Song Sessions

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 an independent documentary film called “Canyon Angel”. It is here that she makes her directorial debut telling an inspirational tale that chronicles a 25-year musical journey that she uncovered at the dawning of her 50 th 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.”

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.

Looking for Monty Powell? You don’t have to go too far to hear one of his many hits streaming about or being played by a country superstar at an outdoor summer concert. He is also easily found on any one of the 60 million plus records floating around containing one of his hits. Powell is a highly decorated songwriter having been named SESAC’s Songwriter of the Year (2009), is a recipient of the prestigious CMA Triple Play Award (2010), has earned seven BMI Millionaire Awards and has over three decades of other songwriting honors, penning hits for Tim McGraw, Billy Ray Cyrus, Diamond Rio, Colin Raye, Brooks & Dunn, Chris Cagle and more. Additionally, he was a key creative force in establishing the mega success story of Keith Urban by producing Urban’s first American release “The Ranch” and was one of his top collaborators for many years earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for his co-written song with Keith Urban “For You” in the movie “Act of Valor”, as well as a Critics Choice Award nomination for the same.

Apart from songwriting, Powell is also an accomplished music producer. He is known for co-producing Diamond Rio’s first three albums (two of which are now platinum and one is gold), as well as Keith Urban’s critically acclaimed band “The Ranch” for Capitol Records. In 1994, he won a CMA “Album of the Year” award for his production work on “Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles” that supported Don Henley’s Walden Woods Project. In addition, Powell produced “Working Man’s Blues by Jed Zepplin” (Steve Wariner, Lee Roy Parnell and Diamond Rio) on the highly acclaimed “Mamma’s Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard”. In the 2000s he teamed up with Anna Wilson (his wife) and co-produced all five of her studio albums, and together they produced a project that highlights various country, pop and Americana artists for an album project that re-imagines the songs of one of the finest singer/songwriters of our time…the great Billy Joel.  It is called “A Nashville State of Mind” and features Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson and Tim McGraw to name a few.

Over his 40-year career, Powell also has held roles in artist management. His clients have included Muzik Mafia member, James Otto (Warner Brothers), Trent Tomlinson (Lyric Street) and Chuck Wicks (RCA), all who steadily rose to country music stardom under his watch.

In the midst of all the various hats Monty wears these days, he also finds time to donate his talent to many charitable causes like St. Jude, T.J Martell, and Habitat for Humanity, but the cause closest to his heart is the Alzheimer’s Association. Powell’s father died from an early on-set of Alzheimer’s, so Monty decided to use music as his weapon to fight this terrible disease. He took action by creating an initiative called Better Start Livin’ that was inspired by his mega hit “Days Go By”, penned with superstar Keith Urban. Together, for the first time in concert, Powell was joined by Urban, Anna Wilson and rising star, Matt Jenkins at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, GA, where they raised over $250,000 in a single evening to fund Alzheimer’s research.

Currently, alongside his wife Anna Wilson, Powell spends his time co-writing, producing and performing in an Americana duo they have founded together called Troubadour 77, that pays homage to the 70s Laurel Canyon SoCal sound that so heavily influenced them. As they drive forward, Powell states, “We are performing original music that is reminiscent of the classic singer-songwriters that helped define our generation.”

Monty currently splits his time between Nashville, the mountains of Colorado and the Florida Keys and can often be found golfing, chasing fish with a fly rod on the gulf coast or skiing down the slopes in Colorado.