by Chelsea Brown

Melissa Jane Eisenhauer, 21, sways side-to-side.  Spotlights shine down on her as the crowd gathers close to the stage. With a microphone in hand, she belts out her single “In the Sky”. For Melissa Jane, singing has become her 9 to 5.

At the Hard Rock Café, Melissa Jane proved she could hold her own as an opening act for musical group, Jada, on July 9^th. Her soulful voice gave an edge to her pop and R&B fused sound. Dressed in a magenta Betsey Johnson dress, sky high heels, and hoop earrings, she had every element of stage presence covered.

For the past seven years, Melissa Jane has been putting on a show for audiences across the country.  Her venues ranging from singing the National Anthem at Gillette Stadium to performing at the Fat Catz Music Club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

A native of Massachusetts, Melissa has worked hard to cement a place for herself in the Boston music scene.  The first step was furthering her musical education at Berklee College of Music where she studied voice. “Berklee exposed me to music from all over the world,” said Melissa Jane. “I found who I wanted to be as an artist at Berklee.”

Although Melissa Jane attended Berklee for a short time, the classes helped her discover the next step for launching her career, which happened to be down the road at Bristol Studios. At Bristol Studios, Melissa Jane took vocal strengthening classes that taught the basics of breathing, vowel shapes, tone quality, dynamic quality control, professional levels, and career orientation, according to Bristol Studios course overview. “My career started kicking off [at Bristol Studios],”she said.

It was at the young age of seven, that Melissa Jane knew singing was her calling. “I was in my dance class and my teacher did a solo to Mariah Carey’s “Hero”,” she said. “I knew I wanted to sing from then on.” The stage became her second home during her youth. As a child, she participated in theater performances at school, was a member of chorus, and sung at church. “Anywhere I could be on stage, I was there,” she said.

Today, it is the energy of the audience that makes being on stage so special for her.  Melissa Jane said singing the National Anthem at Fenway Park was the biggest rush she has experienced. “It was the most amazing experience of my life, it was perfect,” she said.

When Melissa Jane is not performing, she enjoys watching other artists take the stage. “I like to go anywhere there is live music and dancing,” she said.

Although Jane is not sure where she will be in a year from now, she knows that a record deal will lead her in the right direction.  “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Melissa will be performing at venues throughout the greater Massachusetts area throughout the summer and into the fall. On July 27^th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. she will be performing at the House of Blues located at 15 Lansdowne Street. On August 22^nd she will be performing at a Charity Event held at Carson Beach in South Boston.  For Labor Day Weekend, she will sing the National Anthem at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk. For more information on these events, visit www.MelissaJane.com.

Photo of Melissa Jane by Jeff Smith

Chelsea Brown, a graduate student in journalism at Emerson College, is associate editor of the Fenway News.