Cheyenne Nicole Kimball

EAST PROVIDENCE - Cheyenne Nicole Kimball is adamantly not a country singer. The assumption is fairly understandable, as the portrait of a 15-year-old blonde guitar-playing girl from Dallas, Texas, sounds like a lot of country stars' beginnings. But despite how it looks, Cheyenne, who grew up listening to the Eagles and Blind Melon, says her style is a lot more organic rock, with a little pop thrown in to please radio audiences.

On Tuesday, as part of a program that puts singers in local schools for both a concert and short talk on a topic of the singer's choice, Cheyenne visited Martin Middle School for her concert and a talk on Internet safety.

"It's a really big thing right now," she said of her choice, and indeed, East Providence is aware of the popularity of certain Web sites, blocking things like MySpace and its ilk from school computers. The singer has been visiting schools since the middle of April, and will continue through part of May, visiting an average of one school a day, approximately 24 schools in all.

Eddie Head, who is one of Cheyenne's managers (her mother, Shannon, is the other), gave the talk on Internet safety. The Internet, he said, is a lot like society: It has good and bad aspects, great people and people with bad intentions, and it's important to be careful.

He asked students to observe the two students sitting on either side of them.

"The chances are one of you will be approached by a sexual predator," he said, and the students registered their surprise audibly.

"One in five."

He urged students to use caution online, and to never give out personal information.

Then it was time for the concert. The students went wild for Cheyenne, who first picked up a guitar at age 8 and began writing her own music. She writes all her own songs now, and plays her own guitar, backed up by a band that was put together in Los Angeles. She has an album, "The Day Has Come," coming out on July 11, and MTV is creating a reality show around her – the first episode of "Cheyenne" airs on May 31.

Her sound got the attention of Epic Records after she won an NBC contest, "America's Most Talented Kid," at the age of 12. Now, her songs have started to get radio play.

The students seemed to love Cheyenne, and she seemed equally comfortable in front of them, playing songs and singing with a strong voice. Though she has never had guitar lessons, she does take singing lessons to keep her voice in shape. It's clear she's popular already, and has the charisma that keeps her comfortable in front of a crowd. She did two shows at Martin on Tuesday, and seemed energetic at the second performance.

"You guys are awesome!" she said.

By Kimberly Harper

kharper@eastbaynewspapers.com