VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – It will be a family reunion of sorts for the 757’s own Alana Springsteen when she takes to the main stage Sunday for the inaugural BEACH IT! festival.
Springsteen, from Pungo, moved with her family to Nashville several years ago.
In a 10 On Your Side interview with Regina Mobley in August 2015, Springsteen had this to say about her transition from Virginia Beach to Nashville.
“My goodness,” she said. “It was kinda crazy, you know.”
She said Nashville is treating her incredibly well, but she wears a piece of Virginia Beach with her on her skin.
“Virginia Beach will always be home to me,” Springsteen said. “I have this tattoo on my arm because I take a little piece of it everywhere, my 757.”
She’s come a long way already, as many may recall her stealing the show at a NASCAR race in Richmond in 2021 with her rendition of the National Anthem. Others going further back may remember her singing the National Anthem at a Norfolk Tides game when she was 8, and also at age 9, and as a teenager when she sang the National Anthem at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
In 2012, at age 11, she took the stage with Sugarland in Virginia Beach.
The singer-songwriter is making her family proud.
Springsteen, with Columbia Records and Sony Music, has just released a three-part album entitled Twenty Something.
“It’s about your 20s,” Springsteen said. “It’s about the ways that you mess it up and get things right. And it’s also about the times when you are living your best life on top of the world, getting things right.”
From Pungo to Music Row is a dream-come-true for the little girl who used to serenade residents at senior facilities in Virginia Beach.
E! News called her “one of Nashville’s most buzzworthy,” People said she represents “the future of country music” and CMT called her Music Row’s next big thing.
But who called Springsteen on Facetime last year?
“Luke Bryan Facetimed me … and he said, ‘Alana, I just want to tell you you will be making your Grand Ole Opry debut on your birthday, Oct. 18,’ and I flipped out,” she said.
On Sunday, Bryan is scheduled to take to the main stage at 9:25 p.m. Springsteen’s performance will be at 2:25 p.m. Her performance will include a special tribute to the folks from home, entitled “Different Kinda Country,” penned by Springsteen and another local, Nick Bailey.
“We wrote this song,” Springsteen said. “We were just talking about Virginia, Waterman’s, the Outer Banks and all the things that make us who we are.”
Springsteen said there is no better place for her to be, especially with family coming out to watch her perform.
“I’m just so excited for this show coming up in Virginia Beach,” Springsteen said. “It’s a little bit of a homecoming for me, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you guys, just a lot of my dreams coming true, and I wouldn’t be here without every single one of you.”