Commercial music student on path to stardom

Anna Colson has spent her lifetime practicing music. Now, she’s prepared to turn her lifelong dream into a career. 

Colson, a senior studying commercial music in Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts, already has quite a resumé. The Montgomery, Alabama, native has worked at the Country Music Association’s annual festival (CMA Fest), interned with an artist management collective in Nashville, Tennessee, performed at the grand opening of the Don and Alexandra Clayton Lucky Man Studio and opened for the legendary Rosanne Cash at the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center.  

For Colson, pursuing a degree in music wasn’t always her path, but attending Auburn was. 

Despite growing up an Alabama fan, the summers she spent attending Auburn Youth Programs led Colson to the Plains. 

"Going to Auburn was a no-brainer,” she said. “It was actually the only school I applied to." 

After spending a semester in another major, Colson realized she couldn’t envision herself pursuing anything other than music. 

“Having a semester without music led me to realize that this is my life and my breath,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine life without it. That was a huge turning point for me.”   

From there, Colson fell in love with the Commercial Music program. 

“It is so unique because we’re all a family,” she said. “We get to push each other, and we’re each other’s number one supporters. It’s an experience you really don’t get in many places.” 

Dual focus 

Beyond the program community, Colson feels that the industry training she’s receiving on campus is one-of-a-kind. 

“Auburn is unique in that it prepares you to be a Jack or Jane of all trades within the music industry,” Colson said. “Not many schools are both performance and business based like Auburn.” 

It’s the business training that led Colson to intern with Thursdays at Midnight, a Nashville-based artist management collective. Learning how to promote artists both in the classroom and on the job has helped her market herself as a musician. 

“Our professors provide great advice as far as what worked and didn't work for them in their careers,” she said. “They work in the industry themselves; one of my professors was Reba McEntire’s long-time publicist, and another has been touring across the country as a singer since she was 17. You learn so much about every aspect of the industry from them.” 

In the spotlight 

When the chance to apply for a spot as Rosanne Cash’s opener came up, Colson was in a period of intense exhaustion. 

“I had just come back from a summer where I had been touring and playing gigs every weekend,” she said. “I wouldn’t even listen to music in my car, that’s how burnt-out I was.” 

Colson almost didn’t apply for the opportunity. After a professor’s strong encouragement, she submitted a tape, not expecting it to go anywhere. 

When she was called back for a second audition, Colson says she snapped out of her fatigue. 

“It lit a fire under me,” she said. “It’s such an honor and a rare opportunity. I knew I had to get this.” 

Just a few weeks later, she got the spot. 

Colson describes the experience of meeting the legendary Cash and opening for her at the Gogue Performing Arts Center as transformative. 

"I am just this girl from Alabama who writes songs in her room and plays her acoustic guitar, but here I am opening for this Grammy award-winning artist,” she said. “I had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it's because the people at Auburn wanted that for us students." 

That same generosity and belief in student potential was shown again when Colson, along with three other students, performed at the dedication of Lucky Man Studio, a state-of-the-art commercial recording studio located in Goodwin Hall. 

Colson is grateful not only for the opportunity to perform in the space but also to utilize it as a student. 

"What college student can say that they got to use and record in a cutting edge recording studio?” she asked. 

Colson attributes her experience with Lucky Man Studio to her preparedness for her internship in Nashville, where she regularly finds herself in large recording studios. 

“I feel comfortable when I enter these intimidating places,” she said. “It’s not like I’m just being thrown into the deep end. Thanks to Auburn, I’m ready for that next chapter.”