By Lillian Glanton
Founder, Muscle Shoals Song Rooms
Event coordinator, Muscle Shoals Songwriters Festival
I was 17 years old and looking at myself in a mirror when I said, “I want to be the future of Muscle Shoals music.” I have always had a heart for the Shoals and knew I was made to make music in the Shoals area. My goal is to provide a platform for other musicians and songwriters in the Shoals, as well.
Fast forward three years. Here I am, now 20 years old. I’ve taken massive action toward this goal and am excited about the future of the Shoals music industry.
You see, I was born on a cattle and poultry farm near Rogersville. My dad is a farmer and my mother is a kindergarten teacher. They have always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted. I have been playing guitar, writing songs and performing since I was 8 years old. At 15, I decided to try out for the hit TV show called “American Idol.”
I made it to Hollywood but, unfortunately, was let go from the show early on. When I came back after spending weeks in Los Angeles, I got a band together from my high school. We called ourselves “Lillian Glanton and the Elk River Boys.” I played at many fairs and festivals all across north Alabama and southern Tennessee with the “American Idol Contestant” title. While I was performing, I realized that I wasn’t dedicating time to the thing I loved most–songwriting. That was my deepest passion, but I was too busy worrying about my brand as an artist and trying to get through high school. I started working full-time in high school to graduate early. I wound up graduating a year early and starting college at the University of North Alabama, majoring in entertainment business when I was 16 years old.
During this time, I traveled to many different songwriter festivals and
performed my songs to audiences. Every time I would come back home to the Shoals, I asked myself “Why isn’t there a songwriters festival in the ‘Hit Recording Capital of the World’?” I then decided to create one. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I did know it was going to be worth it. In October of 2019, I was able to bring over 100 songwriters to the Shoals-area festival as well as over 1,000 attendees. This year’s Muscle Shoals Songwriters Festival will be Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 5-7.
In the midst of planning the festival, I also couldn’t help but notice that songwriters in the Shoals area did not have a place to go to work on their craft. This led me to create the Muscle Shoals Song Rooms, which is a writing facility and performance venue in Sheffield. We opened in January and business is going very well.
This is all to say that I am very thankful for the opportunities I have been given. I hope to be an encouragement to young entrepreneurs who want to start their own business ventures. I also want to give hope to the future of Shoals music — I believe that, if we all come together, we can redefine the “Hit Recording Capital of the World.”
Muscle Shoals Songwriters Festival photos by Kyle Root
Muscle Shoals Song Rooms photos by Lillian Glanton
