Hannah Anders

Country music has a long history of chronicling the various woes of people. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Ray Charles once said that country music is just white folks singing the blues. Indeed, for a lot of the history of country music, it has been like that. However, there has been a turn toward country music that is about having a good time. At the very least - even if a song isn't about partying - the mood of it is more suited for a party than a lot of the traditional sad country songs.

Hannah Anders is an artist that has embraced the good-time country sound. When you go to her ReverbNation page, the first song you'll see listed is "Turn It Up". This is a song with the classic theme of getting hassled by the fuzz for being too loud only to respond by turning up the music to avoid the harassment. It's a perfect song for a party or a jukebox at your local watering hole.

The next song is called "Southern Free" and this is a song about eschewing life in the city and embracing the simple life in the country. In it she sings about wearing cutoff jeans, driving an F-150, listening to Hank, and of course drinking Jack Daniel's. This is a radio-ready song if ever there was one. This is the kind of song that should be on the air on country-music stations nationwide. It would fit right in with the rest of the songs for sure.

Returning to the topic of classic country, Anders takes on another classic theme in "Drinking Him Wonderful". There have been lots of songs about men drinking enough to make a woman attractive. Anders turns the tables in this song and sings about a guy at the end of the bar that could only become interesting if she gets loaded enough to see past the fact that he's a two. It's a fun song that could easily become a theme song for girls night out. In fact, it's easy to imagine Anders being the voice of a girls night out. After all, she shows that while artists like Jason Aldean and Florida-Georgia Line can whoop it up, it's not just guys who are out to have a good time. Girls can seek and find a good time just as well as any guys. If you need some good-time music for a party or a jukebox, Hannah Anders can definitely be one of your selections. - AXS

Join country artist Hannah Anders in celebrating the release of her debut album, “Good Time” at Santa’s Pub she’ll be performing her latest songs from the album!

Hannah Anders has conquered crowds from coast to coast and overseas, touring the UK and Ireland as the headliner of the Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival, in addition to sharing stages with the likes of LoCash, Billy Currington, and Keith Anderson. From Summerfest, the World’s Largest Music Festival, to Music City’s Margaritaville and BB Kings during CMA Fest, putting on a legendary show has become second nature for Hannah Anders. - Kore PR

Hannah’s latest single “Lazy River” hits radio this week. With an artist like Hannah Anders, you don't become a fan over time, you become a fan in a heartbeat. The powerhouse vocalist can bring an audience to its feet, while making you feel like she’s singing directly to you from the stage. Hannah Anders has conquered crowds from coast to coast and overseas, touring the UK and Ireland as the headliner of the Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival, in addition to sharing stages with the likes of LoCash, Billy Currington, and Keith Anderson. From Summerfest, the World’s Largest Music Festival, to Music City’s Margaritaville and BB Kings during CMA Fest, putting on a legendary show has become second nature for Hannah Anders.


Can you briefly introduce yourself to the readers of Music Talks? Just a little bit on who you are, where you are from, what kind of music you do… etc.
Yes! I was born in Houston, TX but only lived there the first few months of my life. My family eventually settled in Georgia which is where I grew up. I had a really awesome childhood there. We lived on 18 acres of land, we had horses and goats, and I really learned the value of hard work in that environment. Animals need to be cared for, that much land needs to be taken care of, and there's a lot of white fencing that bordered that land that had to get repainted every summer, lol. My cousins and I would get handed paint brushes and buckets and I'm pretty sure it took us the whole summer to work our way through all the boards. But it shaped who I am in a large way.
Growing up in Georgia I was exposed to country music very early in my life but it was not exclusively what I listened to. My parents traveled with us a lot and my dad traveled a lot for work so we were exposed to all kinds music and cultures very early. I will tell you that my very first concert was actually Paula Abdul! I loved her so much and would run around with my walkman (am I aging myself? lol) singing to all her songs.
But in spite of all the exposure to different kinds of music, when I began to write my own, everything I created always came out country. It was just engrained in who I was. I loved the stories, I loved the voices of country music, and I loved the honesty.
As I grew up and gained an appreciation for classic and southern rock that really started to take a hold in who I was as an artist and performer and I think greatly influences me to this day. So while I would call myself a country music artist, I definitely have a rock edge to how I write and perform.

What was the inspiration behind the song ‘Lazy River'?
As I said I grew up in GA, and one of the things that I used to LOVE to do was go up to Helen, GA and float down the Chattahoochee river. In the summer time literally hundreds of people will get their tubes and a cold beer and enjoy the water and a relaxing float. So the whole idea just screams summer to me. My producer came to me with the musical idea in January and said "hey, I have this piano lick I've written and I don't really know what the song is about other then it feels like a floating down the lake or lazy river kind of song". And I knew we had to run with it. All my childhood memories of that time came to my head and the visual was so clear. We brought in another good friend to flush out the idea with us and "Lazy River" was finished in just a couple of hours on a freezing cold day in Nashville in January, lol. I think it helped us power through the winter!

