Healing hearts and souls through her art

As a 2-year-old, Jae Anthony’s first stage was her home and her set list included the songs she’d learned from “Sesame Street” and The Disney Channel. A full-time artist who performs under the name JerVae, Anthony went on to study at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts from fourth through 12th grades, and graduated from the California Institute of the Arts, where she studied vocal performance.

“Singing allows me to communicate my truth and tell stories using the unique instrument that I’ve been gifted with, and a variety of techniques that I continue to study,” she says.

Today, she’s one of the scheduled performers in the Poets & Painters event organized by the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, taking place at the Market Creek Amphitheater in San Diego from noon to 5 p.m.

Anthony, 33, lives in southeast San Diego and also works as a consultant with The SOULcial Workers, a collective of artists who use art to work with youth and provide them with access to explore and express themselves. She took some time to talk about her singing and songwriting, the purpose behind her art, and what people can expect from her performance today.

Q: Tell us about Poets & Painters.

A: Poets & Painters is a free arts festival featuring music, poetry and visual arts. I’ll be doing a set of original compositions and audio-emotional storytelling.

Q: What can people expect from your performance today?

A: They can expect to be entertained and surprised. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I’m excited to share with our audience. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but I can say that I have been known to perform with puppets, remix and cover classic songs. Blending genres and bending rules excite me. During this performance, I will be using multiple media to create something tangible that allows the audience to take a piece of me home with them.

Q: You sing and write songs. Do you remember the first song you wrote?

A: One of the first songs I wrote was “Life Is What You Make It,” and it’s a song about finding happiness outside of what society encourages us to obtain. Looking back, this was probably the beginning of me trying to decolonize…

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