You could say iconic percussionist Sheila E., who many may know from her collaborations with Prince in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has drums in her blood. Her father, Pete Escovedo, was a percussionist, too, and he formed the Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet before Carlos Santana hired Pete and his brother Coke for his Grammy-winning music group Santana.

“I grew up collaborating with other musicians because my dad, early on, had his own band,” Sheila tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “He started also performing with other artists, and I learned how to blend in where you fit in, where you learn what not to play and what to play, and how to interact with people.”

In addition to Santana, Sheila’s father collaborated with other well-known Latin American artists like Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria. Escovedo also played with singer-songwriter Anita Baker, among others.

“I wanted to grow up to be like my daddy, and I kind of did,” Sheila says. Her mother, Juanita Gardere, was a factory worker who Sheila says is “just amazing.”

“I think that’s what I learned from my parents, just being a part of a community,” she adds. “I think that’s the awesome part for me, being a musician and entertainer.”

Sheila has been behind the scenes enough to know how to bring the right people together to collaborate. She enjoys being surrounded by creative people, and people she knows understand and get it.

Sheila and her band, The E-Train, will be appearing at City Winery Pittsburgh on June 27, and she’s looking forward to the gig. “I’m excited to come to Pittsburgh,” she tells City Paper. “I love it there, it’s a beautiful place and the people are amazing. I always have an incredible time there, there’s just so much happening in the city.”

Nonprofit Women Who Rock and its partner the Magee-Womens Research Institute are what Sheila calls “friends of hers” who do “so much great work.” She even busked for “spare change” in 2020 for Women Who Rock, whose mission is to support women in music, empowerment, and advocating for women’s health.

As far as her performance at City Winery, Sheila says to expect a great time where guests “can’t help but move to the music.”

“You’re going to probably stand up and dance, and you never know who might get called on stage,” she says. “It’s just one big party, you never know what’s going to happen.”

When Prince first met Sheila E. in 1978, the idea of a female percussionist was innovative. After that first meeting, the duo collaborated for years on songs like Sheila’s 1984 hit “The Glamorous Life,” and they dated at one point (there were even rumors at the time that they were engaged).

“The Glamorous Life” was the title track and closing song on Sheila’s debut solo album. The song earned her two Grammy nominations and three MTV Video Music Award nominations.

“Growing up, people would say, ‘who do you play like?’” Sheila says. “I played like my dad and the people who I was surrounded with early on — even my mom plays a little bit — but to say there was another Sheila E. at that time, there wasn’t.”

Now, Sheila says, it’s so inspiring for her to see how many women are playing percussion. However, the industry itself can be challenging, she says. “The music industry is so disappointing right now, and what we’re going through financially because the business model itself is so broken, like so many things, we have to find a better way,” adding, “I would say for young people, have fun with it and learn your craft.”

For those who want to pursue music as more than just a hobby, Sheila advises to get engaged with other musicians and go experience the camaraderie of playing with other people.

“Young people get stuck in a room playing to a phone, waiting for someone to like them to feel validated,” she says. “You’ve got to get out there.” Learning the business part of music, like the ins and outs of contracts, can be useful too, she says.

Over the years, Sheila realized how music was an outlet for her. While she pursued track and field with the hopes of getting an Olympic gold medal someday, at 15, she decided music was what she ultimately wanted to do.

Music has helped her deal with trauma in her life, including being sexually assaulted by a babysitter at age five.

“Music has saved my life,” she says. “At the beginning, I was angry at everyone and blamed everyone for everything,” but later realized it wasn’t her fault, and it “was just something that happened.” She encourages those who are going through trauma or difficult situations in their own lives to share their stories and speak with someone.

“The more that you hold things in and not talk about it, that is really what kills you,” she says. “People may become depressed and start to use substances to mask the hurt of how they feel.”

Now, Sheila is enjoying celebrating a big year for her family. It was the first time her two brothers, her father, and she all have a record out at the same time.

But for Sheila, it’s not just about the big milestones. Finding a purpose and passion is helpful to living a good life, too. “Even if you’re working at a 9 to 5, and it’s something that you do because you have to pay bills, we get that, I get that,” she says. “On the side, you have to find something that you’re passionate about — that balance is so important to enjoying life.”