How did you feel when you were told you’d be headlining the Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival? Did the term Redneck raise any eyebrows?
I'll tell you that was such a crazy story and such an amazing experience. I had done a couple of trips to Ireland with my lead guitar player and musical director to see if that was a region we wanted to begin touring. On our second trip there we were pretty much exclusively on a radio and media tour. We had released a single prior to that trip and flew out to promote it. Our agency booked us a few small pub gigs in between appearances and interviews to keep us busy and in front of people during the trip. On this particular night we were scheduled to play a really cool little pub in Emo, Ireland and truthfully we were so so tired from all the running around I think we really would have loved a night to get to sleep early. But, we're never going to turn down an opportunity to perform.
When we showed up there was a football (soccer) game on in over time and the pub was PACKED with people watching it. A nice gentleman came over to us, who we assumed was the bartender or manager, and said "I'm so sorry we're going to have to push you back to start after the game is over, if you don't mind hanging out that would be great."
He fed us and gave us some good Irish Whiskey and we waited it out, chatting with him about the teams that were playing and talked about how much we loved Ireland.
Eventually it was time to set up and start. Bruce and I kicked it into high gear as we do, snapping out of our sleepy fog once we started playing and having a great time, all the while completely unaware that the kind man who had fed us and chatted with us was the owner of the establishment and the promoter and creator of one of the largest country festivals in Ireland, the Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival.
When we had a break inbetween sets he approached us and said, "I run this festival, in goes on in July, and I'm bringing your whole band back to headline it." That was literally how that happened. He was so impressed with what we were doing as an acoustic act he said he couldn't wait to see the whole band.
Four months later we boarded a flight to Ireland and headlined the Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival which to this day is one of the GREATEST 4 days playing music that I have ever had. I really take that entire experience as such a great life lesson to NEVER write off any opportunity to be in front of people and show them what you can do. You never know what it can lead to. We thought we were going in to play a pub and head back to our hotel and it ended up opening a huge door for us. I try and treat each and every single performance like someone with the power to open a door is watching me.

I don't think that the Irish people raised an eyebrow at the term "Redneck", I think they rather see it as a term of endearment

What 3 things keep you sane while on the road?
SLEEP. I like to get 8 hours of sleep anyway I'm one of those people and that is incredibly difficult to do on the road sometimes. So when I get an opportunity to recharge I really try and take advantage.

If I am staying somewhere for more then one night I will always unpack my suitcase. It helps me feel settled.

Alone time. When we were in Ireland to headline the festival I would go to my hotel room and eat lunch by myself when I could and then try and get a little exercise. It was just a good way to have some time alone and not get overwhelmed. When you're on the road you are around people constantly so I think it's important to find a way to clear your head. It keeps you from getting at each other about silly things as well.

Do you have any interesting / weird / funny rituals before going on stage that we should know about?
I always order a whiskey on the rocks. My top choices are Jack Daniels and Jameson. At least one of those is always available.
And other then that I really try and just clear my head. I don't like to be in large crowds before I go on stage I find the excess energy counter productive.
I like to hang with the guys in my band and just talk about nothing.
Past that, I don't have many funny rituals right before going on. There is SO much preparation leading into a show for me that by that point, it's time to have fun.


What is next for you? Anything cool to announce or news to share?
Yes! I am releasing my full album on August 31st which I am SO excited about. We have some big shows coming up this summer and we'll be performing a lot of the new material so I can't wait to debut that for the crowds. And there are some other fun things in the works that I can't chat about just yet but we'll keep you in the loop as things unfold

Hannah's latest single Available on ITunes - Music Talks

Biggest musical influences?I feel very fortunate to be influenced by great artists in many different genres. But as this is all about big upping the amazing women in ...click link for article - Female Music Nation

Entering the coffee shop to meet country artist Hannah Anders for the first time, I was ready for anything. This was a young woman who had her album release party at Santa’s Pub. If you’ve been there, I don’t have to explain a thing. If you haven’t been there, Santa’s Pub is a place you either love or you hate. There really isn’t a middle ground. I’m a very simple person. I’m very easy to please. I don’t eat fancy food, I shop at thrift stores and I LOVE Santa’s Pub. It’s no country club lounge, and if you can’t handle the smell of cheap beer and stale cigarettes, steer clear, but let me tell you, for me, Santa’s is like a trip down memory lane.

