate through different algorithms on social media sites is crucial when trying to get your work seen by new people.

2) Distributing music – When distributing my music, I had to do it myself (with the help of my dad). Knowing how to work an online distribution service, like Distrokid, is extremely important if you want your music to reach all major streaming platforms. This would include ensuring that your music was mastered and in the best file format for distribution, and copyrighted.

3) Producing music – I had to be very in touch with exactly how I wanted my songs to sound. This meant that I had to learn a bit about working in Digital Audio Workstations, so that I could communicate exactly what I wanted done differently with my song. Thankfully, since I was working with my dad, this was a bit of a learning curve for both of us. I have learned a lot about the recording and production process throughout this project.

For people who are just starting their journey, my best advice is to keep your eyes on the prize. People will try to knock you down, and in an industry that is solely based on gaining an audience, this can be discouraging. People will always have opinions about what you do, but you have to stay true to you art. Never give up on what feels impossible, every step you make is a step closer to your success.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

My dad. Without my dad, I would not have been able to bring this project to life. I am so lucky that the two of us have such similar interests, because it has encouraged me to create a project that has started off my career as a musician.

His efforts in creating the most magnificent, yet cozy little home studio, has allowed me to not only grow as a singer, but as a musician. He has taught me all about working on a music project from start to finish, and I am eternally grateful. I thank him for all the knowledge I have of recording, producing and mastering a song.

Not only is he an amazing producer, but he recorded and edited every one of my music videos. My dad doesn’t give himself nearly enough credit, and without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

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Image Credits

Picture of RUBA Club: Jacob Miller

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