'Everyone has a dream': Alliance native shines in Nashville show about female music icons

At the end of the Nashville musical revue "She Believed She Could," Alliance native Alayna Watson and other members of the all-female cast ask young girls in the audience to walk on stage.

Stepping up are girls who aspire to someday make it in Nashville, like the iconic female country artists the production honors, or like Watson, who is determined to leave her mark in a city where song and guitar are the currency of dreams.

"Everyone has a dream, and you know, if you believe you can do it, you can do it," said the 2017 Alliance High School graduate, who performs under the artist name LAYNA. "And I think the first step is believing you can do it, and that's what our show is trying to express, that you can do what you believe in, and it's truly inspiring and it's built for everybody."

"She Believed She Could" debuted at the Woolworth Theatre in November with a limited run. More shows are planned for the spring; dates will be posted on the production's website at https://www.shebelievedshecould.live/ and on social media at https://www.facebook.com/SheBelievedSheCouldLIVE.

"It's for everybody," said Todd Cassetty, the founder of Song Suffragettes and the creator and director of the musical production. "If you like country music at all, you'll love this show, but it also has a lot of inspiring moments, particularly for a young female.

"It's less of a musical and more of a themed jukebox revue."

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Classic country music songs are performed, as well as original material by the six cast members. Cassetty said video screens are also incorporated to aid in the storytelling.

"The theme being that Reba McEntire came to Nashville because she believed she could be successful in music ... and LAYNA came from Ohio because she believed she could be successful in music as well," Cassetty said.

"She Believed She Could" also pays tribute to other legendary female country artists such as Dolly Parton and Wynonna and Naomi Judd, as well as successful modern artists like Maren Morris.

Alliance High School teacher was 'an inspiring light and influence'

Watson's road to Nashville and a stage role in "She Believed She Could" began after she graduated in 2021 from Malone University with degrees in music and business.

The 23-year-old Nashville resident said she still uses what she learned from impactful educators and mentors from both high school and college, particularly Alliance High School music teacher Carrie Chunat and Jon Peterson, former associate professor of music at Malone and now the director of music ministries at First Congregational Church of Hudson, as well as director of the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir.

"She had a passion for working with kids," Watson said of Chunat, who is the director of vocal music at the school. "She's just an inspiring light and influence, and I've seen it with other students and other people in life. She touched people in a way that was inspiring, welcoming and encouraging."

'Am I even good enough to do this?'

Watson arrived in Nashville with suitcases and songs to sing, and in an ode to Parton, a cup of ambition. Another face trying to stand out while performing in small venues with an acoustic guitar and no bandmates to hide behind.

"Everyone has those questions in your head no matter what it is," she said during a recent telephone interview. "Music, writing, art − they wonder, 'Hey, am I even good enough to do this?' I was worried about that, and then I got here and the community is just so encouraging and welcoming."

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During moments of doubt, she still reflects on principles instilled by Peterson at Malone.

"He teaches you excellence and to really see music more than just notes on a page," Watson said. "It really means that music is more than just a technical factor, it's expression; you put your heart and soul into it, and it creates this emotion that other people can feel."

Chunat said Watson stood out among high school students for her drive.

"Lots of students love music, but Alayna just exudes music," she said in an email. "It's so deep inside her that she couldn’t give it up if she tried. She just sees the world through music.

"To make it in the music industry, you have to LOVE it. And be willing to keep working hard through lots of frustrations. Alayna has the grit it takes to be successful, that’s for sure."

'You just have to kind of ride the wave'

Theater was never Watson's ambition, and besides involvement in a couple of high school shows, her talents and experience were rooted in music.

But she found herself on stage in the Nashville production through a flash of serendipity and the belief of a Nashville music veteran.

Watson auditioned for Song Suffragettes, a weekly curated singer-songwriter acoustic showcase featuring up-and-coming female country artists.

The Stark County native made an instant impression with her personality and depth of songwriting.

"What struck me is, as a human, she is very charming and effervescent, but what she's trying to say through her art is very substantive and very resonant if you're willing to pay attention," Cassetty said.

Watson received a surprise phone call from Cassetty the next day asking her to be in the new musical revue.

"I learned you just have to kind of ride the wave," she said. "If there's an opportunity being given to you, take it."

Cassetty admitted to taking a risk with Watson because she lacked the stage and musical experience of the other cast members.

They include Kaylin Roberson, a country artist who was featured on season 20 of "American Idol," advancing to the top 40 while garnering nearly 5 million streams on Spotify as a songwriter, as well as Jillian Dawn, Maddie Walker, Regan Stewart and Belles, who has amassed more than 3 million streams while being featured on Spotify's New Music Nashville and Apple Music's New In Country.

Representing a diversity of female talent was important, said Cassetty, who also owns Hi-Fi Fusion, a video production company.

"We're very intentional in getting to see how different all of these women are as creatives because that's what we're fighting," he said. "We're fighting this kind of industry point of view ... that's been saying they're all the same ... and they're not even close to being all the same."

'Fishing in the dark'

Cassetty has worked with major stars in country music − The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks), Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, including serving as executive producer of Swift's 2010 NBC Thanksgiving television special and directing her video for the song "Fearless."

What makes an artist the next big thing is a mystery, he admitted.

"It is a fishing in the dark kind of experience finding what's going to resonate with people and the zeitgeist with people," Cassetty said. "Kind of the great unknown."

"What I would say, especially making substantive music like LAYNA (Watson), is you don't know what the path is because it's not obvious pop (and) it's not an obvious path. She's not an obvious pop or country or R&B path. She's not making obvious music."

"There's a gravitas to what she writes," he said. "She's not a throwaway lyric type of talent. Every lyric has to matter to LAYNA and her music, and she wants to say something."

During "She Believed She Could," Watson sings one of her own songs, which she wrote with a few other Nashville artists.

"It's really about anyone who feels discriminated against," she said. "It talks about whoever you are, you're capable of doing something, where you can stand your ground, where you can make a difference. Just because of your sexuality, your gender, your race, you're not restrained by barriers, (but) I don't think they're barriers. I think they're banners and should be celebrated."

Striving for excellence

Watson continues to chase dreams, balancing music with graduate school at Middle Tennessee State University, where she studies the business of music.

"But I'm also playing in shows at bars and playing at a bunch of places in January," she said. "And I'm writing for (other musical artists)."

Watson said it's difficult to know what lies ahead for her five, 10 or 20 years into the future. Success isn't measured purely in records sold or songs streamed online, she said.

"I think quitting wouldn't make me successful," the musician said. "But aiming toward the prize, keep striving for excellence, that's what I would name as successful."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com. On Twitter: ebalintREP.

On Twitter @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Alliance singer helps tell Nashville story of Reba, Dolly, the Judds