As a little kid, I spent many afternoons in the gin mills on the East Side of Buffalo, New York, twirling around on barstools, inhaling those very same delectable scents. Now, I wasn’t drinking beer or smoking cigarettes, but I was downing cherry pop and eating chips. This was my typical after-school outing with Dad. Crucify him if you want. It was the 1970’s and it wasn’t uncommon. My Mom was at work until dinner time, he got home around noon. It’s what we did. It was normal. I enjoyed it. I learned to converse with adults (so they were a little speech-impaired, I never judged), I learned how to rack billiard balls and best of all, I learned so many great songs and who sang them in those bars. I don’t regret one moment of those days. In fact, I’m really grateful for them. I even have a framed photo of the owner of our most-frequented establishment, a little place called Regal’s, which was located on the corner of Broadway and Playter Street. His name was Eftem “Jimmy Regal” Pappas. He’s just one of the many muses in my office. He’s looking at me right now and telling me to shut up and write the interview on Hannah Anders. I’m going to do that, but Santa’s Pub and my story were a good place to start. I wanted to go to Santa’s Pub for that release party. I got bogged down with other things and I just couldn’t make it. Unlike when I was a kid, I had no choice. I missed that non-option. I wanted someone to tell me to get in the car and drive me to Santa’s Pub, and go sit down and smell that nostalgic blend of old beer and cigarettes in a place where nobody cared if my hair was or wasn’t on point, or if I had more than a few dollars in my bank account. That was my kind of release party. My only question when I was going to meet Hannah Anders was if she had this release party at Santa’s because she was really down with that environment too, or was she having it there to mock it? It didn’t take me long to figure it out.

Coming over to the table I was already sitting at with my 8-year old granddaughter (who was on Fall Break, which I never recall having back in the Dark Ages), Anders carried a plate. “I hope you don’t mind if I eat my breakfast.” No, I didn’t mind at all. She had just got in from some tour dates and was clearly tired and hungry, but not the least bit grouchy. She was even very sweet to my granddaughter, who tends to be on the shy side, so I appreciated that as well.

Think Country: You’re from Atlanta, I read?

Hannah Anders: I am.

TC: Were you born and raised in Atlanta?

HA: I was born right outside of Houston, Texas. My Dad was actually an Astronaut Trainer at a Space Center there and that’s why I was born there. We didn’t really put in a ton of time in Houston. I predominately grew up in Georgia, although we moved around a little bit in the first few years of my life, but I don’t really have any solid memories of that. We moved to North of Atlanta when I was about four or five, so I was there until I graduated high school.

TC: When did you start playing music?

HA: My Mom says I sung before I spoke, which I think she thinks is a little irritating. She would ask me to take a bath and I would sing, “Bath, bath, bath” (in a singing voice). She couldn’t get me to just speak. So, my parents just kind of knew early that they wanted to nurture that because it was obvious that I was taking to the performing arts. I very early on went into voice lessons and choir and I grew up in a really small town in Forsyth County, Georgia, and I think my closest neighbor was like, three miles away and she was my best friend.



Image of Forsyth County, Georgia courtesy of Wikipedia

TC: Oh wow. Well, you didn’t have any other choices, right?

HA: Exactly. We grew up on 18 acres and had goats and horses and it was a very idyllic childhood. Definitely how you gain a good work ethic, like we all had chores around the house. So, there wasn’t a ton in the way of agencies, like in New York or Los Angeles, so I had to grasp at whatever resources were available.

TC: I can understand that.

HA: I come from a really musical family. My Grandma was my first piano teacher and we always sung in the car and at church so as I got into high school I chose to go on to a boarding school in North Georgia that had a really strong performing arts program. I wanted to really immerse myself into that and then I learned about Belmont when people from the college come in and pitch their school. I thought, “Oh, my God. I can go to school for classical voice? I can go to school for commercial voice? This is amazing.” So, that’s when I really put my eyes on Nashville and decided that’s where I’m going to school. I pulled all my safety school applications, it was like, Belmont or nothing. I developed a relationship with the Admin Coordinator for the Southeast in my junior year and I would write her every quarter and have her look at my syllabus to make sure I was in the right classes to meet Belmont’s recommendation of standards for admission.



Photo courtesy of belmont.edu

TC: It sure was Belmont or nothing. That’s good. You had a plan.

HA: I did. Also, at that time in high school, that’s when I really started to write songs. I was about 14, and there was an alumni of my high school that actually had a recording studio in North Georgia, which was crazy. There’s just not much up there! So, I actually recorded my first few songs with him, and he became a really dear friend. That’s when my love of music became pen to paper and when I began to understand the process of writing and recording and creating something that was original.

TC: You said you played piano as a young child, that your Grandma taught you. Now, do you play piano? Do you play guitar? Do you play anything and everything?

HA: I definitely don’t play anything and everything. I wish I was one of those people that can pick up any instrument and play it. Piano is definitely my dominant instrument. I kicked and screamed my whole way through, but my parents made me stay with my piano lessons, but then when I went to Belmont I had to have a secondary instrument. My first instrument was voice and my second was piano. I opened a business as a vocal coach when I moved to Los Angeles several years ago, so I really had to own my piano because it’s very hard to coach someone on voice if you can’t accompany them. About a year or so ago, I picked up the guitar. I think I can play five chords now and go from one to the other, fairly seamlessly!

