Rising Stars: Meet Sugarcane Jane

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sugarcane Jane.

Hello Sugarcane Jane, 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.
Sugarcane Jane is a husband-wife duo (Anthony Crawford and Savana Lee). Anthony’s story has a lot of layers… he’s been doing this for about five decades now. After winning a talent contest in high school (Birmingham, Al) Anthony was offered a gig at Opryland which brought him to Music City. From there he scored a gig touring with the great Sonny James, as well as singing or playing on dozens of established Nashville artists’ albums including Tanya Tucker. That particular session (because of its Jordanaire’s feel) landed him face to face with Neil Young at Quad studio on what would become Neil Young & the Shocking Pinks.

He has performed off and on with Neil since 1983 (The Shocking Pinks, The International Harvesters, the Continentals, and the Electric Band) with tours in between with other icons such as Steve Winwood and Dwight Yoakam and writing credits with Steve Winwood, Dwight Yoakam, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Kenny Rogers, and others. It was in between touring with Neil and recording his own album in a West Meade studio called Deepfield Studio that he met his future wife, Savana Lee. Savana had just moved to Nashville from south Alabama and was managing the studio. She fell in love with his music as well as his charming southern personality.

In 2009, they started the band Sugarcane Jane and began touring the United States, opening for Dwight Yoakam, Steve Winwood, and Randy Travis as well as headlining their own shows. In 2010, they welcomed their first child, Loretta Raine, followed by Levon Cash and then Dusty Lee, all named after artists they admire. The music however never took a back burner and in 2020 they released their tenth Sugarcane Jane album, Ruffled Feathers; Songs in the Key of Me.

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?
Looking back it was pretty smooth. However, if you want to dig through the details, you can always find something to complain about. Living in Nashville, you would think that music would be your first priority. Somehow though it became more of a focus to find a manager or producer and the music got pushed aside. It took years to realize that touring and performing music across the country, and not staying in Nashville 24/7, would lead us to focus more.

Also if you get the chance to work with big stars, they tend to take precedence when it comes to mapping out your career. For Anthony, it was hard to get a solo career going when you’re waiting for a call from Neil Young to come to the ranch next Tuesday. You have to drop everything you’re doing and go. So you tend to not book anything for yourself, waiting for the call. It’s a hurdle to get over, working with these larger-than-life icons. At some point, you have to jump ship and do your own thing which is what we’ve done now for the past thirteen years.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We specialize in music composition and performance. We’re known for our harmony as well as our on-stage banter.

We are most proud of our independence from the snare of the music business. The intangibles set us apart from others – our natural blend, the lack of fear, and willingness to participate at any level. We also allow our shows to change and evolve so no two shows are ever the same.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Yeah, the definition of success should not be measured in chart positions, songwriting cuts, or financial gains but in the love of creation and longevity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sugarcanejane.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarcanejane/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sugarcanejanemusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sugarcanejane
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/sugarcanejane
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sugarcanejane

Image Credits
Brandan Babineaux, Daniel Carpenter, Keith Necaise, Steven Sandick, Stephen Anderson, and Fred Salinas