Rising Stars: Meet Madison Hughes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison Hughes.

Hi Madison, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Madison Hughes, and I’m an artist from Ponte Vedra, Florida a small beach town right outside of Jacksonville. My musical journey began at 10 years old when I started taking guitar lessons with my dad. My passion for music continued when I went off to boarding school where I got involved in the choir and musical theatre programs. I then devoted most of my college years to learning how to use GarageBand and developing my recording and videography craft. After graduating, I tried out Atlanta, DC, Bozeman, and Los Angeles, and then settled on Nashville. I tried out for NBC’s The Voice in the summer of 2022 and landed a coveted spot on Team Blake with my country rendition of Bob Dylan’s classic, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” – earning a three-chair turn.

Despite being eliminated in the Battle Rounds, I was excited to go back to Nashville with newfound confidence. This show definitely gave me that validation that it wasn’t just my friends and family back home that thought I had what it takes to make it. Fast forward to 2023, I’m learning how to write songs and navigate this artist journey all while still being independent. I dropped my first single off of the show, “You or the Whiskey” in March and my next single “Chasing Cities” releases later in May.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I struggled with self-doubt and believing in myself for a long time, which is why I didn’t really perform at all that much growing up. I would just upload songs onto Soundcloud after making them on GarageBand and that was all I thought I could do. After high school, I went to three different colleges before finally settling at Florida State University. After graduating from college, I moved to Washington, D.C. where I signed up for a cubicle editing job on Capitol Hill.

On the first day of work, I was crying in the bathroom for fear that I would spend the rest of my life trapped in a job that I hated. I didn’t think that a music career was honestly worth pursuing because people always tell you how impossible the road is. But I felt God nudging me to step away, and it took a lot of courage to do that! Another challenge has been the whole “finding my sound” thing when all my life I’ve dabbled in every genre there is.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Along with my music, I am also a freelance videographer.

I mainly create mini-documentaries, since I truly love interviewing people and helping their stories be heard. Until I become a full-time musician, this will continue to be a service I provide for anyone who is interested!

https://madisonhughes.com/films

Contact Info:

• Website: madisonhughes.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/itsmadisonhughes
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsmadisonhughes/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/madisonhughesmusic
• SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/madison_hughes
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/03rZGNLcaUYnzsTxlXpJ3F?si=3acCmQ3PQSKZrIRNU2lmnQ