Not one, but two local musical talents have found careers on the big stage. Ben Allen relocated to Estero as an adult and though he never imagined a career in music, he found his voice and some pretty good guitar skills, too, his nationwide audiences would agree. Casey Bishop grew up here and attended the Cypress Center for the Arts where she perfected her incredible voice. And she’s only 16 years old! Kudos to our Cypress Center for the Arts for nurturing musical talents. They must be proud of Casey Bishop, last year’s “American Idol” candidate who has signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings and BMG Records. Bishop, who grew up in Estero, recalls her supportive teacher. “Mr. Gary Stroh was totally invested in my music education and was very supportive. Even when I had not considered going on a show like American Idol. He taught me a lot about having a stage presence,” said Bishop. “I entered a local talent show at school and I knew my performance was not 100 percent there. I needed to work on completely letting go and would tell myself to just do it and not think about it.” She laughs recalling how nervous she was during the American Idol audition. “When I walked in there and saw Katy Perry, whom I have loved since I was two, 10 EsteroChamber.org
Casey Bishop
my voice went super high. I had a lump in my throat. I had no idea what I was saying. It was a total out-of-body experience.” When asked when she knew she wanted to sing, Bishop said, “Apparently when I was two years old, according to my Mom, my favorite person in the world who has been amazing throughout all of this. At the most inappropriate times and places, I will start humming. In a classroom, students would be looking at me. One of my teachers sent me out of the room because he got upset about it—not Mr. Stroh!” Bishop says she will be traveling back and forth to Los Angeles to make music for the next few years but will continue to spend time in Estero and perform locally The
of Southwest Florida
whenever she has the opportunity. “The people in Estero have been so kind. It’s mind blowing. If I go out to dinner, someone always walks up and says they are so proud of me.” Estero calls itself the Heart of Southwest Florida and Bishop has grabbed everybody’s hearts. She held a concert for the people of Estero when she returned from California and her American Idol experience. “That was my first show actually, other than performing on television. The energy was completely different. The feeling and the love from the people in the audience was really cool. I am excited to do more. I feel really lucky to come from such a great hometown.” Local Band Leader Says ‘Go Big AND Go Home’ Another Estero resident and singer songwriter Ben Allen moved here from middle Tennessee just north of Nashville in 2009 and, as unbelievable as this may sound to those of us who know of his talent, he was not musical then and says he had no intentions of becoming a musician! “I raced bikes and motorcycles. I never did anything with music. It wasn’t on the horizon. My hobbies changed. My clique of friends were gone. I found my-
Photo Credit: Easton Schirra
Estero Musicians Make It Big
