The 17th #NEPACreative is Dani-elle Kleha from Jermyn.

Dani-elle is a 21 year old Nashville performing and recording artist, CMA member, and singer-songwriter.

“My debut Nashville-recorded album ‘Eleven’ is the creative piece behind my career,” Kleha said. “‘Eleven’ is a 10-song album comprised of songs that I either wrote or co-wrote.”

Kleha said the album is a compilation of some of her favorite songs, which she chose to bring to life in Nashville.

“The reasoning behind the name ‘Eleven:’ My Papa Danny passed away on 11-11-11 so this album was done in tribute to him as well as a song that I wrote on the album called ‘Pennies From Heaven,’ Kleha said.

Since the release of her album, Dani-elle and her band have opened for Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley and more. They have been invited to play at CMA Fest two years in a row in Nashville, Tenn. and performed at the world-renowned Schermerhorn Symphony Hall. They won the 2015 Steamtown Music Award for Country Act of the Year, the 2015 Rising Artist Award at the Josie Music Awards in Nashville and, most recently, the 2016 Female Artist of the Year at the Josie Awards. Her music has been featured on Sirius XM, NashFM and multiple online and terrestrial radio stations.

When asked to describe the creative process, Dani-elle said she’s involved “From initially writing a song, to taking it into the studio and working on arrangements to bring them to life, to hours spent recording the vocals to make sure each word is conveyed the way you want it to be, to mixing and mastering with the producers to make sure the end product is exactly how you want it to be, to designing the album cover to portray you as an artist to the fans, down to the final finished product that will make it into the phones, radios, computers and so much more of the fans to inspire them and touch them in a way that only music can.”

“That is the beauty of creativeness, it can be whatever you want it to be.”

For Dani-elle, music, is how she expresses herself and shares her creativity.

“Music is not only what I do, but it truly is who I am as a person,” she said.

Danielle went on to explain that being creative means showing who you are and how you portray a situation to the world. She said that it comes down to being able to take your thoughts, ideas and feelings and make them into something that can make a difference, and to be able to feel good about whatever it is that you are doing.

When being considered as an NEPA Creative, individuals are asked to explain how they bring creativity to the area, how long they have been doing it and why, and finally what being creative means to them. Once chosen, the next step is to bring each creative into CoalCreative’s studio space to be filmed for a 60 second video that is shared every Wednesday across all their social media platforms. The series plans to highlight all sorts of creatives throughout the rest of the year. There are no limits to who could be considered. Photographers, musicians, barbers, magicians and improv artists are just a handful of the submissions CoalCreative has received thus far.

Dani-elle Kleha, of Jermyn, shares her creativity through writing and performing country music.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_13690889_1247947601896684_622866217651387016_o.jpeg.optimal.jpegDani-elle Kleha, of Jermyn, shares her creativity through writing and performing country music. Submitted photo

Dani-elle Kleha said she is involved with many aspects of creating her music from songwriting right through production and distribution.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_IMG_9795.jpeg.optimal.jpegDani-elle Kleha said she is involved with many aspects of creating her music from songwriting right through production and distribution. Submitted photo

Dani-elle Kleha and her band have received several honors at awards shows in Scranton and Nashville.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_IMG_9437.jpeg.optimal.jpegDani-elle Kleha and her band have received several honors at awards shows in Scranton and Nashville. Submitted photo

Dani-elle Kleha either wrote or co-wrote every song on her Nashville-recorded debut, ‘Eleven.’
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Danielle.jpg.optimal.jpgDani-elle Kleha either wrote or co-wrote every song on her Nashville-recorded debut, ‘Eleven.’ Courtesy of CoalCreative
Jermyn singerwrites originalcountry songs

By Holly Pilcavage

For Weekender

To be considered for the series, submit a consideration form at www.coalcreative.com/are-you-a-nepa-creative or send an email to holly@coalcreative.com.