Sarah Rose DrakeIn a small town in rural Washington County, a gifted artist was born. His website describes his music as “raw, gutsy, open and honest by blending soul-searching lyrics with a truly memorable voice.” One of his recent songs put him on the iTunes Indie Top Ten List. So who is this talented local artist?
While there wasn’t always a lot to do in New Matamoras, Ohio, Anthony Mossburg made the best of his time there by cruising around in the country, playing football (Anthony was an all-star quarterback) and going to the pool in the summers. He says, “I spent a lot of time outside when I was a kid. Playing out in the woods and playing sports are two of my favorite memories growing up.”
While he was growing up in this small town, Anthony started playing the guitar at nine years old and started singing at 19. He recalls that the first album that he really took interest in was Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” and without noticing it, that music became an integral part of his life – and while music had always been a part of his life – he didn’t realize that it would become his passion at age 22.
Anthony, now an award winning acoustic guitarist and singer, currently lives in Columbus, Oh. – but between graduating from Frontier High School and today, he went on a journey to four different colleges in four years. At first, he was focused on his football career. As a freshman, he attended Robert Morris University on a full scholarship to play football. He didn’t feel this was right for him so transferred back to Washington State Community College before switching again to Marietta College where he returned to football, playing two years for the Pios. He transferred one final time, this time to Ohio Valley University, but had to stop playing football due to injuries. It was at OVU where he decided to launch his music career.
After college, Anthony moved frequently and worked multiple side jobs to get a feel for what it took to follow a career in music – including living in Tennessee for a few months. At one point Anthony states that he was “just feeling that if I never go for it then I’ll never know what could have happened.”
He’s now thankful he made that leap of faith in his music career since he’s been making a living playing live shows full time for about three and a half years now. “Doing live shows is definitely one of my favorite parts of this entire process. I have played shows for thousands of people as well as for groups of ten or less people.” He continues, “I’ve played shows that remind me why I continue to pursue music and I have played shows that make me question why I ever started this process, but regardless of how good or bad a show may be, nothing beats connecting with people through songs that you have written.”
Some of the acts he’s opened for are global acts such as Skillet, Red, Shawn McDonald, Matthew West, Francesca Battistelli, Jamie Grace, Royal Tailor, Trip Lee, Tedashi, KJ-52, Rush of Fools, Britt Nicole, Kristene DiMarco of Jesus Culture, We Are Leo and Sanctus Real.
Anthony’s groundbreaking song, “Whiskey and Wine,” launched him into new spotlights. Upon release, the song quickly made its way into the top 50 indie songs on iTunes, and landed Anthony as a “Featured Artist” on ReverbNation. The follow up “You Don’t Owe Me Anything” earned a spot on “TAXI’s Favorites” list on the popular website.
Sometimes the musician lifestyle can be a tough transition though, because Anthony doesn’t really have “time off” since he is constantly working towards his goals in his music career. He says it’s hard to meet up with friends and family because their free time schedules are opposite of his night and weekend shows, so he does celebrate the times when he actually does get to hang out with his friends and family in between shows and writing music.
The Voice experience was incredible. I got to spend time with some amazingly talented people, some even better people than they were singers.
In 2015, he got the venture of a lifetime for an aspiring musician, a chance on the hit show “The Voice.” Anthony was contacted by the show after they had seen a live video of him singing his song, “Whiskey and Wine.” They invited him to come out for the blind auditions. While he didn’t make it on the actual show, he got pretty far in the auditions process, only two spots from making it on national television.
Even without making it on the show, Anthony gained invaluable experience and forged new friendships while in California. “The Voice experience was incredible. I got to spend time with some amazingly talented people, some even better people than they were singers. I learned a ton while I was in L.A. and really gained a lot from the experience even though I didn’t get to sing for the judges,” Anthony said. He said that even if he had known from the start that he wouldn’t make it on in front of the judges, he wouldn’t trade a thing.
Some of Anthony’s greatest shows have been here, locally. His favorite show he played so far was his release concert at the Smoot Theatre in 2014. The concert had a large turnout in one of his favorite venues and it was his birthday to boot. Another show he really enjoyed was at Ohio University in 2014 where he opened for the band Sanctus Real. “The venue was amazing, and it was awesome to be able to play and then just relax and listen to some music.”
Some of Anthony’s notable events and awards to date are:
- “Anthony Mossburg” broke top 10 indie albums on iTunes
- Country Album of the Year by Ohio Music Awards
- “Whiskey and Wine” Singer/Songwriter Song of the Year by Ohio Music Awards
- Winner 2015 Columbus Songwriters Year End Showcase
- A 2012 Atlantafest Talent search winner
- “Whiskey and Wine” broke top 50 indie songs on iTunes
- “Break My Heart” Winner 2011 Indie Ignite Song Competition in Nashville, TN
- Top Performer at Tom Jackson’s Road Show Bootcamp Nashville, TN
- Top 5 Finalist GMA Immerse Artist
While Anthony doesn’t have any specific future plans, his top priority is advancing his music career. “No matter what I’m doing, I am always working or trying to take steps forward with music.” Anthony continues to work on writing music and working on improving his stage presence to be the best that it can be.
I want to be able to look back over everything I’ve done in my music career and be proud of it and know that I really gave everything I had to it.
“I want to record a better album each time I record. I think the goal is to constantly take steps forward. I want to be able to look back over everything I’ve done in my music career and be proud of it and know that I really gave everything I had to it. The day that I stop taking steps forward or I’m not in it like I am now, I should probably find something else to do with my time. In 5-10 years I hope to be writing the best songs of my life, and playing as much as I can, and hopefully have at least a couple more albums out as well.”
For more information on Anthony Mossburg, his music and his upcoming show dates, visit AnthonyMossburg.com.