Overview

Hello! My name is Cameron Esther and I'm a singer-songwriter in New York, New York.

I’ve been performing my whole life: school choirs, musical theater productions, drag shows and on films. I’ve also been publishing my poetry, plays and other writing forms. Now, after pouring everything I’ve learned into songwriting, the only thing left to do is to share this art form with all of you.

The material is ready, and the musicians are waiting– this Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward creating my first ever, professionally produced studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Ryan Gallagher in Boston, MA. Ryan is a seasoned Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, Ryan and I are digging into my original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. 

We’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing one song, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “Lilac Oil,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund the recording process for "Lilac Oil” on my own, the costs to create an entire album of professional quality add up quickly. With that said, this campaign can give us a unique opportunity to collaborate and make great art together. Your donation will cover the following costs of my project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts. Ryan and I will start crafting the arrangements for each song slated for the album. We’ll hold rehearsals to fine-tune the songs and arrangements and talk through new and exciting ideas for how to approach the recording process.

2. Recording: This is when we enter the studio and start capturing the music and where the songs become what you'll hear on this album. This campaign will play a huge role in making sure we have enough time to capture great performances for every musician.

3. Mixing & Mastering: Each track will get mixed to create the right balance between instruments, texture and color that make up a track. As a final step, the album will be mastered from beginning to end so that the listening experience is cohesive and carefully choreographed from start to finish.

And what will you get for your generosity? So many awesome things!

I am so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I've put together a group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign. Full list to the right!

It's hard to articulate how much this project would change my life.

I am, for the first time in my life, brave enough to share my music to my community as part of that bigger picture. Somehow, despite amassing years of experience in other types of performance and writing, I still feel a stronger sense of vulnerability when it comes to music. Perhaps that’s all the more reason to make it now.

However, this vulnerability is far from isolating. This is, after all, an inherently collaborative and collective process. So many incredible musician friends have pushed me to be better, be it those whose playing you will hear or those who inspired me to be ready for this opportunity in the first place. Even those who aren’t musicians at all– fellow queens and actors onstage, the magazine editors who decided my writing was worth publishing and unflinchingly supportive friends and family have brought me to this readiness. I hope this project will help me find even more collaborators to make new music together.

While I've never made a music project of this caliber before, I have managed and executed creative projects of all types: in drag, in acting, in directing, in arts production and in creative writing. All the while, I've been deepening my musical focus and practicing, practicing, practicing. With your support, I will channel that consistent work and experience into something unique that we will have made together.

If you're ready to contribute, click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and I’m so grateful for all your support.

If you know of anyone in your network that might be interested in supporting this project, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out my campaign. I can't wait to share this music with you.

Yours,

C.E. :)