By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Cyrena Wages is glad to be back home around people she loves and doing what she loves.
The daughter of Millington natives Wilson and Deborah Wages has always had a passion for creating music even before earning her her bachelor’s in Music Performance/Music Business from Belmont University.
Before all of the chaos with COVID-19 hit the world, Cyrena moved back from Nashville to the Memphis area.
The two-time Miss Memphis winner and former first runner-up for Miss Tennessee has been at work in the studio creating music. Now Wages is ready to release a song that speaks to her love of music and home with the solo track “River Bends.”
“I’m inspired and clear right now,” Wages said. “Historically, analysis paralysis has been my middle name. For the last 10 years, if there was a way to talk myself out of releasing music, I’d find it.
“But a new chapter (solo project) and some real perspective (corona crisis) have motivated me to trust my gut, express my heart, and make art that is true,” she added. “PSA, if anyone else experiences blocks like this, check out a book I love called “The War of Art,” by Steven Pressfield. Make your projects, break the cycle of self sabotage.”
Over the years Wages has earned fame and recognition with her contributions to education through her pageant duties and work in the group “The Lost Wages.”
“I wrote “River Bends” this time last year with my brother, Houston, and Jesse Cole,” she recalled. “I was living in East Nashville, waiting tables and hustling. I’d work until 3 a.m. every morning, barely sleep, wake up and go to co-writes (the phrase coined for Music Row songwriting appointments) and then go back to work.
“I felt like I had taken a nice beating over the years from the pursuit of this “dream,” like so many of us feel from time to time,” Cyrena continued. “I kept thinking about moving back to Memphis, to gain some perspective and remind myself of why I started playing music in the first place. So I did and I wrote this song about it.”
“River Bends” will start being available on Friday April 24. “River Bends” will be released on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and most all digital music platforms. Visit cyrenawages.com and links will forward you to the right place. Keep up with Wages day to day shenanigans on her Instagram, @cyrenawages.
“It’s been a beautiful roller coaster,” she noted of her music career. “I think that’s probably just how it goes, if you’re doing it right. It’s not easy to relentlessly pursue something that’s inherently subjective. But I feel like things are starting to come together for me, in the world and in my mind. I’m very lucky to love something so much and I’m grateful to get to pursue it.”
Wages said despite the world slowing down to adjust to the coronavirus crisis, 2020 is her time to increase her workload and get more music out to the public and her developing fan base.
“I was initially concerned that releasing work during this time was insensitive,” she acknowledged. “Certainly, nothing can mitigate how much people are hurting and how high global anxiety is.
“Then my perspective shifted,” Wages concluded. “This is the purpose of art and entertainment. We all need something to grab onto. If ever a time for things to be made out of nothing and shared with the world, maybe it’s now.”
Look for Wages to hit the stage near Flag City once gathering regulations allow.
For more information, visit www.cyrenawages.com and visit her Instagram @ cyrenawages to locate where to find “River Bends” and other music.
