Photo Credit - PJ Brown
Spotlight on Business: Tell us a little about yourself and your ties to PEI. What do you like to do in your spare time? Alli Walker: I grew up in Summerside, Prince Edward Island and I spent a lot of time playing instruments and playing sports as a child. I started with the drums and piano and then I discovered bagpiping. Playing the bagpipes was a huge part of my life! There’s a place called the College of Piping in Summerside, and my mom worked there. I grew to love playing the pipes. I did the Highland Games Band competitions; and the North American Championships in Scotland, and for a while, I thought I was going to be a professional bagpiper. I was offered a scholarship to the University of Arkansas after high school, but I didn’t take it because I found my love for singing and country music. I always loved country music as well as other genres, but when Taylor Swift rose to fame, I related to her and her songwriting. We’re the same age. She inspired me to get involved in the industry. I’d never done any singing in public before but, in grade
12, I auditioned for my school musical, and I was cast as the lead female role in “Footloose.” That one decision and opportunity changed the entire trajectory of my life. I got the singing and performing “bug” and took lessons from a professor at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). I then went to UPEI as a vocal major for one year but, because it was more classical, it wasn’t quite the right fit for me. So, at 19, I packed up and moved to Toronto by myself and started my artistic journey that led me to Nashville. “In grade 12, I auditioned for my school musical, and I was cast as the lead female role in “Footloose.” That one decision and opportunity changed the entire trajectory of my life.”
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 2 13
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