THIS IS IT - The premiere of The Patrick Custer Show! We're kicking this podcast off with a conversation that is relatable for us all and hits the core of Patrick's mission: The journey of finding your voice—literally and metaphorically.

Ever been told you’ll never get better? In this powerful debut episode, Patrick Custer and California Cowgirl Annie Bosko unpack her journey; from singing at her great‑grandmother’s funeral at five to fighting for her physical voice again after a devastating vocal injury and her inner voice for the power to fight back when business betrayal in the music industry machine tried to take her power and agency from her. You’ll hear how she hid her California roots in Nashville, fought perfectionism and depression, and learned to ask for help when everything fell apart.

They dive into therapy, faith, and the gritty reality of being a woman in country music—and why Annie believes every “no” is just a “not yet”: We discuss how she turned her struggles into opportunities, leading to collaborations with legends like Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Dwight Yoakam & opening for Dolly Parton at Caesars Palace! So, grab your headphones and get ready for some entertaining stories, heartfelt moments, and a whole lot of inspiration!

Show Highlights:

1. Early performing roots: turning household surfaces into stages; singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at her great‑grandmother’s funeral at five.
2. Breakthrough moments: landing The Little Mermaid II soundtrack at 13; singing jingles and studio work; moving from California to Nashville.
3. Country‑music identity: hiding her California background to fit in; eventually embracing her “California Cowgirl” roots.
4. Voice loss & recovery: discovering a vascular lesion during a Broadway gig; enduring surgery, rehab and the pandemic.
5. Therapy & mental health: learning to ask for help, dealing with perfectionism, and letting go of people‑pleasing.
6. Rejection, patience & persistence: every “no” becomes a “not yet”—including later collaborations with Dwight Yoakam, Darius Rucker, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton.
7. Boundaries & relationships: applying her grandmother’s “80% rule,” standing firm on family and faith values, and learning not to compromise her core beliefs.

Are you ready to heal and grow? Start your journey with me by signing up at thepatrickcustershow.com 👈 for exclusive updates, resources and behind‑the‑scenes insights from each episode. It’s your invitation to experience “entertainment that heals,” where vulnerability becomes strength and hope is contagious.

Please click Follow on this page so you never miss an episode (and help us continue to change lives) — I appreciate every single one of you for joining this community.

Whether you’re here for your own growth or because someone you love shared this conversation, I’m grateful you’re listening and want to welcome you to The Patrick Custer Show family. Please pass this episode along to friends, family and anyone who might need a lift. When we open up about our struggles and triumphs, we remind each other that we’re not broken, we’re becoming.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for video versions of the show 👉 here.

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Follow me on

Instagram: @thepatrickcuster

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Instagram: @anniebosko

TikTok: @anniebosko

Facebook: @annieboskomusic

Website: www.anniebosko.com

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TikTok: @thepatrickcustershow

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Website: www.thepatrickcustershow.com

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🤝 Sponsor Spotlight – Bright Horse Counseling

We’d like to thank our episode sponsor Bright Horse Counseling, one of Nashville’s most respected therapy practices. Their clinicians specialize in trauma, PTSD, personality disorders, anxiety, addiction, maternal mental health, couples work and more. Bright Horse blends embodiment, insight and research‑backed modalities like DBT, EMDR and trauma‑informed yoga. They offer secure telehealth anywhere in Tennessee and have a no‑nonsense relational style.

1. Website: talktobrighthorse.com
2. Phone: 615‑637‑7000
3. Instagram

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Bright Horse Counseling
2. Lizzie Harrigan
3. Barbara Walters
4. Celine Dion
5. Disney
6. Darius Rucker
7. Adele
8. Dwight Yoakam
9. Raúl Malo
10. Amy Grant
11. Toby Keith
12. Faith Hill
13. Keith Urban
14. Michael Bublé
15. Sam Smith
16. Aerosmith
17. Tony Robbins

Takeaways:

1. In this episode, we explore the journey of self-discovery and resilience, highlighting how asking for help can transform our lives.
2. Annie Bosko shares her heartfelt experiences and challenges, reminding us that vulnerability is a strength in navigating life's storms.
3. The conversation emphasizes the importance of knowing your worth and the power of transparency in relationships, making it clear that every connection has its ups and downs.
4. Listeners learn about the significance of timing in both personal and professional life, showcasing how 'no' can often mean 'not yet' and the need to keep pushing forward.

