Singing from the beginning: Ellen Lund has been singing since she was little and has been taking her career farther with performing concerts and at different shows. 

Then-second-grader Ellen Lund logged into her dad’s phone, opened Instagram, and went live. 

Now, as a sophomore, Lund performs around the Kansas City area for crowds of 100-150 people. Every performance is optional but Lund tries to perform at as many as possible.

“When I watched Grace Vanderwaal sing and play the ukulele on America’s Got Talent, I knew I wanted to get into music,” Lund said. “I got my first ukulele then started taking lessons. Since then I’ve grown into my voice and my hobby. Singing is such a huge part of my life and I wouldn’t trade this talent for anything else.”

While attending one of Lund’s concerts, her friend sophomore Avery Folger noticed …the audience was super engaged with Lund whether singing or playing the ukelele or guitar 

Throughout elementary school, Folger always noticed Lund had a passion for singing. She watched Lund as she performed in talent shows and even just sang at recess all the time in elementary school.

“She sometimes pulls out the i-can-sing card when we hang out,” Folger said. “Obviously in a good way.” 

Lund performs holiday concerts at her dad”s work around December where she gets paid, unlike the free shows she does with her music school. Lund usually performs alone but occasionally gets offers from bands. Usually, the bands are through family and friend connections.

Lund has performed at her dad’s work holiday parties and even at her grandma’s store “The Olive Tree.” Usually, she sings in the background of the gathering and picks some songs off her Christmas song list and will have them written down. 

“It’s so hard to memorize 35 songs and usually I’m really good about memorization because nobody wants to watch you read off a paper,” said Lund. 

To prepare for shows, Lund practices in her living room — also known as her music room — and typically does the songs she’s gonna sing three times a night the week before the show. These preparations are made so she doesn’t have to worry about messing up a lyric or hitting the wrong note.