TC: Hey, as long as you’ve got those three!

HA: Right?! You just need the three! I hope to get good enough at guitar that I can accompany myself at songwriter nights, but piano is definitely my dominant.

TC: You would describe yourself best as a country singer?

HA: Yes.

TC: How would you describe your sound? I never ask anyone to compare themselves to anyone else because everyone is their own individual person, but let’s say, if you were opening for someone, who would you fit with?

HA: You know, I think we have a very good combination of non-traditional country, yet at the same time I’m so influenced by the classic southern rock bands, Skynyrd, Alabama, AC/DC and Aerosmith. I really love all of that. I think we could just as easily swing between a country and a rock band for an opener. I think we could open for Miranda Lambert. I think we could open for Chris Stapleton. I think we could open for Lynyrd Skynyrd or Kid Rock. I think we could run the gamut for this kind of stuff. When I first lived in Nashville, I was really getting pushed by my team at the time to go into the pop country world. I love that kind of music, it just isn’t what I write naturally and it isn’t what I gravitate to as a performer. That’s not to say there isn’t some influence and I think you need to be conscious of what’s in vogue when you’re trying to make popular top 40 country music, but I definitely wanted to make sure we didn’t lose an edge that made us different, that I felt made us true to who I was. Even in our set we do a rock medley. We go from “Back in Black” to “Walk This Way” to “Sweet Home Alabama” to “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and it doesn’t seem odd in our set at all.



Video courtesy of Hannah Anders and YouTube

TC: That’s a very common thing in country right now, to mix classic rock or southern rock in. I don’t know if it’s a generational thing, but it works, especially if you have a little bit of edge to your sound. You don’t just want to go out there and do a country cover, like a Miranda Lambert cover or a Carrie Underwood cover. It’s good to throw something from a different genre in just because for the people, that kind of wakes them up.

HA: I agree.

TC: Don’t you think it wakes up the crowd?

HA: It one hundred percent wakes up the crowd. We have people that are kind of enjoying it and you throw something like that in and all of a sudden they’re jumping up.

TC: Right, because everybody knows it, everybody can sing it.

HA: “Walk This Way”, the first time I had to learn the lyrics, I realized that’s a really dirty song!

TC: It is. Dating myself here, but when that song first came out, it was kind of like, “Whoa!”, and they were playing it on AM radio, so that was really taking a risk back then, not only for the artists but for the program directors that were crazy enough to play it. It’s one thing to play the song and sing along to it, but to remember those lyrics and have to sing them by yourself?! That has to be a little bit of a chore, is it not?

HA: It is, because I forget lyrics to my own songs sometimes. It’s really rare and I really try to be in a space where I’m never thinking about lyrics. I want to be performing. I don’t want to be in my mind going, “Uh oh, what is the next line?”

TC: You just want them to roll out.

HA: I want them to roll out, I want to be on autopilot with lyrics. There have been times at the end of a show and it’ll be like when you drive home and you don’t remember how you got there.

TC: Oh yes, I can relate! Honestly though, I think country audiences are more forgiving than the average concert audience. I’ve been at shows where major artists have forgotten lyrics. I remember Dierks Bentley forgetting lyrics. He just kind of stopped, looked up and said, “I can’t remember what comes next.” Nobody cared. If someone like him can stand up there and admit he couldn’t remember his own lyrics and nobody cared, we’re all human, it’s all good.



Video courtesy of Hannah Anders and YouTube

HA: Absolutely, it happens. Actually, as an audience member, I love human moments with artists, and as a performer, it happened to me the other night with “Sweet Home Alabama”. We had a guy and he was dancing all around and I was laughing so hard. We got to the second verse and I completely forgot the lyrics. I got up to the mic and I said, “I’ve lost total control of the situation.”

TC: Do you have a certain way of bringing your audience into the show? A certain way of connecting with them? A style?

HA: I love to talk to them. The smallest gap between the stage and the audience is the largest gap.

TC: Some artists come out, they sing, they leave. I don’t sense that with you. I feel like you want that connection.

HA: I really make that effort. I also feel you’re somewhat at the mercy of the personality of your audience, because every audience has a personality to it. Some are very rambunctious and responsive and some are very subdued and you have to give grace for people to enjoy music the way that they do. So, I think there’s that line of doing your genuine best to connect and also don’t force yourself on people if that’s not how they want to enjoy your music. I really do try, especially on the originals, to tell stories and ask questions of the whole audience. We have a couple songs where we’ll ask them to call out a response and if they give me a really crappy one I’m like, “Wow.” It usually comes after the medley, and I’ll say, “I know we’re not AC/DC, but throw me a bone”, and that usually gets people laughing and they kind of catch themselves. I like to find the little personalities in the crowd and kind of call them out in a funny, positive kind of way so they start talking back. I think you have to remember that you’re not up there for yourself. We are fed, as performers so much by being up there on stage. If you haven’t reached these people, then, you’re probably not getting asked back and they probably can’t put their finger on why they didn’t love you, but something didn’t connect. The artist has to find that way. Adele is brilliant at that, because she’s not a dancer, she doesn’t walk around the stage, but she’s hysterical and she’s exceedingly popular.

