“Born in California, raised on country.”
This is the first line of Anna Vaus’s biography, and she’s quick to admit she’s proud of her roots. Raised in San Diego, she says a lot of her music comes from these hometown memories. A singer/songwriter, Vaus is juggling studying the music she loves and performing in the heart of the country music world.
When she performs, Vaus oozes confidence and a sheer joy in strumming her guitar. Her quirky lyrics range in their storytelling, but recall a fun, bouncy joie de vivre. She calls her songwriting dark and a little twisted. These deep musings are a refreshing surprise coming from such a young artist. But youth certainly hasn’t stopped Vaus from breaking into the Nashville music scene.
For an emerging artist, Vaus’s resume is already lengthy. She’s opened for big names from LeAnn Womack to Hunter Hayes, and performed in famous venues like The Bluebird Café.
Vaus is also the first recipient of the Miranda Lambert Women Creators Scholarship. After submitting an application and a recording of herself performing an original song, Vaus was chosen out of 80 other hopefuls. The award is an honor chosen by Lambert herself out of a talented group of young women trying to break into the industry as an artist or business leader. The goal is to recognize these women as they work towards an education. Vaus is currently studying to earn her degree in songwriting with a minor in music business at Belmont University.
This week, Vaus played a sampling of her original songs for SCENES Live Sessions. Just a girl and her guitar, Vaus tuned in to share some of her favorites. Her songs, from the darkly comedic “Somebody Died” to the gritty “Motels and Mercedes,” reveal an intuitive country style that is still uniquely Anna Vaus.