Action.

Welcome to the very first episode of the Patrick Custer show with Annie Bosco.

Hey.

Yes.

That's fun. Hi, guys. This is exciting.

Don't get the last name wrong because there are some people out there in the media.

Annie Costco. Have Annie Roscoe.

I think we're going to be. Sorry, I just had a flashback to.

Oh. Oh, my God.

Yeah.

You're like a unicorn.

I know you guys don't agree.

Exist.

Well, yeah. Now whenever I find another one, we always high five.

Yeah. Yeah, I did. Apparently. Allegedly. If we had iPhones back then, you'd have every angle, portrait, canvas, vertical.

I would do anything to find a video of this because my mom's like. You sang it in the church. And everyone weeped. Cried. And I was five.

Yes.

Is this all you ever wanted to do?

I didn't know I wanted to be. I mean, like, listen, I turned everything that had a flat, elevated surface into a stage. As a child. Did I know that I wanted to interview people?

Barbara Walters.

I was obsessed with Barbara Walters. That's really. Yeah.

Cause you were destined.

It's rare that we don't have an unsuspecting storm that hits us.

Wait, storm or storms. I can't speak, I can't sing, and I couldn't defend myself because I had no voice.

What got you to a point where you were willing to ask for help when you needed it?

There came a point where I didn't. I didn't really have a choice. You know, it was like either that or like, you're never going to get better.

If you're listening right now and you've been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or tired of repeating the same emotional patterns, listen up, because there's real help available.

Today's episode is brought to you by.

Bright Horse Counseling, one of Nashville's most respected therapy practices. If you know their founder, Lizzie Harrigan, you already get it. She's built a team that's honest, deeply skilled, and not afraid to get real with you.

BrightHorse specializes in the hard stuff. Trauma, PTSD, personality disorders, anxiety, addiction, maternal mental health, and couples work.

They're known for their no nonsense relational style and their commitment to doing a few things exceptionally well. Not everything under the sun.

Their approach blends embodiment, insight, skillful action and social awareness with research backed modalities like dbt, emdr, ifs, trauma, informed yoga, and couples therapy. If you want a team that understands complexity and treats the whole system, not just the symptoms. This is where you go.

Bright Horse Counseling when you're ready for real change.

I'm so excited to be here in Nashville, Tennessee, on Broadway, filming in our new studio with my new friend and.

First guest, Annie Basquiat.

Oh, my goodness. Hi, guys. This is exciting.

It is so exciting.

You are this ball of joy and light and just.

Oh, my God. You're so sweet to say that.

Well, it's because I've been in the.

Worst mood all day. I just woke up in a weird mood. I don't know. I'm like, what happened? Maybe it's because it's the first day of gray winter.

I'm like, oh, the gray winter's here.

Oh, gray winter.

The gray winter has arrived. And everyone's like, no. But it's so cozy and it's fun because you can put on a sweater. I'm like, gray and sad.

Yeah. The only positive part is when the Christmas decorations come out and everything's pretty.

And then that's true. And you guys do have really pretty Christmas decorations.

You mean Nashville or us?

Cuz you should go help.

It's October.

You should go donate your time and help make them look pretty. Like your house. Yeah. Because yours look good.

We just skip right over Halloween.

Hey. Teach their own.

Yeah, yeah.

People don't believe in the holiday.

I grew up in a household where we did. We went to hallelujah.

Oh, yeah. You can celebrate it.

No.

Yeah.

I mean, I was Samson from Samson and Delilah, the salt of the earth. One year I was a salt shaker.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, super sheltered.

Oh, Annie. I was homeschooled because full blown Pentecostal just no snakes.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

I grew up Catholic, so I have no. I've nothing. I have no idea what it's.

No offense, but y' all are boring compared to us.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're way too easygoing. I don't know.