TC: Again, a style. She’s selling more albums than God, she’s found her style and obviously you’ve found yours. New music? You have some that’s just been released, right?

HA: Yes.

TC: How’s that going? How are your streams going? How is all of it going?

HA: You know what? I think it’s going well but I have to check back into that because I’ve been on the road. I try very hard to walk the balance of caring about those things because that’s how you’re going to reach people and move up in the world, but don’t be so focused on Spotify numbers that you’re so upset that they aren’t doing more.

TC: Don’t obsess?

HA: At the end of the day, I know better than anybody that I don’t have the millions of dollars and the record label machine behind me. I can’t compete at that level right now. It’s not that I’m not capable of that or because I don’t want to, I just don’t have the resources. So, to feel badly because I’m not doing that is not a productive use of energy, however, I have to recognize that that’s important. You also don’t want to fatigue your fans. Like, on Facebook. “Here’s my music, here’s my music.” They’ll tune you out.

TC: At some point, you can’t oversaturate your fans. You can only listen to it “X” number of times, and they’re going to say, “Okay, well, I’ve listened to that 500 times.”

HA: “I’ve got it!” (laughs)

TC: Exactly! All you can do is hope you get new people when you go out on the road and you connect with new people and then you get more and you grow your fan base.

HA: Exactly. We recently got verified on Spotify which was really great.

TC: That’s good. It’s nice to have that little blue check mark.

HA: That little blue check mark has really helped. Partly because our first single got added to a Spotify playlist so that was a big deal.



TC: Everything is changing so fast. This week it’s getting on a Spotify playlist and who knows what the next thing will be. Trying to keep up is getting tough. It’s mind boggling. It’s nice that you have a publicist that can keep those things sorted out for you. It’s hard for an independent artist to keep up with the streaming machine while doing all the other things an artist has to do.

HA: You’re right. It’s very hard to do that and go out and be an artist, to try and compartmentalize all of that.

TC: Yes, because being an artist and putting out your best work is what your job should be, but nowadays there are so many other things you have to worry about as an indie artist. Unless you have help, you can really lose your way. Back in the day, artists worked on their music and tried to get signed. Now there is so much more to it. I have to get my streams up, I have to get on this playlist and that playlist and keep my streams up. It’s stressful.

HA: Right. How many Instagram followers do I have? Did I lose any? Aaagghhh!!! I wasn’t a business major, I was a voice major! I just want to write a song. I’m not gonna book that show now because my Instagram followers went down or my Spotify streams aren’t high enough. At the same time you have to recognize that in this day and age, more than ever, this is a music BUSINESS and if you cannot put that hat on and accept that you are a brand to be sold and if you’re not marketable, you’re not marketable. There is an element of that, and as an artist you have to get a little callous about it and not take it personally as much.

TC: I give independent artists a lot of credit these days. They have a lot on their plates if they’re doing everything that needs to be done to really try and make it. Even artists that have label backing, I guess they have the money, but then they lose a lot of control, so I suppose both sides have their advantages. What do you think?

HA: That’s true. If you’re signed to a label you lose your say, but then again, I’m staying at The Days Inn tonight.

TC: Or in a van. Or in a Toyota Corolla.

HA: We’re also the roadies and the hair and makeup team.

TC: Your own booking agent and everything else. I do wish you luck though. So, lastly, when you “Think Country”, what do you think?

HA: I think really good stories. I think a very specific feeling from growing up in the country.

TC: Yeah, you really did. Three miles away from your best friend who was really your only choice!

HA: (Laughing) True! Good thing we got along! I lived in Los Angeles for nine years before coming back to Nashville, and in that time I missed that quietness and nature and calm. All of those things that in my early 20’s I kind of begrudged living in a part of the country like that. Not that I’m old now, but back then, I was like, “I want to live in a city, I want to be around things”, I wanted all that stimulation. Now, I really don’t. I want it sometimes, but mostly I don’t. I have a house now by Percy Priest Lake and I have woods in my backyard and I look outside and I can breathe and it’s really nice. People always told me to wait until I got I a little bit older and I would really value space and quiet in my life, and it’s true, I really do. I love coming home at the end of the day and just taking all that in, it feels like an exhale.

TC: Especially with the life that you live.

HA: I think in this business you need two things, you need good people around you to check you when you’re not acting right and to love you and celebrate your success and pick you up when you’re falling down, and you I think you need balance to refill your tank. I think if you don’t get those two things, you’ll burn out pretty quickly.

