Toss every country-music cliché out the window before you get to know TERESA, for nothing about this bright, seasoned talent fits the standard Nashville mold.
She is an Italian-American from New England. She didn’t learn to sing in church. She didn’t grow up wanting to be Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton or Reba McEntire. She hasn’t come up through the honky-tonk ranks. She’s never been a waitress. She has never tried to get others to sing her songs. Instead, Teresa has been working 100-200 dates a year as a touring act.
TERESA, who uses only her first name, is a singer-songwriter who brings her sunny disposition and positive approach to her music and her audiences. The Seven-Time College Entertainer of the Year and Two-Time Female Vocalist of the Year, has performed her original music on more than 1000 campuses throughout the U.S.
She has shared the limelight with several major recording artists and graced the stages of many prominent venues at home, abroad and even outer space.
Originally hailing from Connecticut, Teresa began her music journey on the club scene, establishing herself as the Queen of the College circuit before making her move to Nashville.
After settling in Music City, she signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music, followed by a recording contract with Sony Music Nashville. She quickly became a critics’ darling. Says noted music historian, Robert K. Oermann, “When it comes to making music, Teresa is an unstoppable force of nature. She earned her living for more than a decade by being first to take her songs to an audience that most country-music acts didn’t even know existed, the college crowd.”
Teresa has penned hundreds of original compositions. Not only has she written captivating mainstream music, she has found a niche in custom-writing musical anthems for various companies and organizations; among them, NASA, Southwest Airlines and Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. Teresa’s fresh approach to keynote presentations, combining music and message, has kicked open the door to extraordinary opportunities, introducing her to new experiences, venues and audiences.
NASA selected the title track of Teresa’s CD, Brave New Girls, as the official wake-up song for the first female-commanded Space Shuttle mission. An invitation to perform at the historic STS-93 launch for a prestigious crowd was followed by an invitation to perform at the Paris Air Show for the launch of the International Space Station.
Teresa’s hip and wholesome music has also brought a new voice to Girl Scouting as they adopted Brave New Girls as their battle cry. It is Teresa’s “Girls Can Do Anything” theme that is woven through all of the tracks on her “Being a Girl Scout” and Girls Of Courage” CDs; a collection of songs she was commissioned to compose for the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.
Says Kathy Cloninger, author, motivational speaker and former CEO of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A, “Teresa’s music is the best thing since Thin Mints. Her original Girl Scout songs, and her spirit and power when she sings them, lift the spirit of every girl. Teresa is the role model for ‘BRAVE NEW GIRLS’.”
TERESA moves with ease from performance to performance. Whether entertaining a concert crowd with her evocative mainstream originals, moving the masses with her inspirational songs, or touching the hearts of Linda Ronstadt fans with her newest offering, “LONG LONG TIME, A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt,” it is clear that the road is her middle name, the stage her home and the audience her family.
With the 2019 release of the documentary, “The Sound of My Voice,” and with all the coverage of her battle with Parkinson’s, it is fair to say that Linda Ronstadt’s public profile hasn’t been this high in over 20 years. The same holds true with the public’s desire to hear her music. The timing couldn’t be better for the creation of the Linda Ronstadt tribute band, Long Long Time. It makes sense, but it is a challenge to find a vocal talent capable of doing Linda Ronstadt and her songs justice. Enter Teresa.
When asked about this challenge, Teresa remarked, “Not only was her music the soundtrack of my youth, Linda Ronstadt was the artist who inspired me to chase my own dream of being a professional singer. I was blessed to have had a chance to work with her in the recording studio and I wouldn’t be doing this unless I knew in my heart that I could do right by Linda and her music.”
Teresa adopted the same philosophy in putting together her band of A-list musicians. Collectively they comprise Long Long Time, named for Ronstadt’s first solo radio hit. LLT transports its audience to the 70’s, the height of Ronstadt’s popularity, and you’ll have an opportunity to hear them for yourself on June 11, 2022 when LLT hits the stage of the Goodnight Auditorium in historic downtown Franklin, Kentucky.
“It’s exciting to be playing in my own backyard,” says Teresa, who has called Portland, Tennessee home for nearly two decades. Her farm is located exactly one mile from the Kentucky state line, so we can claim her as one of our own.
New? For some listeners, yes. Brave? Her music certainly makes that case.
This is a can-do lady with gigantic reservoirs of resourcefulness, personality, spunk and ability.
Teresa’s is a story of determination, hard work and perseverance, but she tells it with such gusto and humor that the whole thing seems like one effortless romp.
**Tickets available online: https://event.etix.com/ticket/p/7288424/, use QR code or call 1-800-514-3849. You may also purchase tickets at Franklin Sporting Goods, 118 North Main Street, Franklin, Kentucky. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Franklin-Simpson Arts Council
-by Lindsey Taylor
