Monday, January 27, 2014

Angel Snow House Concert Stirs Excitement for Upcoming Festival

Photo by Holly Apperson

Maybe people who shine don't ever see themselves as being finished with dreams. Take, for example, the most recent Whimzey house concert performer, Angel Snow. She's humble, easy to talk to. She's kind. She also happens to be a super talented singer/songwriter.



I got to talk to her when she was driving back home to Nashville Wednesday morning. She pulled over to get some gas and we chatted over our cell phones. I asked her a few questions and of course, the first had to be about Whimzeyland and Casa Loco.

"It was one of the most charming places I've ever had the opportunity to stay in," she said, then added, "it was the most creative place I've ever stayed."

Photo by Holly Apperson

Snow's music career started soon after she met Grammy-winning singer Alison Krauss through a mutual friend. "I gave her one of my CDs," Snow said. The next day, she knew her life was going to change when she heard how much Alison liked her CD. Alison Krauss' brother Viktor wrote the music to Lie Awake - he'd written it years before meeting Angel Snow, but the lyrics and the rhythms meshed, as did the talents of the two musicians. The rest, as they say, is history. Three of Angel Snow's songs are on the newly released album Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss and Union Station. (It's worth listing to both Angel Snow's and Alison Krauss & Union Station's versions of Lie Awake - they are both beautiful!)

I asked Snow when she first knew she wanted music to be a part of her life. She told me she always knew in her heart that ultimately she wanted to be on stage and share her music and art with other people. "I started writing poetry in seventh grade. Then it turned into adding music to it," she said. "My parents were a big influence and tthey wanted  me to finish school, but I've always pushed myself to do more than I think other people thought I was capable of ... exploring everything I have to offer. I'm still doing that."

College allowed her the opportunity to find work and she traveled to California from Georgia on a bus when she was 22. She spent time as a nanny and she thought she'd become a teacher. She didn't imagine those early years writing poetry would turn into stardom, but her success hasn't affected her. "I still might like to teach English in another country ... there are lots of different things I'd like to do."

Her love of music stayed with her though, and no matter where she lived, she had her guitar.

For now, she is sticking to music. The kind that that will pull you into its plot, its layers, like a well
Photo by Holly Apperson
written book. Her voice is melodic, her lyrics can be sad, but with a definite helping of nostalgia and hope mixed in. Her guitar riffs are bluesy, easy to listen to, and like Alison Krauss' music, a very modern rendition of American Bluegrass.It's the type of music that will positively affect a whole city - Safety Harbor - come April  when she performs at the Safety Harbor Singer Songwriter Festival.

"Music was always a strength so I'm glad I pursued it, but there was always something else leading me too. I have always tried to go where my heart leads me. I think when you do that things can be difficult, but there is something else that carries you over."

Don's miss Angel Snow performing April 4-6 at the Safety Harbor Singer Songwriter Festival.
Purchase her CDs through her website at angelsnow.net. Find her on Facebook and you can follow her Twitter at @ImAngelSnow.


 




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