We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nena Anderson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nena below.

Nena, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my annual Dolly Parton Valentine show. In 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Due to my surgery, the pandemic shut down, and side effects of my cancer treatments made it difficult to get back to performing. To celebrate my recovery and return to music, I created a tribute night to raise money for Keep A Breast Foundation, a breast cancer non-profit.

I wanted this night to be a special, one-of-a-kind event, and not just a concert of my own material. Dolly Parton became the obvious choice for her accomplishments as a songwriter, singer, philanthropist, fashion icon, and of course…her iconic bust! Valentine’s Day became the date, every year, because Parton is so well known for her love songs. It became an opportunity for me to uplift local artists and showcase many female artists of various genres. It gave me an opportunity to dive into Parton’s incredibly deep catalog of music and learn about her tremendous talent as well as business saavy. It also gave me an opportunity to create awareness of breast cancer in an unexpected way, while raising money in a fun way for my favorite non-profit.

This project has become bigger every year. It’s meaningful to me that all of the cast and crew involved (many who never have met before) have become friends and supporters of each other. Some have even started their own projects together. I often get asked to tour with this project and play shows other than Valentine’s Day, but the one night performance is part of what makes it so special. I’m not a tribute artist; I’m a singer, songwriter and recording artist with my own original material. Adding more meaning to the project is the overwhelming support of the venue (Belly Up Tavern), Keep A Breast Foundation, and the artists involved. Everyone goes above and beyond to generate sponsorship and help in anyway they can.

Nena, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Music has always been part of my life. I never believed in the “starving artist” idea; I always thought that a creative passion could be a career if I treated it that way and dedicated myself to it. Supporting other artists, learning from those before me, being professional in business dealings, and perfecting my craft have been essential to my career longevity.

From early childhood, I sang along to my parent’s records, then middle-school musical theatre, high school DJ-ing, and a college rock band. In the early Nineties, I fronted and managed a jump blues/swing band for eight years, performing five nights a week at the best venues in San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles. I had to learn how to simultaneously be a bandleader, booking agent, and promoter. During that time I was also working full-time as a graphic designer. Burning the candle at both ends caught up with me, and I took much-needed time off from music in 1998.

When I resurfaced a couple of years later, I needed to challenge myself musically. I dove into the jazz scene. performing at clubs and hotels with some of San Diego’s finest musicians. That focused my skills, where I found my voice and how to interpret songs rather than emulate other artists. That’s when I licensed my first original song.

I had been writing a little since early in my career, but I was never confident to perform them. At a recording session where I was brought in to sing jazz standards, I brought in a song I had written and we ended up recording it. I got an offer from a label to license it for a compilation album to be released in Asia and Europe. It was a life-changing moment when I thought, “People like my songs?” maybe I should write more!

I learned to play guitar in 2005 to elevate my songwriting. Although I wrote several jazz songs, my style was shifting towards Americana. I released an album “Beyond the Lights,” in 2011 and was performing alone or with my solo band “Nena Anderson & The Mules,” alt-rock band “The Neverout,” and honky-tonk country band, “Brawley.” Riding the momentum and buzz of my album, I was also touring nationally with Cash’d Out, a Johnny Cash Tribute Band, as June Carter Cash, and as a co-writer/contributor to “For the Sender,” a concert and book series of songs based on letters. The 2010’s also led to an eight-year residency at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs with “Nena Anderson & the Full House Band,” a quartet playing western swing, jazz standards, and originals.

Music is an exciting, emotional, and physical creative outlet. I am (and always have been) constantly searching and learning new ways to explore it. I enjoy bringing musicians together and the connection they can create with an audience. I started producing shows at the Belly Up Tavern to showcase musicians and bring together a community. From Americana (Brawley’s Barroom Ball) to holiday shows, I love introducing audiences to new artists.

Everything came to a halt in 2020 due to the pandemic…and I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s been a slow recovery from both. Many of the regular gigs I had before 2020 no longer existed, and I needed to be careful to not compromise my health while recovering from treatment. Although I had little desire to perform, I realized I need to somehow get back into the game. I started playing occasional shows with Brawley. They were tough; I was really out of shape physically and my memory was terrible!

Hoping to inspire myself musically, I put together a show in 2022 to commemorate my 3rd year since cancer diagnosis (cancerversary) and raise a little money for breast cancer charity, Keep A Breast Foundation. What resulted was an immersion into the song catalog of Dolly Parton and a Valentine’s Day show at the Belly Up, complete with 28 songs, 12 guest singers, wigs, and a costume contest. The sold out show was a huge hit, and I was wearing the producer and artist hat once again. Since then, the Dolly Parton Valentine show has become an annual event.

Now I’m back to playing monthly shows with Brawley. I’m involved in the music community, supporting shows, local publications and producing artists as well as shows. I enjoy mentoring, especially female artists. And I’m getting ready for whatever is around the next corner.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is creating something from nothing… creating something that no one has ever heard or seen before, creating something unique to my perspective and experience to share with others.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Artists and creatives of all types need society’s support more than ever. Digital technology and AI can never replace human creativity, they can be additional tools to use, but unfortunately, they are already used to replace tasks creatives perform. Quality creativity is less appreciated, and homogenized visuals and music are becoming the accepted norm. Creative work requires not only experience and talent, it demands fearlessness. Artists must create and present their work to the world and allow it to be judged and criticized, loved or hated, and then continue to do it over and over again.

Supporting artists means buying their art. It means buying prints, albums, downloads, original works, and merchandise. Streaming doesn’t pay musicians. Go to galleries. Go to concerts/shows. Pay the cover. Buy a beverage to support the venue that is supporting the artists!

Supporting also means sharing with your friends. Do you love an artist’s work? Share it with people you know.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nenaanderson.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/nenaanderson
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/nenaandersonmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nenacote/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nenaanderson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nenaanderson
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nenaanderson
• Other: SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4cJmAIzGDbt7ygTAR3nvUP

Image Credits

Jen Acosta, Naz Massaro