Camille McClellan (aka “Blake Red”)

Bitter Jester Music Festival Judge

Camille McClellan (also known by her alter ego/artist name, Blake Red) is a multi-dimensional musician, artist, singer-songwriter and music educator based in Chicago.

Growing up in Lake Forest, IL, Camille developed an early infatuation with music, eagerly taking up guitar, voice, piano, bass guitar, clarinet, kit drum, saxophone, cornet, violin and writing songs all by the age of 10. It wasn’t long before she settled on the electric guitar as her main instrument and began idolizing rockstars like Slash (Guns n’ Roses), Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth).

By the time she entered high school, Camille had formed her own band that played hard rock and metal covers as well as some of her earliest original compositions. She even participated and made it to the Grand Finale of Bitter Jester back in 2011!

After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music in Songwriting, Camille set off to Los Angeles. Eager to step into the music industry, she worked at recording studios, an artist management firm and many music projects.

She would later perform in bands all over Southern California, most notably at the legendary venue Whiskey A GoGo. In 2017 Camille began recording songs for her debut EP as “Blake Red” with Grammy-winning producer and engineer Darryl Swann. Blake Red currently has two EPs streaming on all platforms (check out her Spotify here).

Currently living Chicago, Camille is a teaching artist at the Old Town School of Folk Music where she is spearheading a rock guitar program for adults and offering private lessons. She previously worked as a music educator for Chicago School of Music Arts and School of Rock. She is currently working on her debut LP as Blake Red and continues to perform and tour as a solo artist. She’s excited to be a judge for the Bitter Jester Music Festival, returning to where some of it started.