Local musician a rising national star

Cami Bradley almost always has a busy schedule.

Along with her full-time job as the music director at Life Center Church in Spokane, she runs a photography business that she started two years ago. She’s also a well-known local musician who has played at numerous local venues and who released an album of folk-tinged pop songs and soulful ballads called “Seas” earlier this year.

But in the past few weeks, almost all of Bradley’s time has been devoted to television: She can currently be seen as a contestant on NBC’s reality competition show “America’s Got Talent,” where she first wowed the celebrity judges with her rendition of “Over the Rainbow.” During the show’s Las Vegas rounds, her performance of the jazz standard “Summertime,” which she played on piano, advanced her even further.

And on Tuesday, Bradley will perform live at Radio City Music Hall in New York, which will be the biggest stage she’s ever played by far.

“It’s been very surreal for me,” Bradley said. “Honestly, I’m still a little bit in shock about it all.”

Outside of her whirlwind TV schedule – “There’s so much that goes into it,” she said, “but learning to balance it all has been kind of fun” – Bradley says she’s been recognized by strangers on the street and has been inundated with messages of support and encouragement on Facebook and Twitter.

“I cannot keep up with it all,” she said. “It’s warmed my heart. People have been so genuine and sweet.”

But regardless of the arena, whether it’s on national stages or at smaller Spokane venues, Bradley hopes that her music career will continue beyond her “America’s Got Talent” experience.

“I haven’t thought big picture yet,” she said, “I’m trying to look at each step in the competition as something I can tackle next.

“The weight of it all just hasn’t quite hit me yet,” she added. “I don’t know if it ever will. Maybe not until I step onto the Radio City Music Hall stage.”