TC: Those are the people that fizzle and give up, or worse yet, the people that don’t have a good support system, those are the ones that end up sitting on the street with a cardboard sign. You don’t ever want to be the person sitting on the street with a cardboard sign. Go fake it till you make it or flip burgers, but don’t end up on the street with a sign. Keep good people around you.

HA: Nope. I’m not interested in anything like that. I woke up this morning, made myself a cup of coffee, opened my back doors and breathed in the fresh air and thought, I’m okay.

You know what? Hannah Anders is okay. Maybe she didn’t spend her afternoons in smoky gin mills on the East Side of Buffalo, but I think that album release party at Santa’s wasn’t due to her current financial situation. She could have had it in her backyard or a park. If she didn’t want it to be there, it wouldn’t have been there, period, and people don’t choose to spend more than ten minutes of their lives in Santa’s Pub unless they want to be there. It takes a special kind of grounded individual to WANT to be there for more than ten minutes. Was she there to mock it? I don’t think so. I don’t think so at all.



Hannah Anders can be found:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HannahandersMusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=hannah%20anders&src=typd

Instagram: @hannahandersmusic

Website: hannahanders.com - Think Country

Every now and then, an artist steps onto a stage, stands behind a microphone, and quite simply wows the world with their voice. Every phrase in each line, is delivered with a great balance of passion, power, grace and tenderness. When this happens, an artist instantly sets themselves apart from their peers, and creates a musical space that only they can fill from that moment on.

Similarly, from time to time, an artist comes along whose on-stage personality and off-stage personality are as intertwined as body and soul. They share the unique ability to generate the exact same “feel good” response from everyone they meet; be it members of their audience, members of their team, or music business professionals. You fall in love with an artist like this straight away. You don't become a fan over time, you become a fan in a heartbeat.

Make no mistake about it, that kind of voice and that kind of heart do not often exist in the music world. Rarer still will you find an artist who embodies both. That kind of artist, that kind of person, is someone very special, indeed, and Hannah Anders is that kind of special someone.

This Houston native possesses a voice every bit as big as her home state of Texas, and a heart as sweet as the peaches that the state of Georgia where she was raised. Now working out of Los Angeles, CA where she is signed to AStar Management, Hannah fronts the Hannah Anders Band and runs a successful vocal studio, something she first did on Nashville's Music Row after earning a degree in Vocal Performance from the cities esteemed Belmont University. Hannah's been working hard at making her presence known in Los Angeles and with reactions like those below, it's safe to say she knows what she's doing!


"The Hannah Anders Band is a southern-fried collection of artists who emit more swagger on stage in 5 minutes of music than most country outfits can do in an hour!" - JMWest Live, House of Blues, Los Angeles.

"In 30 years of producing 'live' shows, from Creedence Clearwater to Charlie Daniels, what a breath of fresh air it was to work with Hannah Anders and her entire organization. Hannah's great voice had the crowd on their feet. The band was as good as any headliner I have worked with and on top of that, the entire band looked, performed, and acted like they were on stage at Carnegie Hall. Did I mention that Hannah also mesmerized the crowd with the National Anthem?!" - Terry Turner, Executive Producer, DJ, and event promoter for Radio WNZF.
"The stage comes alive when Hannah Anders and her band hit the very first note. Her energy and stage presence, enveloped by the amazing musicianship of the band, doesn't end until the last note fades away. Her show is exciting and powerful." - Kevin Klane, Radio DJ for Kix Country 98.7

"[Southern Free] is a radio ready song if ever there was one. The kind of song that should be on the air on country music stations nation wide....it's easy to imagine Anders being the voice of your girls night out." - Gary Schwind, Entertainment writer for AXS.com


In February, Hannah Anders clinched the Los Angeles Akademia Award for Best Country/Rock Song with her rip-roaring anthem, 'Turn It Up.' This same song was also nominated by LOZ Radio for Song Of The Year, and held the number one spot through the month of April on Australia’s Power FM Station. Hannah’s songwriting kudos were also recognized by the world famous Dodge Ram Truck Company, who commissioned her to write the theme song for their newest ad campaign in Atlanta, GA.

In late summer of this year, Hannah ventured on her third tour to Ireland and the UK under the stewardship of KEMC Global where she was a headliner at this year’s “Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival”. Her sense of fun and easy-going manner, coupled with her genuine charm and absolute professionalism shined throughout every show and appearance. Compliments like these became the norm wherever she went,

"The best KEMC artist by a mile that we've had perform, can't wait to have Hannah back." - Shane Carroll, owner of The Stand Bar, Roscrea, Ireland.

"Incredible artist, couldn't believe how well the originals went over with the audience." - Shane D'Arcy, owner of The Black Boot Bar, Ferbane, Ireland.

"What an amazing person and probably one of the best acts we've ever had perform, too. Hannah Anders will make it big here for sure." - Margaret, manager of The Princess of Wales, London, England.

