Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, Anna Hutto has been performing music since she was 15-years-old. What began as interest to follow in the footsteps of her youth minister, soon became a budding gift for not only leading music at church, but composing and performing music beyond those doors. Writing music became a means for self-expression and self-understanding, and it was a natural home for Anna.

Anna’s own family spent a lot of time listening to and playing music; it was one of those homes that always had a record playing, and these records become the seedbed for Anna’s creative imagination. Pop, Christian, Gospel, and Folk artists like Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Nanci Griffith, Amy Grant, Carole King, Jim Croce, and Cat Stevens all became influential.

After graduating from Irmo High School in Columbia, Anna finished at the College of Charleston in 1990 with a degree in English and a minor in Written Communications. Throughout college, Anna had been active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and also began to lead retreats for various church youth groups around the southeast. Once college was over, three opportunities were ready for the choosing – to be a youth minister at a local church in Charleston, to go on the road with a national multimedia and performing arts company, or to try her hand at performing solo. The calendar had been so full during college that Anna took a leap, and began traveling full-time with her own music. In 1992 and with the success of her own national music career, Anna moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in the Christian music business.

It was in Nashville that Anna’s life changed dramatically. Her music was at its public height -- she was signed with a reputable management company, traveling across the country to perform over 130 shows each year, writing with award-winning songwriters, and being sought by Christian record labels. In 1995, however, Anna made a decision to follow her inner voice, which would lead her to stop touring and to go to theology school, which was something she had desired to do since she was in college.

Not knowing what would become of her music, Anna moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996 to attend Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999 with a Masters of Divinity degree, and worked for the two years following for the Christian Council of Metropolitan Atlanta, an ecumenical nonprofit agency. In 2001, Anna returned to Candler to work in development for a program called the Youth Theological Initiative.

In November 2004, and with the encouragement of newfound creative colleagues like Sam Hensley, spoken word artist, Minton Sparks, and Carrie Newcomer, Anna revived her recording career with a solo project entitled, “Welcome Here,” which she co-produced with Sam Hensley.

She continues to perform regularly across the United States and for many diverse communities of faith and in equally diverse settings.

Anna lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.