There are some. I mean, there's some.

We drink wine.

Yeah, there's that. Yeah. There's a lot of beautiful ceremony to Catholicism.

I'm looking down at my notes and this is making me smile so much because you sang one of my three favorite Songs at your great grandmother's funeral.

Yeah.

Did you choose that song?

She did. And.

Which was Somewhere over the Rainbow, by the way. For the audience.

It was over the rainbow. I was 5 years old and we would watch the wizard of Oz together. I would just sit in her bed with her and we'd watch the wizard of Oz.

That was our thing. So when she passed away, my mom asked if I would sing it. I think that's what she had wanted. Cause we shared that song together.

So I would do anything to find a video of this because my mom's like, you sang it in the church? And everyone weeped. Cried. And I was five. Now I know five year olds and I can't believe I know five. Just singing in front of the full church. Crazy.

Yeah.

Yeah, I did.

Yeah.

Apparently. Allegedly. It was good. I just will never see it. Hey, if we had iPhones back then.

You'D have every angle.

We would. Every angle. Portrait, canvas, vertical.

When you were a kid and you thought about adult. Any Bosco.

Yeah.

What did you want her to do? Be. Make a difference. In what ways did you have an image of what you wanted that to be?

I did. I went to my first Shania Twain concert when I was young. My dad took me and it changed my life. It was like, that's what I want to be.

Seeing Celine Dion in concert. I knew at a young age music was it for me. And music is. It's so tied into your soul, you know, it's an extension of our hearts and our souls.

It's who you are. Just kind of scary sometimes because. We'll get into that later. But you can have identity issues when something is so wrapped up in what you do.

So many of us who enjoy and appreciate music think we're gonna be sorry because I just had a flashback to me as a kid. Both my sister and I. I think we both thought we were gonna be pretty famous singers at a certain point.

All kids do.

Listen. There are some cassette tapes. We have the recorders with that orange button, you know. You remember what I'm talking about?

Yes, of course. I owned a few.

Yeah. And if we weren't fighting over, one of us had it in the bathroom where the acoustics were the best recording our. You know.

Yeah.

We all did our singles.

All kids did.

Really?

Yes.

Oh, I thought we were special.

Yeah.

Yeah. Though. Definitely. My mom kept all of those. And I swear they better not ever see the lighter day.

You never know.

But my point in saying that was it might come out to say there's so Many of us that have aspirations, especially love music. How did you know was something that nudged you in a path that pushed harder?

Well, I had tremendous support from my family. My parents were also really nervous about it. You know, sex, drugs and rock and roll and ah, music industry and you need to go to college.

So I almost think that made me want it even more and I had something to prove to show them. Hey guys, this isn't just some figment of my imagination. This is what I really want to do. So at a young age I was singing everywhere.

I got a job singing jingles for a local composer. So I was doing studio work. I got my first job with Disney when I was 13.

And that moment of going in there, growing up, my God, as a kid I was obsessed with Disney soundtracks. It was, I mean, of course to go to Disney, it was, I've made.

It, you know, was this California Disney.

Or California Burbank Disney. And I'll never forget driving the doors opening, going in, recording in the studio. It was for the international version of Little Mermaid 2.

That was the moment, moment where I realized, oh, because, you know, my dad was in farming, my mom was a stay at home mom of five. So I didn't really have the parent that could help.

You know, as a kid you need the parent that can drive you to the auditions and the things and that. I didn't have the Tish Cyrus, you know, situation who I'm friends with now and love us.

We love Tish so good.

She's still Miley's manager still to this day. And so I think the Disney thing was sort of the moment when I went, oh, I could really do this as a career. And that was a catalyst for me.

How did Disney come about?

It was so wild. My aunt's friend worked for Disney and they needed a younger voice for a part. So she called me and she's come over and come sing for him.

And so I literally sang on the spot in the living room. And the next week I was there recording. Wow.

Which is weird because you'll spend, gosh, tens of thousands of hours doing something and whenever I've had pretty big breakthrough moments, I just happened to be in the room that day. Or at least that's how it feels. Which is so wild because you can try so hard for things.

