Anne Coombs:
Anne was surrounded by music in her childhood, learning to sing harmony with her dad at age four and later staging musicals to entertain at family gatherings. At age 10 she began studying violin and guitar and performing with the local youth orchestra. Anne started writing her own songs as a young teen and continued studying composition while attending W.Va. University as a violin performance major. Later she graduated from The Music Business Institute Of Atlanta. Anne has performed with many successful bands and has shared the stage and played with music greats Willie Waters (son of Muddy Waters), Johnny Winter, Indigo Girls, 5-time Grammy winner Roy Wooten, the Platters and BB King. Her guitar playing style is unique and fine-tuned as she uses her skills to write distinctive arrangements of classic covers as well as original compositions. She is the recipient of multiple music awards and contracts in songwriting/publishing and performance.
In 1996 Anne created and opened the first community music school in Asheville, NC, and in 2006 began hosting guitar rock camps at UNCA during the summers. This has evolved into what is now the Rock Academy, a year-round performance studies program that has received rave reviews from students, parents, and the community as well as garnering national attention. In 2009, Anne moved the Rock Academy next door to The Music Academy Asheville. which she owned and directed until 2019. Her expertise and community service there earned her two nominations for the prestigious Grammy Music Educator Award. In 2016 she fulfilled a long-time dream by taking her Rock Academy students all the way to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame where they performed on the main stage. She remains a consultant to the businesses she founded while she travels, teaches and continues to perform.