Anna Wilson is a critically acclaimed recording artist with a voice that Jazz Times likens to “crème de cocoa.” Her seven studio albums spanning a thirty-year career have garnered rave reviews and she has been hailed as the queen of the country-jazz duet for her critically acclaimed Countrypolitan Duets album that has her singing alongside Kenny Rogers, Ray Price, Connie Smith, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Larry Carlton and others. Additionally, she has garnered honors as an award-winning ASCAP songwriter, penned the global theme song for Habitat for Humanity International, and has had her songs appear on over seven million RIAA certified records for artists such as Lady A , Reba McEntire, Billy Ray Cyrus, Chuck Wicks and more.
My name is Anna Wilson. I was born in 1972, but I believe, on some level, that my creative musical muse was really conceived circa 1947. Often times I wish I was too.Why? Because that would mean I would have been 25 years old in 1972 and likely a singer-songwriter-artist who would have found her way out to Los Angeles to be part of the musical movement and communityt hat definedt he Laurel Canyon folk-rock era. The closest thing I found to the folk rock community of the 1970s in California was the country music migration of the early 1990s in Nashville. That was when I was coming of age as a songwriter and found myself called to a place that had a similar awakening and melting pot community of creative souls in search of the artful craft and power of a song. The Bluebird Café was our Troubadour, The Sunset Grill our Dan Tana’s, Music Row our Laurel Canyon. It has taken me years to reconcile these two eras…that is the story of Canyon Angel.
Troubadour 77, an Americana duo often referred to as T77, is the brainchild of award-winning singer-songwriters Anna Wilson and Monty Powell who are forging a sound and spirit that celebrates the tradition of the American troubadour. MORE
“Anna Wilson has a voice like crème de cocoa, and an inner metronome thats wings wildly from age to age.” MORE
– Christopher Louden, Jazz Times
“Anna’s song reminds us all that supporting Habitat’s mission need not be limited to swinging a hammer or laying a block.” MORE
– Chris Clarke, Former Sr. Vice President of Communications
Anna Wilson is a critically acclaimed recording artist with a voice that Jazz Times likens to “crème de cocoa.” Her seven studio albums spanning a thirty-year career have garnered rave reviews and she has been hailed as the queen of the country-jazz duet for her critically acclaimed Countrypolitan Duets album that has her singing alongside Kenny Rogers, Ray Price, Connie Smith, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Larry Carlton and others. Additionally, she has garnered honors as an award-winning ASCAP songwriter, penned the global theme song for Habitat for Humanity International, and has had her songs appear on over seven million RIAA certified records for artists such as Lady A, Reba McEntire, Billy Ray Cyrus, Chuck Wicks and more.
Her latest project is a documentary film in-the-making called “Canyon Angel”. An inspirational tale that chronicles a 25-year musical journey that she didn’t even realize she was on until the dawning of her 50th decade. A journey that took her from her hometown of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania to Nashville to Los Angeles and back. Wilson says, “I’ve had a very diverse career that has blended genres in unique ways but at the heart of my creative soul has always been a deep connection to the musical movement of Laurel Canyon that I never got to be a part of simply because I was born too late. This film is the story of my redemptive journey to uncover, rediscover and reclaim the lost piece of my creative soul that I call the Canyon Angel.”
Her Americana duo, Troubadour 77, that she formed in 2016 with husband and hit songwriter Monty Powell was the impetus that set Wilson on the course to discover her Canyon Angel doppelganger. Although it may seem like an odd departure from her many jazz albums and country songwriting accolades, Wilson indicates that first and foremost she is a songwriter and that her songs have always been the driving force in everything she does. “Even on my vocal jazz projects it was always about the original jazz songs I wrote way more than the standards of the genre. T77, as we sometimes call ourselves, is representative of the music I have always wanted to make. It comes from a true singer-songwriter perspective.”
This dynamic and diverse songbird has even more things to sing about as she recently co-wrote and co-stars in a two-person musical with her Troubadour 77 partner, Monty Powell, called “Songstars” that debuted with a residency at the historic Woolworth Theatre in Nashville. Wilson remarks, “The best way to describe it is, Springsteen on Broadway meets the hit movie Once meets The Bluebird Cafe on steroids!” It’s a scripted songwriter concert-play that tells her and Powell’s personal story of chasing dreams and finding love amid the backdrop of their separate and combined Nashville pilgrimages to songwriting success.
As for giving back, Wilson is all hands on deck. Community outreach is another important aspect of her career and she continually tries to find ways to marry her music with charities that she is passionate about. She is widely known for her Habitat for Humanity International theme song “A House, A Home” that garnered worldwide attention when it appeared in the charity’s public service announcements and received over $5 million in free advertising worldwide. She also penned and Olympic inspired song called “Spirit” whose royalties benefited Women’s Ski Jumping USA when they made their debut in Sochi, Russia in 2014. The proceeds were given directly to the organization to help support women ski jumpers around the world and advocate for gender equality in sport.
Born and raised in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Loyola University in Maryland, Anna Wilson splits her time between Nashville, the mountains of Colorado and the Florida Keys where she enjoys golf, skiing, culinary experiences, performing live and recording innovative album projects that have appeal to wide audiences. Her music is engaging and effortless as she weaves her soulful, vulnerable and richly textured voice through everything she does.