MusicTree Festival will be going down June 7 – 11 in Manchester, Tennessee. We will be publishing info and features about the bands as we close in on this event. Feel free to check out our coverage from 2012.
Amanda’s passion for performing began at a very early age. Before she was two years old she had the entire River Dance video memorized and would try to re-enact the dance moves and sing with the performers.
Her love for the arts carried over into drawing as well. In 6th grade she won the National Honor of Representing the State of Arkansas at the Washington D.C Capitol, for her award winning drawing of the State Flower. Amanda is constantly drawing and designing, and dreams of designing her own album covers.
By 7th grade, Amanda was focusing on her passion for music. She continued to take piano lessons, added guitar lessons and started song writing. She participated in the elite University of Arkansas’s Children’s Touring Choir, as well as the Arkansas Country Gospel Music Association, and became a regular performer at the local Lil’Oprey, then traveled to Louisiana to perform in a Bluegrass Festival. These experiences provided her with opportunities to perform in various genres and settings varying from Grand Cathedrals to the Country Tonite stage in Pigeon Forge, TN (where she attended her first song writers workshop, hosted by such legends as Jon Conley, Jeannie Pruitt, Jeannie Seely and several others.) It was in Pigeon Forge that Amanda was named Rising Star of Tomorrow by the NACMAI-North America Country Music Association International.
For the next few years Amanda continued to perform every time an opportunity arose: weddings, funerals, festivals, corporate functions and fundraisers. She entered as many contests as she could squeeze in, while trying keep a straight A average in school. Her history of performing also opened the door for her to start modeling. When Amanda was asked how she got so good at runway modeling, she merely replied, “I watch too much TV” (America’s Next Top Model).
In 2009 Amanda found an opportunity to see just how far she could take her music and performing skills when she entered the Great Arkansas Talent Show, winning a 2nd place title. The exposure led to an opportunity to record with Infrared Records, and to promote her music for the label, performing her original songs on TV and radio. Amanda also showcased for a representative of Virgin Records as part of the Infrared label. Her album has since received both domestic and International air time, and is available on iTunes. She also released her first full length music video to her title track “Freedom Tracks.”
Through her work with Infrared Studios in Little Rock, Amanda had an opportunity to audition for the Rock Productions independent film, “Step Away From the Stone.” Amanda was cast to perform one of her original compositions in a scene in the movie. Amanda was featured on both the film and soundtrack, which released in the summer of 2010.
Early in 2011 Amanda held her first album release party at the Famous George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, Ar. She wowed the crowd performing songs off her album and many covers with a full live band. Her performance garnered the attention of the owner who later asked her to be an opening act for The Band Perry and Sunny Sweeney at The Amp in Fayetteville. Again she impressed the audience and local radio stations receiving accolades for her energetic three-piece acoustic set. She received very favorable reviews from the local radio stations, newspapers and social media. That same year she was also booked as an opening act for the Legendary Charlie Daniels and the Mountain Sprouts. The year continued to shine with various radio and TV interviews and performances both locally and in nearby states. Amanda was also asked to perform on a new country/comedy show (Kelly’s Kountry Junction) for PBS in Joblin, Missouri, where she was eventually added as a cast member. In the summer of 2011 Amanda made her first trip to Nashville where she hit the open mic scene performing in the Famous Blue Bird Café, Douglas Café, Commodore Grill and Ri’Chards. During one of several visits back to Nashville that fall Amanda auditioned and was accepted to the Commercial Voice program for Belmont University.
Early in 2012, Amanda continued to get invited to perform as an opening act. She opened for Elizabeth Cook in Fort Smith, AR at Second Street Live and then again at George’s Majestic Lounge. She was also invited to speak and perform before over 400 students at the Ballman Elementary School in Fort Smith for a “Project Outreach” program. Her performance moved and inspired the students so much, that she was flooded for weeks with request for autographed photos, and advice on songwriting and the music career in general. She continues to get calls from some students that were touched by her songs; one person in particular called her after the Sandy Hook shooting seeking a mentor and friend to just help her deal with understanding the tragedy.
Amanda continued her summer in Fayetteville, AR with various coffee shop and restaurant shows. She was also a featured performer at the 114th Tontitown Grapefest. Just one week after this big show, Amanda had the ultimate honor of being the only local artist asked to perform at the 1st Annual Taste of Country Show, featuring Miranda Lambert, Adam Hood, and Randy Houser. Her performance caught the attention of the local news media, who then featured her in a special segment where they showed parts of her performance and an interview. The Taste of Country Show was the largest attended concert in the history of Northwest Arkansas, bringing in over 7000 people. Early the next morning Amanda was off to Nashville to attend college at the University of Belmont.
After a taking a little time to settle into the college life, Amanda got busy again doing a lot of song writing and testing the waters singing in various genres. She was approached by both a progressive rock artist, Neal Morse, and a country artist Tyler Lowe to assist with singing vocals on their songs. Amanda also sold rights to perform two of her original songs to Infrared Records. She ended up the year with an action packed Christmas break back in Fayetteville, AR., where she did some more performances for private parties, and restaurant venues.
Amanda kicked off 2013 by signing up for a showcase at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville. The event was attended by an A&R representative from Curb Records. With only four days to put together a band, she managed to rock the house and was named the overall winner of the showcase. This got the attention of talent scouts and other band performers seeking to collaborate in co-writing and performances. Amanda is currently collaborating with various artist in a range of genres (ranging from country to rappers), to help with co-writes and live performances. She recently met with Robert Venable, owner and producer at Off the Wall Studio’s in Nashville to begin pre-production work on her soon to be released Ep’s.
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