Charlie Bell is Bell Eddy

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Charlie Bell, professionally known as “Bell Eddy” is an American singer-songwriter, producer, manager, drag performer, writer, and actor. They are a queer, genderfluid musician who advocates for marginalized groups and has been writing and performing music since childhood, currently studying Music Creation in Popular Music at the University of Michigan’s School of Music. Their eclectic pop sound takes influence from various artists and genres including country, rock, and folk with subject matter stemming from intense relationships, heavy emotion, and sincere vulnerability. ​

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As a music creation student at the University of Michigan, Bell is currently heavily involved in many facets of the arts in their local community. As of 2024 they've been an active member in both the Michigan Songwriters Collective (MISC), which is the songwriting club at their University, and on the booking team of the student run record label on their campus called Empty Mug Records. Additionally, they are on the board of chairs for two different University organizations. Having been Social Chair & Events Coordinator for the last 3 years for their cooperative living community, Escher House, under the Inter-Cooperative Council of Ann Arbor, they work closely with student artists and organizations to organize large scale public live music events, as well as private community building events. They also act as the DEI Chair for the university student run performing arts organization, Basement Arts, offering a socially conscious and considerate perspective regarding sensitive or controversial topics that arise in performances produced by the organization.

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They are also widely active in many local music institutions around Ann Arbor, MI, having performed at both the North Star Lounge in Kerrytown and downtown at the Blind Pig with their band, Bell Eddy and the Basetones. They've also recently started working as a Media Assistant for the recording studios at the University Duderstadt Library, as well as a host at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, and a sales associate for the local mom and pop music store, Oz's Music.

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Currently they are working on their debut EP “Heartbreaker” with audio engineer Tony LaVigne and instrumentalists, Kate Stienstra, Ming-lu Jiang, and Adam Heiler in the student recording studios at their university set to have a fun yet resentful theme with elements of folk, rock, and pop. 

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Bell began studying in the BA Music Program by 2023 at the University of Michigan’s School of Music. Earlier in their time there they collaborated for a brief period with Yichen Wang and Vivi Pajil in a musical group they called Mr. Hotgirl’s Love Club, and later Perk. They also experimented with their gender identity and expression and began performing as a drag artist under the stage name, “Mr. Hotgirl.” 

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Before they turned to and finally settled on a path geared towards a career in music and the arts, in their freshman year of college Bell struggled significantly with their mental health. Having had many artistic and personal breakthroughs, they describe music as their saving grace during this period. Bell ended up writing over 150 songs in that year alone, influencing their decision to study music full time.​​

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In 2020, prior to the commencement of their college journey, while continuing extracurricular theater and film acting, at just 17 years old they had self-produced and released three singles on various streaming platforms including Apple Music and Spotify under the artist name call me char, taking heavy influences from indie artists such as mxmtoon, Cavetown, and Chloe Moriondo; and the Bedroom Pop genre as a whole. 

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They began learning guitar and ukulele around the age of 14, taking influences from alternative artists, Green Day, Panic! At the Disco, My Chemical Romance, and Twenty One Pilots in their writing. Even before this, however, they performed their first completed song called “Choose to be Kind” for a school community event at the age of just 11 years old. With a piano around from a young age, they started lessons at 9 years old to accompany their songs, becoming very invested in musical theater and acting around this time as well. They had initially discovered songwriting through country radio at 6 years old and took heavy inspiration from icon early female country pop artists such as Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Martina McBride for lyrics and melody.

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Today these roots still shine through vibrantly in their music and artistic philosophy, especially in terms of the genre of music they write, the instrumental elements, and the energy they aim to embody in their art and performance. Bell is a prolific artist that never has enough to say, and is always looking for a new way to say it. They believe that art should come from this level of sincerity and that an attempt to convey a message precedes the message itself, particularly in creative endeavors. Read more about Bell's viewpoints on art and authenticity under My Philosophy.