13-year-old Josie Sal to play Horseshoe Amphitheatre in Russellton

It takes a whole lot of personality and talent to sing on Nashville’s Broadway at any age, but Venetia, Pa., native Josie Sal is doing it at just 13.

Sal will be coming back to her home region soon, performing Friday at the Horseshoe Amphitheatre in Russellton, opening for country musician Justin Moore.

“I’ve always loved entertaining,” Sal said. “It comes pretty naturally. I’ve always loved singing and I didn’t know I could sing until three years ago, but I always loved it.”

When she was younger, she intended to pursue a dance career. But one evening in Punta Gorda, Fla., when she was 10 changed that trajectory.

At a restaurant, her father bet her $20 that she wouldn’t go sing with the band. She got up and did it — and to everyone’s surprise, patrons flocked to the dance floor and started taking videos.

While she’s always loved music, singing and songwriting are fairly recent developments for the young talent. “It’s kind of crazy, since three years ago I didn’t know anything about music. I’m slowly learning everything,” Sal said.

Her formative years found her listening to classic country musicians, including Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, with her grandfather. She describes herself as country rock, but she’s hesitant to define herself.

“I’m kind of switching genres and always trying out new genres. … I’ve leaned into the Morgan Wallen-style country pop vibe. I love all of it.”

Her own listening habits are diverse. “I could listen to rock all day, but I could also listen to Tate McRae. I will literally listen to anything.”

Her older brother — she is the youngest of four — was a big influence on her genre-crossing musical taste.

“He would show me anything from rap to the Beach Boys.”

Sal currently has about 33,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and her songs “Two Cents” and “Country Gold” have each topped 100,000 streams. Her newest single, “Redneck Weekend,” was released Aug. 1. The new tune was a runner-up in American Songwriter’s “Sounds Like Summer” contest.

“I don’t really know how to describe the music I write because I feel like it’s always changing. It’s kind of a Megan Moroney style,” she said.

Due to her touring and performance schedule, Sal is enrolled in online school, which gives her the freedom to travel for her music.

“It’s so cool. My whole family loves traveling. We’ve always been a spur-of-the-moment family. On a random day, my dad would just be like, ‘hey, you want to go to Maryland?’ or ‘hey, you want to go here?’ And we’d all just get in the car and we’d go,” Sal said. “I love traveling. I love seeing all the new places. … It’s definitely crazy because we are traveling every other day.”

With the show in Russellton, she’s excited to get to come home.

“I haven’t played there in a little bit and it’s always nice to go home and see friends and family. … My friends haven’t seen me in a while, so they’re all coming,” she said.

Related:

• Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Josie Sal

There’s a big age gap between Sal and her older siblings, so they’re finally going to get an opportunity to see her open for a bigger name, too.

“That’s really cool, because when I opened up for Riley Green, they were all in college, so no one got to see it. So they’re all bringing their friends and I’m really excited.”

When it comes to performing, Sal doesn’t get nervous.

“I love making people happy. I love watching people dance and sing. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of this whole experience,” she said. “It’s crazy because it’s so weird to think that this many people listen to your music or that many people show up for you.”

Sitting at such a high place so early in her career, Sal has big hopes for the future.

“I hope to tour more and do bigger shows. … Honestly, right now, I’m kind of playing it by ear. Whatever opportunities I get, I take them, and we’re just kind of figuring out the music business right now.”

“A lot of my plans are way down the road, like playing the Grand Ole Opry and winning a CMA (Award). So those are the dreams,” she added.

To learn more about Josie Sal and to get tickets to her Aug. 8 show at Horseshoe Amphitheatre, visit josiesalvitti.com.