Note: I was extremely honored to interview this wonderful girl from Troy. Anna is as sweet as she can be and I hope some of you have the chance to come out and see her perform at the Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo tonight (March 26) at 6:50 p.m. I think this interview is one of my top five favorites since I began working at the Opp News the last of November. If you pick up a paper, this article is located on page 7A. Country singer and songwriter, Anna Garrott will be a little closer to home when she opens for Luke Bryan tonight at the Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo.
Three years ago, the 25-year-old Troy native’s dream came true when she signed with Pensacola based label, Blue Steel Records. In 2008, she released her first album, Only Time Will Tell.
“Blue Steel Records owners (Vicki Carey and Jim White) have gotten behind me from day one,” she said. “We built the label from the ground up and they believed in me. As a team we all make it work.”
From Troy to Nashville, Garrott still remains a laid back, hometown girl.
“My heart and soul will always be in Alabama,” she said.
An entertainer from an early age, she started dancing at age three joining the Dixie Darlings cloggers at age six.
When she started college in Troy she began performing in hometown bars like The Double Branch Lounge in an effort to catch her big break.
Garrott said previous Double Branch owner, Mike Reeves influenced her love of the acoustic part of music and writing lyrics.
“As a singer it’s about affecting somebody else with your music,” she said. “It’s the power to affect people – that’s the coolest part.”
Since the songwriting bug bit her at 17, Garrott calls writing lyrics her therapy.
“It’s an amazing process to have an idea in your head and have it come to fruition,” she said.
Introduced to country music by her grandmother, Garrott’s musical tastes range from classic country to folk to blues.
Her favorite female singers cover a variety of musical tastes from Lorretta Lynn to Bonnie Raitt.
“The common thread is they’re strong women and it draws me to these ladies and their female empowering attitudes,” she said.
Traveling all over the United States, Garrott has opened for country music singers like Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Craig Morgan and Joe Nichols.
“It’s extremely nerve wracking and you have no idea who’s watching,” she said of opening for such well-known acts. “You have fight hard to win them (the crowd) over, but it’s extremely rewarding when you do.”
Though her nerves can take a plunge when opening for legendary names like Randy Travis, Garrott says she doesn’t usually get nervous.
“The only time I get nervous is when I’m performing a new song,” she said. “I’m nervous to how it will be received.”
Her favorite song on her debut is “Trouble is a Woman”
“It’s one of those ‘don’t worry I’ll get you back songs’ with an upbeat tempo,” she said.
Garrott defines her first album as traditional country, but said her upcoming album would have a bluesy edge.
“We’re working on the next album already,” she said. “We’re rushing like crazy to get the material to the fans because they want to know what you’ve been doing since the last one.
“It’s such an amazing process. The songs you’ve written coming to life and having musicians put their pizzazz on it.”
Garrott was able to attend the CMA luncheon and was nominated for CMA artist to watch in 2010.
“As an artist, you are nothing without your fans; you have no success without them,” she said. “You get to live your dreams and do what you do every day because of them.”
