EXCLUSIVE: Local Billings Singer Wows 70,000 EDM Fans in Europe

There is nothing wrong with being average. Most of us are. We go to work, have families, pay bills and occasionally do something interesting. We have grandiose dreams as children ("I'm going to be a famous actor, play for the NFL, be an astronaut, climb Mount Everest!") and then reality and adulthood suck the life out of most of our dreams. Maybe that's why I love hearing stories from people in Billings who have done really big things.

Meet Sarah Maria.

Last week, I had the opportunity to catch up with Billings' own Sarah Maria. She is a talented vocalist who not only followed her musical dreams but saw them to fruition last month when she performed during the headlining set of a four-day music festival in Amsterdam. Her story is pretty awesome. You can listen to our conversation below.

Her journey to fame started in 2009.

Maria left Billings in 2009 to pursue music in LA. What happens next is a perfect example of random meetings that can completely change the direction of your life. After living in Los Angeles for a couple of months, her then-boyfriend was a bouncer at a local club. He said, "there is someone I want you to meet", a producer who frequented the lounge.

Sarah ended up meeting the producer at a small apartment near Venice Beach, which led to a second meeting. It was from that small LA apartment that Maria wrote the lyrics and was offered the role of lead vocals on the track Live the Moment. Her amazing voice can be heard beginning about 2 minutes into the track, a style of dance music known as hardstyle.

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The #1 hardstyle song of all time and a performance in front of 70,000 fans.

In 2019 her song with artist JDX was named the #1 Hardstyle Song of All Time by Dediqated. Unfortunately, the live music scene was hit hard by the COVID pandemic, and any opportunities to celebrate the nomination were delayed until late June of this year. JDX called Sarah earlier this spring and asked her to fly to Europe to perform their song together. She scrambled to get a passport in time and was soon headed to Amsterdam. The stage is pretty incredible, as you can see from this fan video below.

A film crew followed her every move.

Maria said it was an interesting experience to have a camera crew follow her basically everywhere during her experience at the Defqon.1 festival. The mom of three has other projects in the works, including making more music. Her bubbly personality is contagious and I had a great time hearing her story. Take a listen.