Singer Charity Ward Inspires Through Music

For as long as she can remember, Charity Ward has been singing and playing acoustic guitar. Whether it was in her father’s church or singing for elders who lived in a long-term care facility, she was using her voice. It wasn’t until she was 13, and performed in a summer camp talent show that the singer-who was strongly influenced by Stevie Wonder and Corinne Bailey Rae-realized something in her pure, crystal-clear voice moved people. It was when a fellow camper said her original song should be played on the radio to “impact people of all races and different ages,” she recalls.

Now, at 22, she’s touching people in concerts all over Detroit. No, she’s not headlining at DTE Energy Music Theater or Joe Louis Arena, but she’s living her dream performing her hauntingly sweet songs to local crowds -under the sun at summer festivals or by candlelight at jazz clubs like Cliff Bell’s.

“That happens a lot, and that’s why I’m so proud to tell the truth,” she says. “People need that moment of cleansing and catharsis. When I can provide that for somebody, it’s really important.”But it’s not just about the music. For her, the rewards are in the feedback and interactions she has after her shows. Like the homeless man who tipped her his last dollar. Or the Motown-era piano player who told her he was so inspired by her melodies that he was going home to dust off his keyboard along with his own dreams. And then, there was the thrice-divorced woman who tweeted that Ward’s song, “Good Enough,” made her understand she was not flawed.

For more information visit Charity Ward's website.