About Mikaela

Mikaela is a professional freelance vocalist, songwriter, studio singer, pianist, and music educator living in Austin, Texas.

With her "drop dead gorgeous voice" Mikaela has been described as a mix of Sara Bareilles & Eva Cassidy. She was voted runner-up for the Austin Music Award's Best Female Vocalist 2017, and with 100+ rave reviews, she was chosen for The Knot “Best of Weddings” in 2018-2023 making her part of The Knot Hall of Fame. She was also chosen for a WeddingWire “Couple’s Choice Award” in 2021-2023, was named “Best of Gigmasters” in 2015, 2016, & 2019, and was “Gigmasters Top Booked Member” in January 2019.

Mikaela has a B.M. in Vocal Jazz Studies (Cum Laude) from the University of North Texas and has been a full-time musician since 2011. She performs in an array of genres - from intimate weddings, solo singing-pianist gigs, jazz ensembles, to top 40 party bands. She also teaches private vocal and piano lessons at her home studio in South Austin.

A gifted vocalist, Mikaela has performed with major artists like pop/rock sensation Ben Folds, Grammy-Award winning artists Christopher Cross and Chrisette Michelle, and R&B crooner Trey Songz. She sang on her first professional recording at 11 years old and has since sung on over 40 studio albums, demos, commercials, and short films. Her rendition of 'Autumn Leaves' is featured on Voices Of Love, a compilation of well-known female vocalists. Her voice was also featured in "En Passant", an award-winning animated film created in London, and "It's What's Inside That Counts", a 2016 HOME film commission by Glasgow-based artist-filmmaker Rachel Maclean featured Summer of 2017 at the Tate Britain in London as part of their Art Now series. Watch the clip here: “Inner Beauty”.

Original Music
In 2012, Mikaela released her first EP of all original material, "Fall With You". She has won numerous awards for both her songwriting and performance on the EP including 1st Place in the Pop category of the Indie International Songwriting Contest, and Finalist in the International Acoustic Music Awards, Kerrville New Folk Competition, Telluride Troubadour Contest, and Mountain Stage NewSong Contest (Southwest Region). Two songs off the EP were used in international commercials for Sennheiser headphones. 

Mikaela’s 2015 release and debut full-length "Milk & Honey" is a collaboration with producer Justin Shelton. The album glides between pop and R&B touchstones and showcases Mikaela's diverse writing capabilities and powerhouse vocals. Two songs from the album were featured as Skype mojis, and her song "Chemical Attraction" was used in an international ad for Delonghi coffee machines and can be heard in the Lifetime original movie “A Deadly Affair”.

Mikaela's current original project Beth // James is a collaboration with fellow Austin singer-songwriter Jordan Burchill. Their indie-folk sound is reminiscent of The Civil Wars and The Weepies and they were voted as runner-ups for "Best New Austin Band" in the 2017 Austin Music Awards. You can hear their original song, "Lion Eyes" in Spike Lee's Academy Award-winning film 'BlacKkKlansman'.

Their music is available everywhere music is sold or streamed.
Find out more about Beth // James here: www.bethjamesband.com.