"Hannah Anders was a great experience for all of us here at KEMC. She has a perfect attitude, incredible talent, and definitely has both the desire and hunger to succeed. We would be delighted to be part of Hannah's success here in Ireland, the UK, and indeed greater Europe." - Peter Kennedy, CEO of KEMC Global.

It’s safe to say that you can expect big things from Hannah Anders.
You can find out more about Hannah on the following website and social media platforms. - Summerfest

Hannah Anders is a country musician form Houston, Texas. This past year, Anders received the Los Angeles Akademia Award for Best Country/Rock Song with her positive anthem, “Turn It Up.” This same song was also nominated by LOZ Radio for Song of the Year and held the number one spot for the whole month of April on Australia’s Power FM Station. Anders was also hired to write a theme song for Dodge Ram Trucks newest ad campaign, in Atlanta, GA.

She has conquered many different crowds from coast to coast and also toured the U.K. and Ireland as the headliner for the Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival. Also she has got the chance to share stages with country artists and groups such as LoCash, Billy Currington and Keith Anderson. Andres also got the chance to play at Summerfest, this is the world’s largest music festival and she also was a part of the Music City’s CMA Fest.

On September 6, 2018 Anders put out her newest album “Good Times.” This wonderful album is available on Google Play, Spotify and iTunes. If you would like to find out more about Hannah Anders then check out her website https://www.hannahanders.com.


Social Media Accounts:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HannahandersMusic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahandersmusic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hannahanders?lang=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/hannahandersmusic - Dixie Dee

This week's In the Spotlight artist is Hannah Anders. If you are looking for a new voice in country music to listen to, Hannah is your girl. Her high-energy performances, mixed with relatable lyrics will have you a fan in no time. We recently had the opportunity to interview Hannah. Check out our full interview below.
DRA: Thank you for taking time to interview with us. For those out there new to Hannah Anders’ music, tell us a little about your background and how you found your way to country music.

HA: Thank you so much for the interview!
Absolutely. So, I was raised in Georgia, which was a really awesome place be a kid and grow up. We lived on 18 acres of land, we had horses and goats, and I really learned the value of being in nature, spending time with my family, and pitching in and sharing the work in that environment. Growing up in the south really shaped who I am and my exposure to country music happened at a very young age. I didn’t exclusively listen to country music as a child, I had a broad spectrum of genres that I loved, but as I began to write my own music and perform it always naturally fell to country. I loved the honesty and the stories so much that when I began to develop myself as an artist I knew that that was the platform I wanted to tell my story in. As I grew up I gained an appreciation for classic and southern rock and that really started to take a hold in who I was as an artist and performer greatly influences me to this day.


DRA: Speaking with anyone who has seen you perform live, they instantly state your show and presence on stage is energetic yet has the feel you are singing directly to them. How do you prepare for each performance? What is your goal when you step foot on that stage?

HA: That’s just absolutely the best compliment, thank you. It is SO important to me that people come to my show and have a great time and feel a connection to what I am singing.
I firmly believe that the first step to that is preparation. And I can’t speak to my live show without crediting my awesome players. My band and I have been together for years and we share in our passion of creating a fun, energetic, well prepared, show. We rehearse for several hours at a time, constructing set lists, transitions, working out parts, etc. So, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that has to happen so that you can truly “let go” on stage and deliver the performance. If you’re worried about lyrics or “what comes next”, there’s no way to give the audience what they came for.

My goal when I step on to that stage is to connect to each and every person in that room. Whether that’s to energetically give them permission to have a good time, to laugh, to dance, to have a tender moment, they know what they came for and they’ll feel it when it happens. The longer I perform I have really come to belive that the shows are not about me. They’re about the people that come to see me. I am there for them and I hope that they feel that.


DRA: Speaking of performing, you have toured all over the world, where has been your favorite place to perform to date?

HA: I have been so fortunate to go to so many amazing places and I hate to choose favorites but…I love Ireland so so much. The people, the countryside, the history. We received the most incredible welcome in that country and have been welcomed back with open arms so many times I just have such a tender place in my heart for it. They are true music fans and you feel it when you go there.


DRA: Artists always look to other artists as inspiration, whether it be for songwriting, entertaining, or career. Who inspires you and your career in country music?

HA: This is such a difficult question to answer because there are so many. I am inspired every day by the amazing talent in country music now and inspired so much by those that have come before.

If I were to pick a current artist that inspires me I would have to go with Miranda. Her songwriting has grown into this beautiful, soulful, deep, place and yet she hasn’t lost her edge and I love that about her.

Throwing it back I was always inspired by Garth Brooks. I got tired just watching him run around and sing like that lol. I used to think as a young girl how amazing and effortless he was on stage and how much I wanted to be able to perform like that.
Again, I could list people all day but those are two I love so so much.


DRA: The new single is “Lazy River”. Tell us about the background behind this summertime song.

