Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Cheyenne Benton’s love/hate relationship with the San Diego County Fair

“I looked out into the crowd I saw Vic Fuentes from Pierce the Veil”

Cheyenne Benton’s first instrument was a drum set of pots and Tupperware.
Cheyenne Benton’s first instrument was a drum set of pots and Tupperware.

Cheyenne Benton loves the San Diego County Fair. Except when she hates it. “One of my best stories would have to be when I was performing at the 2019 fair,” she recalls. “We got to the final song on our set, and when I looked out into the crowd I saw Vic Fuentes from Pierce the Veil and his girlfriend watching my set.

“I instantly lost my cool — nearly threw up on stage, I was so nervous — but he stuck around after the show and bought a CD, and talked with me for a minute. That meant so much to me, being able to meet one of my musical heroes, and to have him be so down to earth and genuine. Hands down one of my favorite gigs to date.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

On the other hand, “One of my worst gigs was the first live show I ever booked — once again, at the San Diego County Fair, but back in 2015. It was scheduled for what I thought would be a sunny summer day — and as soon as I got on stage to perform, it started raining.”

“Because the stage equipment is all outside, they booted me off stage for safety reasons, and I was unable to reschedule. It absolutely broke my heart, and I had a moment where I had to decide whether or not I was cut out for this type of thing. But I pushed through my fear and I’ve played many of wonderful gigs since then!”

Benton was born in California City near Lancaster in the high desert north of Los Angeles, but her family moved to San Diego just before she turned five. “My mom likes to tell the story of my love for making noise very early on, at about two or three when I would crawl underneath the sink to grab pots, pans, and Tupperware to create my own make-shift drum sets.”

“I just about drove her insane, so she bought locks to put on the cabinets to keep me from getting into trouble. That worked for a hot minute, until I eventually memorized the key code and was able to unlock them myself.”

The first instrument she mastered was the baritone ukulele, age eight, around the same time she discovered Taylor Swift. “She was the first artist I felt I truly connected with, and to see a young woman being able to write and perform her own music inspired me to do the same.”

“Growing up, we really only listened to country music, and I mean that was it. I remember my first exposure to pop music was around nine or ten, riding in the car with my Auntie, and Maroon 5’s ‘Makes Me Wonder’ came on, and I was hooked. I went home and hopped onto YouTube, which initiated my deep-diving into the world of pop music.”

“The type of music that influences me today is a lot of synthwave, ’80s-inspired sounds — so, the 1975, Lorde, Pale Waves, Kim Petras, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ke$ha, Transviolet. I love bubblegum pop with meaningful lyrics, a catchy riff, and somewhat of a nostalgic sonic feel.”

Performing in public, she started out a bit wobbly, but righted herself swiftly. “My first experience performing to an actual audience was during a Christmas play at my old private elementary school. I was in the fifth grade, I played the role of Mother Mary’s Donkey, and we got to sing a solo song while holding hands. The girl who played Mother Mary was my best friend at the time, and I remember being absolutely petrified to sing in front of other people. But she was right there alongside me to cheer me on, and it was received really well.”

“I remember being extremely intimidated by the San Diego music scene when I started seriously playing gigs. Mostly because it’s so male-dominated and I jumped into it pretty young, around 16. Attending and playing the local open mic gigs taught me a lot about what it means to be an artist, and how it really isn’t as black and white as the media makes it seem. Some of the most talented people you will ever hear can be found playing to empty chairs and empty tables in hole-in-the-wall coffee shops.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night
Cheyenne Benton’s first instrument was a drum set of pots and Tupperware.
Cheyenne Benton’s first instrument was a drum set of pots and Tupperware.

Cheyenne Benton loves the San Diego County Fair. Except when she hates it. “One of my best stories would have to be when I was performing at the 2019 fair,” she recalls. “We got to the final song on our set, and when I looked out into the crowd I saw Vic Fuentes from Pierce the Veil and his girlfriend watching my set.

“I instantly lost my cool — nearly threw up on stage, I was so nervous — but he stuck around after the show and bought a CD, and talked with me for a minute. That meant so much to me, being able to meet one of my musical heroes, and to have him be so down to earth and genuine. Hands down one of my favorite gigs to date.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

On the other hand, “One of my worst gigs was the first live show I ever booked — once again, at the San Diego County Fair, but back in 2015. It was scheduled for what I thought would be a sunny summer day — and as soon as I got on stage to perform, it started raining.”

“Because the stage equipment is all outside, they booted me off stage for safety reasons, and I was unable to reschedule. It absolutely broke my heart, and I had a moment where I had to decide whether or not I was cut out for this type of thing. But I pushed through my fear and I’ve played many of wonderful gigs since then!”

Benton was born in California City near Lancaster in the high desert north of Los Angeles, but her family moved to San Diego just before she turned five. “My mom likes to tell the story of my love for making noise very early on, at about two or three when I would crawl underneath the sink to grab pots, pans, and Tupperware to create my own make-shift drum sets.”

“I just about drove her insane, so she bought locks to put on the cabinets to keep me from getting into trouble. That worked for a hot minute, until I eventually memorized the key code and was able to unlock them myself.”

The first instrument she mastered was the baritone ukulele, age eight, around the same time she discovered Taylor Swift. “She was the first artist I felt I truly connected with, and to see a young woman being able to write and perform her own music inspired me to do the same.”

“Growing up, we really only listened to country music, and I mean that was it. I remember my first exposure to pop music was around nine or ten, riding in the car with my Auntie, and Maroon 5’s ‘Makes Me Wonder’ came on, and I was hooked. I went home and hopped onto YouTube, which initiated my deep-diving into the world of pop music.”

“The type of music that influences me today is a lot of synthwave, ’80s-inspired sounds — so, the 1975, Lorde, Pale Waves, Kim Petras, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ke$ha, Transviolet. I love bubblegum pop with meaningful lyrics, a catchy riff, and somewhat of a nostalgic sonic feel.”

Performing in public, she started out a bit wobbly, but righted herself swiftly. “My first experience performing to an actual audience was during a Christmas play at my old private elementary school. I was in the fifth grade, I played the role of Mother Mary’s Donkey, and we got to sing a solo song while holding hands. The girl who played Mother Mary was my best friend at the time, and I remember being absolutely petrified to sing in front of other people. But she was right there alongside me to cheer me on, and it was received really well.”

“I remember being extremely intimidated by the San Diego music scene when I started seriously playing gigs. Mostly because it’s so male-dominated and I jumped into it pretty young, around 16. Attending and playing the local open mic gigs taught me a lot about what it means to be an artist, and how it really isn’t as black and white as the media makes it seem. Some of the most talented people you will ever hear can be found playing to empty chairs and empty tables in hole-in-the-wall coffee shops.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Next Article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader