Xochitl is Leaving Sacramento for good or better.

With a one-way ticket to the East Coast next month, 21-year-old singer-songwriter, Xochitl (pronounced “so-chee”) Hermosillo is making a decision that will impact her life forever, regardless of the outcome.

It’s an opportunity not many musicians are able nor willing to take.

For someone who has been featured numerous times in local publications such as Sacramento News & Review and Unplugged Magazine, this is just another step in pursuing her great dream of making a living off her music.

“I went to college and I was no good at it,” she said. “So finally I was like, Xochitl, you better figure your s–t out, and now! So in the last year I’ve gotten very serious and very determined to make this music career work.”

Those familiar with the Sacramento music scene know there is a lot of talent that goes unnoticed, so her local renown in a relatively short amount of time speaks for the hard work she has put into her music.

“I think we have a lot of amazing musicians here,” she said. “We just need to make more of an effort to support each other.”

It’s an issue many local musicians struggle with, and something she has made an effort to work with. She has constantly booked shows with other musicians and she does her best to make the shows affordable for everybody.

Hermosillo has even organized a couple “Play for Paws” benefit concerts with other local musicians where proceeds were donated to the Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, also known as the SPCA.

On Sept. 29, she released a video via YouTube for one of her most popular songs “The Chico Song,” which is one of the first songs she wrote about the love she has for her little dog.

Her songwriting ranges from the woes to the hidden treasures that come with relationships and life in general. She strums through different subjects with a positive tune, and though some of her stories may express hardships, they are always entertaining.

Connecting with others is an ambition of hers, and though she has admitted to being “awkward,” her music gives her the opportunity to identify with others; she thrives off the compliments she receives on her lyrics.

“That’s the nicest thing to hear, that means I’m doing my job right,” she says.

“A waitress slipped me a note that said ‘you inspired me to make music again’ and I was trying not to cry,” she recalls. “That was seriously one of the sweetest things I ever heard.”

Hermosillo’s name has been on countless bills in the past two years, playing at local coffee shops, and venues that include The Cave Collective, Shine Cafe, Fox and Goose, Naked Lounge, Luigi’s Fun Garden and Luna’s Cafe to name a handful.

Her last show before she leaves for the East Coast was held downtown at Luna’s Cafe Sept. 27. The small cafe was full of family and friends eager to hear her perform one last time before she takes off on her adventure.

Art Luna, owner of Luna’s Cafe, is a long time family friend who has owned his place since August 1983. Having music be a part of his establishment since day one, Luna has seen all sorts of acts come through Sacramento.

“I think she writes good music and is really good at executing them on the guitar,” said Luna. “I guess she has played a lot of music with her dad growing up, so she has that presence on stage and personality that really comes through.”

Hermosillo started off playing the violin, followed by the piano, before she started to play songs on the guitar. “Currently, I can play the ukulele, guitar, and piano,” she said.

With a knowledge base between these varying instruments, it’s no surprise when you hear her songs change between jazz, hard rock, folk and “really really poppy” pop.

When asked about her beginnings, she credits the early works of John Mayer and Katy Perry. “They basically shaped who I am as a musician,” she said. In light of the two musicians’ current relationship, she gets excited. “They have to get married, they have to have babies, and I have to nanny their child,” she humors.

For the time being, she has decided to take it slow from recording. “I’m just working on a bunch of singles; I’m doing one at a time instead of an album,” she said. “I’m not going to force the universe.”

There’s something about the universe that has come together in her favor, thus far.

Before there was ever Xochitl, her parents met in a church, “because (her father) could play Santana on guitar, and (her mother) could play Beethoven on the piano.” In an alternate universe, one might say she had influence on Mayer and Perry getting together as well. Regardless, music has always been the focal point.

After 21 years of living in Sacramento, she is an integral product of the capital and its music scene, so her success is the city’s success, to which we wish her the best.

“I would definitely like to be touring,” said Xochitl. “I would like to be a Katy Perry, or a Lady Gaga, or a Beyon-,” she stops herself, “not Beyonce, nobody touches Beyonce, but if I could pay with my music for an apartment, and live in New York – even if it was just a small apartment – I would be 100 percent content with life; that’s all I want.”

Here’s a link to “The Chico Song” on YouTube: http://youtu.be/73SXFtibVA8

Cesar Alexander can be reached [email protected]