HA: As I said I grew up in GA, and one of the things that I used to LOVE to do was go up to Helen and float down the Chattahoochee River. In the summer time literally, hundreds of people will get their tubes and a cold beer and enjoy the water and a relaxing float. So, the whole idea just screams summer to me. My producer came to me with the idea in January and said, "Hey, I have this musical idea I've written, and I don't really know what the song is about other then it feels like a floating down the lake or lazy river kind of song". As soon as I heard it I knew we had to run with it. All my childhood memories of that time came to my head and the visual was so clear. We brought in another good friend and writer to flush out the idea with us and "Lazy River" was finished in just a couple of hours on a freezing cold day in Nashville in January, lol. I think it helped us power through the winter!


DRA: “Lazy River” is the perfect song for summer that has us ready to hit the river. Where is your favorite place to go for a summer vacation?

HA: Thank you! I grew up going to the Atlantic Coast of Florida, specifically a little town called Flagler Beach, for vacation every summer with my family and so that holds a really special place for me. My grandmother still lives there so I love to go see her when I can.


DRA: Your songs all have a feel-good, pure country sound. How important is that to you? To have songs that make people smile or completely relate to?

HA: It is really important to me have songs that make people smile and make them feel like someone is telling at least a small part of their story. I hold on to that every time I make music.

As far as the sound goes, I try to write music that I would want to listen to as a fan and what would make me happy, or make me laugh, whatever the case may be, and I go from there. The writing process is really organic for me, I am so envious of people who can sit down and write a song every day, I WISH I was like that. I have to get hit with the feeling or idea and then I run with it.



DRA: You recently performed during CMA Fest. How was that experience?

HA: It was great! CMA Fest is such an awesome, unique time. It brings country music fans together from all over the world and it’s amazing to get everybody in one place and just dive into the music for 5 solid days.

Photo Credit: @fashionqphotography


DRA: What can fans expect from Hannah Anders next?

HA: My full-length album releases on August 31st and I can not tell you how excited I am about that. I can’t wait to share the new music with everyone and perform it on the road this summer. We have some big shows coming up which I always look forward to and some other exciting things in the works which I’ll keep you updated on. Instagram and Facebook are a great place to follow me for all of that, my team and I try to stay really on top of those announcements for everyone.
We would like to thank Hannah for taking the time to interview with us. Be sure to follow her on social media for the latest updates and tour information.
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter - Dirt Road Anthems

As New Year's Eve quickly approaches, rising country artist Hannah Anders is providing one of the best versions of "Auld Lang Syne" we have heard in quite some time.

Along with the release Anders version of the iconic New Year's song, she has also released a new music video. The video captures the beauty, simplicity, and true vocal talent of Anders. We have included the full music video for Anders' rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" below. - Dirt Road Anthem

The Hard Rock Hotel and 93.1 Coast Country are teaming up for a combo country concert and holiday toy drive set for the beginning of next month. The event will be headlined by up-and-coming country singers Hannah Anders and Reed Foley.

The Rockin' Country Christmas Concert goes down on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona. Admission is free with the donation of a new, unwrapped toy. Toys go to Volusia County U.S. Marine Corp Reserves’ Toys for Tots mission.
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Tags: Hannah Anders, Country, Concert, Benefit, Toys For Tots, Hard Rock Hotel, Image - Orlando Weekly

Hannah Anders has conquered crowds from coast to coast and overseas, touring the UK and Ireland as the headliner of the Rednecks and Rhinestones Festival, in addition to sharing stages with the likes of LoCash, Billy Currington, and Keith Anderson. From Summerfest, the World’s Largest Music Festival, to Music City’s CMA Fest, putting on a legendary show has become second nature for Hannah Anders. She just released her new EP called Turn It Up which is on sale at Amazon and iTunes. - AME

"Hailing from the South, The Hannah Anders Band channeled their roots...led by the beautiful Hannah Anders, her powerful voice and high notes demanded everyone's attention. Rocking their ever popular tune, “Turn It Up” The Hannah Anders Band had the crowd yelling, 'hell yeah!'"
- JMWest Entertainment

God bless Skype! I can't imagine being a traveling musician in the days of no cellphones and no computers. I have so much admiration for the musicians who held their relationships together before the technology age.

For me, it comes down to two things. One, I have to make the effort. Yes it is a two way street, but because I am the one who is gone with the crazy schedule, I feel responsible to keep the people I love in the loop of my life. It takes five minutes to pick up the phone, send a text, or jump on the computer. Communication is key. Without it, it doesn't matter how strong the bonds are between me and the person I love, I'm going to cause a gap to form if I become the incredible disappearing woman.

The second thing is, I have to surround myself with people who wish me well and understand that sometimes this business is crazy. The hours are long, the nights are late, and the time on the road can be exhausting. The bottom line is this is not for everyone. Being a partner or friend to someone in this business can be tough. If you try to force that person to be a part of a lifestyle they cannot or will not understand, then no amount of "Skyping" or calling can do much to change that. - Fox Cities Hub