Ameripolitan Awards 2023 Female Rockabilly Vocalist Nominee-Saudia Young – is a New York City-born actress/singer and storyteller with powerful caramel-drenched vocals and a dynamic stage persona. Born on the lower east side and brought up between Tribeca and LA, Young explores the notion of home, love, and identity through her art.

The recently repatriated artist lived in Berlin, Germany, for a long chapter of performing, writing, and producing. Young founded a Dark Kabarett and a Rockabilly Noir Blues band, co-created the Lost Cabaret and the Schwarze Liste Kabarett theater projects, and wrote and produced the award-winning short film The Gallery. While in Berlin, she was cast in the lead voice-over role of Oskar in School for Vampires (the English version of the Hahn Film cartoon series).

Growing up in Bohemia

Young is the eldest child of actor Otis Young-RI and artist Cara Croninger-MI, who were an interracial couple smack in the middle of the tumultuous 60s and 70s, igniting Young’s activist leanings and obsession with community and storytelling. Saudia studied acting with Wynn Handman, dance, and voice with the late jazz vocalist Grace.

Young released two Dark Kabarett EPs: Artboy Love & Saudia Young, followed up by a 7” with The Wobble on the A, Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life on the B side in 2017, and her 12” LP debut, ‘Unlovable,’ recorded live at Lightning Recorders - DE, in 2018.

Young’s ‘Americana Noir’ sound combines Bo Diddley style R&B, Rockabilly, and Dark Cabaret. After years abroad, Young burst on the scene at the 25th Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender, performing in the R&B show and her solo set. This led to her Ameripolitan nomination and her love affair with the US roots and vintage music scene.

So far, this year’s appearances include the Ameripolitan Music Awards, the Lonestar roundup, Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender (the R&B show and Rev Martini’s stage), and the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival. Young’s current projects include writing songs for a new LP and a 7” and writing a solo show about her dynamic late parents entitled ‘Difficult People.’