Coffey Anderson’s music career began unconventionally. He borrowed a guitar from the father of a girl he was dating, and then she dumped him. Coffey kept the guitar, and more than 20 years later continues to blaze his own trail as a neotraditional country artist.

The Bangs, Texas, native grew up singing in church, but it wasn’t until a high school talent show that he realized he could connect with an audience. When Coffey relocated to Los Angeles to pursue music full-time, the singer’s small-town upbringing, country values and unmatched work ethic stayed with him. Once in L.A., he carved out his own lane of country music. He’d perform on the street with a foldable IKEA table where he sold CDs and took names for his email list. That’s where he’d meet his wife, hip-hop dancer Criscilla, and soon realize that he had to think like an entrepreneur if he wanted to make it in the industry. Coffey took his music career into his own hands producing his own albums, booking his own shows, and editing his music videos out of his garage.