We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anthony and Savana Lee Crawford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anthony and Savana Lee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

One of the biggest challenges these days for musicians is figuring out how to make an income on your music. We used to have cds to sell or vinyl records but now most music is streamed and unfortunately the streaming platforms pay almost nothing to the songwriter. We have all had to figure out how to make up for the lost income. And do you even bother putting out cds and vinyl anymore? The whole game has been changed and now it’s more about getting on a playlist.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

The husband wife folk rock duo called Sugarcane Jane met in Nashville, Tenn. at a recording studio while Anthony was taking a break from touring with Neil Young. With parents in south Alabama, the couple moved to the Gulf Coast to start a family as well as a musical partnership. Fourteen years later they are still playing music and doing so with three small children in tow.

Anthony’s long associations with Neil Young, Steve Winwood, Dwight Yoakam, and others have earned him six gold records (Neil Young – Prairie Wind, Steve Winwood – Refugee of the Heart, Dwight Yoakam – Gone, Rosanne Cash – King’s Record Shop, Lorrie Morgan – Greater Need,  and The Vince Gill  (When I Call Your Name) and a double platinum (Vince Gill – When I Call Your Name). He has songwriting cuts by Winwood, Yoakam, and Morgan as well as others like Kenny Rogers, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the Oak Ridge Boys. His musical journey is an enchanted one and there are endless road stories from his encounters should you find yourself face to face with him.

Savana grew up in rural Alabama and although her name is not “Jane” which she is often miscalled, she will take credit for the Sugarcane portion of the name, which comes from childhood memories of eating sugarcane on her grandfathers farm.

As for the music, it comes from Anthony’s massive catalog of over 400 songs, most of which have never been released or pitched. “We just dig around listening to old dat tapes and find songs that feel relevant to today” says Savana.

Their next album, which they hope to have out this fall, incorporates Anthony’s childhood friend, Pete Nice on electric guitar. “Pete and I had a duo back in high school and forty years later we have come full circle. Pete adds the ear candy to the songs. The three of us have a real unique sound that seem to resonate with people”, says Anthony.

With streaming being the main source for listening to music, you might wonder how independent artists are making it these days? Live shows and merchandise will never go away thankfully. It is the bread and butter for full time working artists. Sugarcane Jane is no exception by the look at their calendar on their website (www.sugarcanejane.com)

Support the arts. Support the people that you see working their tails off, that sacrifice, that deserve your support. Buy their merch, go to their concerts, share their music with your friends.

With technology (AI) literally trying to take us over, it’s more important than ever before to support human artists. And to those of you who have supported Sugarcane Jane for all these years, THANK YOU. Your loyalty and support mean so much to us. We thank God every day that we get to do what we do for a living. We are blessed.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When the year from hell happened (2020), we had planned a northeast tour for April 2020. Of course that never happened and like everyone else, we have to pivot. We began doing live stream concerts from Anthony’s recording studio (Admiral Bean Studio) on the night of our first cancelled gig. We continued those live streams every night for 43 nights! We called it the Hibernation Tour and to our surprise, it worked. It got us through one of the most difficult and challenging years we’ve ever been through. Now we have tshirts made of the tour with the song titles on the back. We put all the episodes up on our YouTube channel (YouTube.com/sugarcanejane). We are just so grateful that our followers supported us and we probably ended up better off than had we gone on the tour. Sometimes it’s best to not think and just do!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

For us, Anthony was a trailblazer in the music business. His hard work and dedication has opened lots of doors. Of course, the music is important. It has to be consistently great. We’ve put out ten Sugarcane Jane albums so far but we are constantly trying to grow and improve. But even more than the music, it’s about having integrity. Being on time. Doing your absolute best. Going with the flow. Picking your battles. Being grateful. Doing what you say you’re going to do. Just do the right thing. Be kind. Forgive others and yourself. Just don’t stop doing what you love. It truly makes life joyful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sugarcanejane.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sugarcanejane
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/sugarcanejanemusic
• Twitter: www.Twitter.com/sugarcanejane
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/sugarcanejane

Image Credits
Stephen Anderson