After she released her first album, Vertical Lines [14], Syracuse University student and singer Sarah Aument [15] showed no signs of slowing down.
The television, radio and film senior, who’s been involved with music since she was “zero,” can boast a rich music background. Her parents, who met through their high school marching band, made all of their children take piano lessons. From an early age, Aument played the piano, continuing with trombone and then tackling guitar lessons in high school.
The Pennsylvania native got her first real taste of composing when she wrote her high school graduation song. Once she arrived to college, she performed in her dorm room. That's where Aument met two students from the Bandier Program [16] — Dan Creahan and Sam Mason — who nudged her down the road of becoming a professional artist.
“I didn’t realize what I had gotten myself into,” she said.
Aument was the first artist to join the student label, O, Morning [17]. A month later, she was headlining her first show. Together with Kevin Muldoon and Brian Ludwig, she performed under her own name, until the recently-dubbed Half Sister was formed. With her acoustic guitar and bandmates by her side, Aument began her journey into the folk rock genre. She considers the band's current endeavors part of their evolution into serious, professional artists.
“I knew I really liked it, I really loved the stage, I really loved just singing, I really loved how other music made me feel, so to be a part of that world was so exciting and so intoxicating,” Aument said.
After graduating this May, Aument sees no point in “throwing out” all she and her bandmates have built. They have no other plan but to keep moving forward.
“It’s a total risk, but at the same time, I would hate to not do it," said Aument. "It would just be a let down. It’s my favorite thing to do. But it’s also the hardest, because I care about it so much. I don’t really look down too much. I’m glad I was here at school, growing. I’ve had a lot of room to mess up here, which is nice.”
With all of their hard work finally paying off, Aument and her band are looking ahead. Citing Lauryn Hill, Carole King and Wilco as some of her inspirations, Aument plans to move to New York City after graduation with her drummer and “keep doing what they’ve always been doing."
"I can’t wait. It’s just too exciting,” said Aument, adding that she still gets nervous before performing.
“My style has to change, because there’s so much room to grow," Aument said. "Things will change, but I cant imagine things will change too much. It’s still us, and I’m sure that I’ll go through significant things that will change my life, and will change what I’m going to write about and how I’m going to write it.”
