Singing her non-traditional heart out

True to the fashion of the university itself, Portland State’s spring commencement ceremony will have a singer who is far from traditional this year.

River Wylde, who will sing “America the Beautiful” at the ceremony on Sunday, June 13, has a bevy of non-traditional experiences under her belt.

“I grew up on the road since I was four years old,” Wylde said. “We were in a traveling band called The Williams Family.”

Growing up in a car with her other three siblings and her parents playing in a pop band may sound a little Jewel-esque, but on the outside, Wylde looks like any other Portlander. She wears earth-colored clothes and jeans, and like her singing voice, she speaks in a crystal clear tone, with strong, confident eye contact.

This mix of confidence and informality has obviously helped her musical career as well. Interestingly, after Wylde and her siblings turned 18, they all went on to achieve extremely different careers in music.

“It’s a strange thing, how different the styles of music we chose are,” she said. “One of us is a gospel singer now, the other is in a Beatles cover band and the other is playing bluegrass.”

Wylde herself moved on to a few other bands before settling into the all women’s blues group Lady Blues, which was the only group of its kind in Arkansas at the time.

Singing at graduation won’t just be another gig for Wylde, though. The ceremony she will be performing at will be her graduation as well. Brought to PSU’s art studies program through a scholarship, Wylde found herself in a less academic setting than she was used to.

“This degree is especially important to me because before this, I was home-schooled until the fifth grade and that was it,” she said. “I didn’t get my G.E.D. until much later on. I came back to school at 44.”

Since coming to Portland, school has taken a lot of her time. Wylde’s eight-year-old daughter Haylee has been a big part of her life as well.

“It’ll be great to graduate because this is all she’s ever known—me in school,” Wylde said.

 Wylde was pleased to hear that she would be performing “America the Beautiful” at the ceremony instead of the often traditional “Star Spangled Banner.”

“It’s a really beautiful song and this way everyone can join along with me.”

With a crystal clear tone and fabulous range, it’s likely the crowd will want to join in with this pop and blues singer. Some of her influences include Carly Simon and Bonnie Raitt, as well as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, she said.

When asked her musical influences, Wylde also mentioned drummer Buddy Rich. Wylde is not only a singer but a drummer as well, and has been playing drums since she was a mere seven years old.

After graduation, Wylde looks forward to getting back into the music scene. Before that, however, she intends to gain some much-needed family time:

“I told my daughter, as soon as I’m done, we’re going camping!”