But it's weird when I look at some of the biggest things that have happened for me, I would just happen to be in the room that day.

A lot of people in entertainment tend to go one way or the other with I Deserved it. So therefore I earned it and I got it or I did a million things.

I worked so hard and I was so lucky to have the right time, right place because I put so much work in, like a lot of other talented people. And in entertainment, you are the product.

Totally have.

Have you had a strategy of navigating a well balanced sense of self and ego that has kept you grounded to that point?

My God, I feel like if I was a little bit more of a diva in my American Idol audition, they sent me off. Okay, now come back and be more a diva star. You know, that's just never been my Persona. To walk into a room and just me, me, me, me, me, me, me.

You know, that's just never been me. My mom raised us to be pretty humble. In fact, I would be like singing with Celine Dion in the week later. Oh yeah. You know, she sings as a hobby.

It's, you know, a thing. It was never oh my child. So. And she's our biggest fan.

She would just knock you down a little peg.

Yeah, a little bit. She's. Oh yeah, you know, she sings.

They did a really good job at keeping us humble, which I am grateful for because I've worked with too many really egotistical people that I don't enjoy, that I don't think are good people.

If you were to give us a snapshot of what shaped you the most when you think of your child, Annie, you know, where is that connection and what was the biggest influence there?

I was always so free spirited. I was twirling on dance floors, picking flowers in a softball field. I was definitely living in my own dream world a thousand percent of the time.

And I love to sing. I was the middle of five kids, which says a lot. I was really independent.

You're a middle kid?

Yeah, middle child of five. And my mom was a stay at home mom, the best. So devoted, dedicated. She cooked dinner for us every night.

You know, as far as the job of being a mom, she really did it to the max. Harder than any other job out there, you know, that anyone could really work. If you think about it, it's around the clock.

I just think about the selflessness.

Yes.

My dad was a farmer and worked really hard. We went to church every Sunday together. And my family was very close. We all lived within walking distance of each other.

My aunts, my uncles, my grandparents. So that. That was a really special way to grow up. Yeah, I had a pre, like relatively healthy upbringing. I mean, in every family there's dysfunction.

And was there anything that Sticks out that y' all have worked through.

There's fierce, brutal honesty. And we still have it with each other. I mean, when you. We'll all still fight. My sister's my best friend in the world, but we will fight.

She just stayed with me for four nights, and we got in a couple fights. But that comes with love. And we always. We always make up. You know what I mean? They'll be like, the tension, the fighting, and then we make up.

And so I think that that's something that's important, because here's the thing. If you're not having disagreements or arguments, and I'm not saying it has to get nasty, but that means you're really not speaking your truth.

Yes.

And I'd rather have that and then us making up and just. Oh, yeah, yeah. You know, everything's fine, too. Because that's not life.

Any relationship, if you're getting along all the time, somebody's not being real.

Right? Yeah. Because you're all going to struggle. That's part of the human experience. And we're supposed to help each other navigate that.

So I think we definitely fought for sure, but we always made up.

Did your parents have a really steadfast way of raising y' all around conflict resolution?

I'd say they were really strong disciplinarians, which is important because as kids, if you're not disciplined, then you're stunted, and then you're throwing tantrums at 50, whatever it is, years old. Because no one ever told you, like, hey, you can't do that, Right? Yeah.

I am grateful for that because it gave me grit and I can emotionally compose myself so I don't ruin everyone else's day and just ruin my own day when I'm having a hard day. Because there are some people, if they're having a bad day, you gotta ruin everyone else's day. And that's not fair.

You gotta control yourself enough to not ruin everyone else's day.

That's a hard lesson that a lot of people don't learn, period, before they leave this earth. We were talking before the show. I think that your parents sound like some pretty cool people. They are.

They're great. Not perfect. My mom stresses me out a lot. A lot. I'm like, oh, my God, the stress. But then, like, you love her. No one cares more than her.

She worries a lot.

Are you the. Are you the opposite.

So I worry a lot, too.

Oh.

So, yeah, okay.

Yeah.

