Anna Kate Warner's Bio:

My name is Anna Kate Warner. I am 18 years old, and I am from Hamilton Alabama and I have lived there all my life. I live with my parents and my dog, Mini. I first became interested in music when I was 12. My sister was upstairs in her room playing my dad's old guitar, and of course I had to keep up with big sister all the time, so I wanted to learn to play too. Fast forward a couple years, and I finally did learn to play on that same old guitar. As I continued to learn how to play, my parents got me a new guitar. I began learning more songs, recording videos and began a facebook page, Anna Kate Warner Music. I got way more response than I expected to! That encouraged me to learn all the songs I could and eventually to write my own. One day, a friend of my mother's heard me singing on facebook and recommended that I compete in a local talent competition in Florence, AL, the Kid's Fest Idol. I had no clue what to think. Me? In a singing competition? I signed up to compete and I made it through the first round, then the second, and then finally I found myself at the finale round where I won 1st place. I was awarded a couple of hours of studio time with Jimmy Nutt at the Nutthouse Recording Studio in Sheffield, AL where I put together a demo CD. I was also given the opportunity to perform several times duting the W. C. Handy Music Festival of 2017. I was interviewed and given the chance to perform at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. From then on out, more and more people have been listening to the songs I cover and checking out my music page. I have been given the opportunity to sing at many festivals, restaurants, radio and TV shows, and other events around the area. I have a unique performance experience through the FFA. Yes, that is the Future Farmers of America. I sang in the FFA string band at my high school for three years. My high school string band competed in the local district and state talent competitions. Myself and another FFA member and dear friend, Josie Beth Jones, competed as a duo in the FFA National Talent Competition in Indianapolis, IN and made the top 15 of the nation. Not only did we perform live on stage at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but we also appeared on RFD TV as the talent show finals were aired on live TV. FFA is one of my favorite hobbies. My other hobbies include playing guitar, playing with my dog, painting, and going to concerts. And there is yet another unique opportunity I’ve had and that is through The Weather Channel. Jeremy Henderson, a writer for It’s A Southern Thing magazine, had heard my original song, Alabama Weather, on my music page on Facebook. He wrote an article for It’s A Southern Thing and when it was published on line, someone from The Weather Channel heard about it. Before you know it, one of the weekend show’s producers from TWC contacted me and wanted to do an interview about the song. At the time of the interview, Alabama Weather had about 3K views – now it’s over 6K views. THANK YOU WEATHER CHANNEL! Soon after the article appeared in Southern Thing, I discovered one day as I ‘googled’ my name that Southern Living had also published an article about my song, Alabama Weather. Jeremy Henderson is also a writer for an on-line newsletter, The War Eagle Reader in Auburn AL, and he also published an article there. Some artists that influence me and my music are Ashley McBryde, Miranda Lambert, Trisha Yearwood, all the boss ladies out there. I look up to them so much, I guess because they are where I want to be, and knowing they made it inspires me to believe that I can too. I'm still incredibly new to the music scene, but I feel confident that I will be playing music for all my life. If I don't have a song pumping through my ears then I definitely have one stuck in my heard or there’s a new lyric I want to incorporate into a new song. Music gets me through every day. I really don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have music. I think the reason I play music and write songs and try to play at every festival and restaurant possible is because I hear all these stories about how the biggest names in music got their start the exact same way that I am now. And if they could do it, well just maybe I can too. I have a dream in my head and a song in my heart and I just want to share it with the world. I have been given an incredible opportunity to sign a recording deal with a brand-new label, Drachen Lake Entertainment. We have been working very hard on getting an EP out. There has been a little set back due to the COVID 19 shut down in Alabama but hopefully by the end of the summer, my CD should be complete and available for purchase as well as downloads on music media outlets. Please follow my music page and check back for updates on events and news announcements. If there was any advice I could offer to someone who is where I was three years ago, I'll just say this: don't. give. up. Write that song that you think sounds stupid, because not every song will be a hit. Practice things that you want to be good at. Don't let people who are more experienced than you intimidate you. They started exactly where you and I did. Try to envision yourself up on that stage in that arena at that sold out concert. If that is where you want to be, run after it and don’t ever look back.

 

 

 

Craig Hendricks is this week's guest on The Midnight Madness Show.

Southern born and raised, Craig Hendricks has called home from the Piedmont of Middle Georgia to the Alabama heights of Lookout Mountain. Craig has found his place on stages from Savannah, GA to Rangeley, ME and from Fort Payne, AL to Gatlinburg, TN. Craig has been a regular at Arts in the Heart of Augusta, GA Festival, has appeared in the Crystelle Creek Songwriter's Showcase in Gatlinburg, TN, placed in the Texaco Country Showdown as a performer and a songwriter, and has performed with some of the brightest talent in the southeast, including award winning songwriters and performers.
Craig brings his own unique character and smooth style to create a personal and interactive experience for his listeners. He also brings the charisma often found in troubadours of yesteryear as a national award winner for his songwriting and recognition of his vocal talents.

The Midnight Madness Show can be heard on one of our affiliates of the Nashville Songwriters Radio Network

 

 

Kenneth Cope is this week's guest on The Midnight Madness Show.

The Midnight Madness Show can be heard on one of our affiliates of the Nashville Songwriters Radio Network