Marianne Allison now on iTunes!

Marianne Allison’s career is a testament to the fickleness of fate. Once a successful accountant, a very different future called to her – a life in music. And that future has become a thrilling present, with a fast growing fan base and acclaim for her award-winning blend of folk, pop and acoustic songwriting. On her debut album, From The Water, Marianne’s talents as a singer and songwriter shine with her incisive lyrics, gorgeous melodies and luminous voice, and with a new album on the way, her future seems limitless.
Growing up loving music and playing a little guitar, Marianne never thought of being a musician. She recalls, “I grew up listening to alternative music. I never thought seriously about being a musician for even a moment.” Marianne took perhaps the vocation furthest away from that of music; being a Certified Public Accountant in her hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Dedicating her life to her career, she soon owned her own firm. With a husband and a thriving career, Marianne’s path seemed, well, predictable. In her spare time, Marianne began writing songs on the grand piano she and her husband bought. “We bought it because we needed to furnish a room,” she says with a laugh. “But I really took to it and started writing.” Within about a year, Marianne had written about 50 songs and was recording them for, “my own enjoyment.”
In August of 2005, Marianne and her husband were forced to evacuate from their home as Hurricane Katrina headed ominously towards the Gulf Coast. She remembers, “Our house is four miles inland, so I really didn’t think it would flood. But I just had a feeling something was going to happen, so I took my songs out of the piano where I kept them and took them with me.” When Marianne and her husband returned, they found their home severely damaged and her beloved piano completely destroyed.
Amidst the devastation left by the storm, Marianne was struck by the realization that, as she says, “So few of us ever really follow our dreams. I had this extensive portfolio of songs and instead of it just being a hobby, I realized that I had an all-consuming passion to start recording them and playing them for other people.” Within a couple of months after Katrina, Marianne entered a recording studio with producer Ken Leonard, recorded ten songs and began to perform in coffee shops and small clubs, finding an audience and herself in the process. And to show her complete dedication to her music, she sold her CPA business to concentrate on music full time with the full encouragement and support of her husband, who as Marianne says, “has been the foundation of support for me.”
Her work in the studio resulted in the release of her debut album, From The Water in January 2007. Atypical of a debut, the album showcased Marianne as a multi-dimensional artist whose talent was fully formed. Its blend of acoustic, pop and folk immediately won acclaim, most astonishingly for Marianne, when “This World” first won Grand Prize in the folk division in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and then won the 2007 Lennon Award! “It took about two weeks for it to sink in,” exclaims Marianne. “I still have a tough time believing it, but it’s amazing to have that sort of recognition. And it came with a home studio and a publishing contract with EMI!”
The John Lennon Songwriting Contest has obviously not been a fluke; Marianne placed as a finalist in four other songwriting competitions she entered with the songs from From The Water. She has received extensive national and international FM and internet radio play as well. But she is now firmly placed in what’s next. Her upcoming album is being readied for a fall 2008 release. Working again with Ken Leonard, who Marianne describes as her “musical soulmate,” Marianne sees her new material as a “natural progression in my songwriting as far as the lyrics and arrangements and it has a lot of variety. I can’t wait to get it out there,” she exclaims excitedly. And playing roughly three gigs a week, everywhere from festivals in Atlanta to regular spots in multiple casino resorts in Biloxi, MS, co-headlining “Merry Christmas, Baby” with American Idol finalist- Kimberly Caldwell, has readied her live performance skills for prime time.
Marianne’s transformation from accountant to acclaimed musician is an inspiring one, and it is a testament to the possibilities that are created from people following their heart and their dreams. “It’s Not Too Late” is the great closing song on From The Water, but it’s also the mantra by which she’s lived her life. And with a new album that promises greatness anew, her courage is being vastly rewarded. She concludes, “In certain ways, this is all stunning, but at the same time, I know this was meant to be. For me, this is coming home.”

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