Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Wilson. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Troubadour 77, or T77, as they are sometimes referred to, is the brainchild of Grammy award-winning singer-songwriters, Anna Wilson (Piano/Lead Vocals) and Monty Powell (Guitar/Vocals).
Wilson and Powell have been married for 23 years and making music together as artists, songwriters, and producers in Nashville. Collectively they have written a dozen #1 songs and countless album cuts that appear on over 70 million records, have co-produced unique special projects that pay tribute to The Eagles, Billy Joel, and the Countrypolitan era of music, and penned the international theme song for Habitat for Humanity.
Additionally, Powell was a key creative force in establishing the mega-success story of Keith Urban. He was his early producer and one of Urban’s top collaborators for many years, earning Golden Globe nominations and countless industry awards for the songs they composed together. Ultimately, Wilson and Powell spent 25 years in Music City together, but it wasn’t until after breaking away and retreating to their second home in the Utah mountains that they found a new muse that came calling so strongly, that they had to answer.
They are writing new music to carry the torch of the 70s Laurel Canyon, Southern California sound that is reminiscent of the classic singer-songwriters that influenced and helped define their generation. It all began when Wilson started revisiting the records of Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Firefall, Linda Ronstadt, and many others, and realized how much she missed that sound and someone just singing her a great song.
Wilson states, “I used to think I was born 25 years too late because I wasn’t in Los Angeles in 1972. Our mission now is to make new music with classic folk-rock influences that capture the mood and culture of the current times inside our intentional song-based 70s sound.” In the spirit of socially conscious music of the past, Troubadour 77 has songs that address gun violence, immigration, climate change, and civil rights, as well as the traditional love relationship song. “The current zeitgeist is not so different than that of the late 60s and early 70s.
We have something to say that we believe can affect change,” says lead vocalist Anna Wilson. Powell, a Georgia native, penned the profound “Freedom Rider” that tells the story of Senator John Lewis (D-GA) and his work in the civil rights movement. “Senator John Lewis is my hero. When he marched, I was just a kid and too young for the fight, as the song says, but I’m not too young now. If a song I write can have an impact for good, for change, that’s worth singing out for.”
Speaking of singing out, that is exactly what Troubadour 77 is doing. They have already shared billings with established acts like Brandi Carlile, Los Lobos, and Robert Randolph & The Family Band. They call their followers “Troubelievers,” a play on the duo’s monikor. “We know they are out there,” says Wilson, “We are going to seek them out one song at a time.”
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Certainly not. It’s the music business! In today’s music business, we are classified in the genre of “Americana”. It is the most appropriate place because it claims to embrace everything from country to bluegrass, folk, singer-songwriter, etc.
Because of its wide net so many artists fall into this genre, making it extremely competitive and expansive in an already crowded media space. In a world of so much content, it’s hard to rise above the noise. Additionally, we are committed to staying true to the 70s Laurel Canyon sound, and frankly, that is a harder sell in today’s Americana genre that tends to lend itself to a much more Appalachian, string-based sonic landscape.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are songwriters first and foremost! We write songs for numerous reasons and outlets…to record on our albums and to be recorded by other artists. We also write songs with people who want to mark a milestone event like a wedding, anniversary, or special birthday, and we do corporate events where we lead a keynote songwriting event that encapsulates a corporation’s messaging (www.songsessions.com).
We perform as artists and songwriters and we even wrote, performed, and launched our concert-play on the theatre stage with a residency at the Woolworth Theatre in Nashville this past summer. Everything we do is to celebrate the power of a song!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Anna – My favorite childhood memory is singing into my hairbrush (regularly) in front of the mirror to all my favorite records which I played on my portable Donny and Marie Osmond suitcase record player.
Monty – The hootenannies that would emerge on my family farm in Georgia. We were a musical family so everyone could play and sing. It was always so fun to be a part of the impromptu jams that would emerge.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.troubadour77.com, www.annawilson.com, www.montypowell.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/troubadour77music
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/troubadour77music
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/T77Music
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN2NnPXHbInRqzPokgl2uPQ
Image Credits
Anna Wilson, Kenn Sullivan, Jeff Gribble, and Jess Adams
