B i o g r a p h y
Marie Anderson is a female singer/songwriter based out of Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. She is the winner of the 2015 SML Lyrics on the Lake Singer/Songwriter competition. In 2018, she was voted one of Roanoke's 10 Best Bands in the Roanoker magazine by a panel of her musical peers, being the only solo act on that list. Her style includes an eclectic array of over 2000 songs from the 1930's to today that encompass Top 40 Pop, Country, Rock, Oldies, and Blues....as well as original songs of her own. She incorporates the use of a harmony pedal and a loop pedal (where she creates and records loops live at her shows) into her performances that give her the ability to sound like a full band. Marie is the former owner of Fret Mill Music Co. in Roanoke, and also runs a sanctuary for FIV+ cats called PLAYING FOR PURRS ( https://www.facebook.com/playingforpurrs) which is where all the proceeds from her performances go.
Marie has a passion for many things, but her love for music began around age 4. She would listen to her brother practice piano, and then later would go sit and pick out what he played by ear. That year for Christmas she asked for piano lessons and took them diligently until the age of 12. At that point, she decided that she would like to learn how to play guitar instead, and learned basic chords out of an old Roy Clark music book her father had.
Throughout her entire childhood, she was involved music. She participated in band and choir throughout her middle school and high school years. She played guitar in a band in high school called "Twisted Fate", who placed second in the Battle of the Bands in 1992 for their area.
Marie will tell you that she has always had stagefright. Even when practicing piano or guitar at home, she would immediately stop playing if someone entered a room. She started getting up on stage with fellow musicians when she relocated back to the area in 2010, and in 2011 she started the first regular Open Mic at Smith Mountain Lake at Beyond the Green Sports Bar until its closing in 2012. She then started another one at HotShots in 2012. The rest, as people say, is history! Performing and connecting with others through music is what drives her performances.
Marie is currently working on her own album that will be available for FREE, or for a donation that will go toward funding the Girls Rock Roanoke Summer Camp Program, with which she supports and volunteers for.
(For more information on Girls RockRoanoke, click here )
"I would never have imagined I would be up on stage performing for other people's enjoyment. Now that I've started, I can't see myself stopping anytime soon. The ability to touch someone with music and have them enjoy listening as much as you enjoy performing is indescribably rewarding and somewhat intoxicating."
