Alana Springsteen has been chasing a career in music all her life.
She’s 18, and just released her debut, self-titled EP and two music videos. In a few days, she’ll get her first taste of life on the road with a band in tow.
You might recognize her name. Though the country singer is now appropriately based out of Nashville, she was born and raised on the sands of Virginia Beach – Sandbridge, to be specific. One of her very first gigs was singing the national anthem on the manicured green grass at Harbor Park.
She was 8 years old.
“But even then, I had the dream of writing and making music and performing in front of people,” Springsteen – no relation to “The Boss” – says over the phone from her Tennessee home.
And she has been doing just that ever since.
As she breaks down the details of the last two months, she’s getting ready to visit a Boys and Girls Club. Over the next week or so, she’ll visit a dozen or so more to sing songs off of her EP for neighborhood kids.
It’ll give her a preview of what touring is really like, she said. After that, she’ll set off for performances across the country. For a few of those dates, Springsteen will open for another Nashville singer-songwriter, Josh Turner, who is among the Grand Ole Opry’s youngest members.
The road will bring her home on July 24, when she will play a homecoming show at Norfolk’s recently overhauled Granby Theater, just weeks after country star Billy Ray Cyrus celebrated its grand re-opening.
“Really?” she asks when she learns of Cyrus’ performance at the theater. “I’m even more excited to play there now.”
About eight years ago, Springsteen started trekking to Nashville a few times a year between songwriting sessions in her Virginia Beach bedroom. After inking a publishing deal at the age of 14, her parents made the decision to move to the country music mecca to support her dream.
She got right to work, co-writing songs with other artists to sharpen her songwriting skills and playing shows anywhere she could.
From there, everything started falling into place.
“It was just a dream come true,” she said. “I think being surrounded by people that understand what you love, what you’re passionate about, is really special.”
Two months ago, Springsteen released her first official single, “Slow Down.” It’s a down-tempo song about the first rush of emotion that happens when you meet someone new.
The single, which landed on Rolling Stone’s “10 Best Country Songs to Hear Now” list last month, showcases Springsteen’s deft hand at applying a musical twist to everyday occurrences. The idea didn’t come from a budding romance, but “crazy Nashville drivers” whom co-writer Ben Foster had encountered on his way into the studio.
“I remember he just came in and we were talking and getting to know each other. He was telling me about driving in that morning and he mentioned this driver was speeding around him and then just cut him off,” Springsteen recounted.
The driver just needed to slow down, Springsteen said. So the two turned the traffic hazard into a tender track.
“The melody just materialized and we wrote it in one day. It’s one of those songs that just kind of wrote itself, but I immediately knew it was special.”
Springsteen’s homecoming show is free and open to the public. More information about the concert can be found granbytheater.com.
if you go
Who: Alana Springsteen
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Granby Theater, 421 Granby St., Norfolk
Tickets: Free
Amy Poulter, 757-446-2705, amy.poulter@pilotonline.com
