'Cookie musician' finds success at Oberlin | Arts & Culture

First a frantic phone call from a stranger: "There's this kid at the Safeway in Hillyard, he sings, you have to come see him!"

Then the meeting: "I just really want to sing I don't know what I want to do, but I know I want to sing it's really all I know."

And then, the voice.

Anyone who has heard Anthony McCain's voice knows that he could win any of those reality singing competitions without breaking a sweat. More than a year ago, on August 11th, 2011, he and his brother and sister were outside a Safeway in Hillyard selling cooking and other baked goods.

Every now and then, Anthony would break out in song and you'd understand the reason behind the bake sale. He needed the extra cash to afford his books and other expenses not covered by his full-ride scholarship.

After a year at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Anthony wrote to update me on all of his successes. Right off the bat, Anthony was offered a job on a cruise ship that would have him singing nightly and traveling to places like Alaska, Hawaii and the Caribbean. It was a tough decision to make, but he had a full-ride scholarship to Oberlin and didn't want to pass that up so he had to turn down the cruise-ship gig.

Next, he was featured at MajoringInMusic.com, in which he spoke what went into his decision to turn down a job offer and continue with school.

Again, if you hear this kid sing you'd know why, in just a year, he's garnered so much attention.

This local kid is going places.