Timmy Salamy plans to strike a chord this upcoming Spring Sing.

The second-year business economics student will be performing his original, unreleased song, “Highway Horizons,” for his first Spring Sing show at Royce Hall on May 16. With nothing but his acoustic guitar and his vocals to support his performance, Salamy said the lack of additional elements will create a performance that is authentic to himself.

“I am excited about putting my music out there, meeting new people that can hopefully help me pursue my dream of becoming an artist,” Salamy said. “I’m excited to perform in front of the biggest crowd I’ve ever performed in front of. It’ll definitely be a big achievement.”

The San Diego-born artist said he’s been involved in music since his sophomore year of high school, in which he was motivated to learn acoustic guitar after attending a Morgan Wallen concert. Inspired by his two older brothers, who he said play guitar and piano, growing up around music made him want to write and perform his own music.

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His greatest influences, Salamy said, are the musicians he grew up listening to, particularly in the country and folk music genres, such as Zach Bryan and John Mayer. Although he said his current career plans are not music-related due to the risks of pursuing a career in entertainment, his dream is to become a full-time musician or songwriter. His favorite part of the creative process, he said, is when varying moments of inspiration come together at different times, which leaves him with fragments of lyrics and melodies to sort out.

“It’s hard to sit down and finish a song in one sitting, but there’s moments where you’re very inspired creatively, and you write stuff down” Salamy said. “You have an idea, and you kind of just want to get out as soon as possible and record it before it escapes. And you can’t remember what it was like, whether that’s the melody or the lyrics that you thought of. So I try to capture it as soon as it comes into my head.”

Evan Nehrenberg, a second-year history student, said he met Salamy early in his freshman year when they were floormates in Hedrick Hall and in the same pledge class at the Sigma Nu fraternity. He said Salamy is particularly creative in his personal life, from his humor to his dress. Although Nehrenberg said their musical styles differ – as he plays movie scores and rap songs on the piano – he added that he finds Salamy’s ability to play by ear, as well as the commitment to his genre of interest, particularly unique.

“We all go to college, and a lot of people give up on their dreams and try to get a steady, paying job and all that,” Nehrenberg said. “But I think if he really focuses on it, he’s just as likely and just as talented as the top musicians in his genre to make it.”

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Salamy currently has no released music but is hoping to later collaborate with a producer to begin recording, he said. However, he added that he is currently in an audio engineering class, alongside Nehrenberg, which helps them learn the intricacies of producing songs. He said the two are also working on having an in-home studio for the next school year, which he hopes will help him start releasing music.

Fellow fraternity brother and friend Jacob Piercy is also in this production class, as he said he has a small interest in recording songs as a hobby. The second-year mechanical engineering student said he is obsessed with listening to music, but was encouraged to learn how to make music by seeing Salamy actually pursue it. Piercy said that descriptive storytelling is what makes a good songwriter, and of the songs he’s listened to, the lyrics are always what stand out.

“I feel like it’s hard, if you’re starting out as a writer, to not sound like you’re either trying too hard or being corny,” Piercy said. “But for him, it seems like the writing is at the level that you wouldn’t think, like, ‘Oh, this is a new songwriter.’ It’s pretty good.”

Salamy said although there is not one through line in the content of his songs, he strives to make his music as authentic as possible to steer away from the more formulaic pop-country genre. He added that the ability to bring a perspective that people resonate with and articulate it into song lyrics is part of what is meaningful to him about music. Although he is nervous, he said he hopes that the Spring Sing performance will ultimately progress his journey toward becoming a full-time artist.

“I think just staying true to yourself and doing what you like – if you like it, it’ll come off as authentic, because it’s something that kind of lights you up,” Salamy said. “Just doing what you like and if you like it enough, someone else should like it too.”