So then extra bothers you because you see so much of yourself in her.

Probably. I think we both worry a lot about things that are so dumb. My boyfriend will be like, you're completely wasting your energy worrying. I'm.

Yeah, no, I know. But I still need to worry about it. You know what I mean? Wow. Yeah, he's right. What a waste of energy.

Because then the thing never happens and.

Yes. And you just spent a whole day worrying about it.

It's so true. It is the obsession of fear and.

So worried about making the wrong decision that I don't even make a decision. And that's bad too. And now making a decision, oh, my gosh, yes, you're better off to make the decision and make the mistake versus not moving.

So true. I remember I heard the term and it changed my life. B plus work or B minus work makes the world go round.

I had to have it explained to me because I was so dense about the issue. But.

So if you are where I was at that point as a perfectionist that gets stuck feeling that you have to get it right before you can let anybody else see it. Before you can present it to the world. Before you can this, before you in that.

I'm so bad about that.

I mean, I'm still. I still struggle.

We should go through a perfectionism detox course. Make mistakes every day. Just go make the mistake.

So I'm actually in an eight week intensive for ADHD perfectionists.

Oh, cool.

So it is. It has really helped me a lot. And so.

But that's such a strength in so many ways. I can sit in your studio and be like, yeah, but it's kind of worked in your favor a lot of times.

These things that we perceive as weaknesses or like also your superpower, you know, I can tell you that by looking in here.

I'm like, well, thank you.

Yeah. Like, this is, though. Yeah. Be glad you have ADHD perfectionism because this looks awesome.

You just spoke into so much of my heart and my soul and the little mini part. Yes.

Is this all you ever wanted to do?

I didn't know I wanted to be. I mean, listen, I turned everything that had a flat, elevated surface into a stage as a child. Did I know that I wanted to interview people?

Barbara Walters.

Right.

I loved Barbara Walters growing up, by the way. I loved. I never, I've never actually talked about that.

Right.

I was obsessed with Barbara Walters as a child. That's really.

Because you were destined for this.

But Barbara.

Well, yeah, I love.

Oh, my goodness. Rip. But yeah, no, I mean, gosh, if I had. If I had written down and life had turned out all the Ways that I thought or wanted.

It would not look anything like it does today. And I wouldn't change a thing about where I am and whatever.

Right. You gotta go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is.

Do you know?

Go out on the limb. That's where the fruit is.

I'm getting tingles down my back right now.

Why?

Because I had never heard that saying before and you are the second person to say that to me in two days.

It's so dumb, but it's so true.

It's. I don't think it's dumb at all. I live.

I live by phrases, too.

If you can pack a metaphor into a one liner.

Yeah, anything but yes is a no. But no also means not yet. What's the definition of luck? Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

But to take it one step further, the harder you work, the luckier you get, which I'm a believer of.

That's great.

Yeah. It's fun to pick up new ones that you haven't heard, you know, and you hear them and you're like, oh, that's so cool.

This one is people pleasing and codependency. I needed it so much. When it was said to me, it says, what got you here isn't going to get you there.

Oh, that's crazy. That one just hit me. You just gave me a little mini epiphany.

I mean, every time I think of that, every time I see it.

That's good.

Talk about something that will slap you right out of your comfort zone real quick.

Yeah. You can't always rely on the same old pony tricks.

That's one of those things when I. Every time I read it, there's something that comes up in my head that I know I haven't been dealing with totally or acknowledged a situation.

Something I need to let go of or address. And so I know for our audience, you had that same experience. Because I'm not different, not unique in that.

I'm with you on that.

Yeah.

I love that.

Yes.

Yeah. Thank you for sharing that.

Absolutely. Let's talk about your California cowgirl era and what got you started in this next phase of your identity.

At that point, I knew I loved country music because every song I would write was country. My dad raised me on old school traditional country music.

The first singer he ever exposed me to is Patsy Cline, and he really loved the old stuff and George Strait, Toby Keith. And so I think that was very ingrained in me. And I always related to the girls in country because they were in cowboy boots.

And jean shorts and jeans and badass and empowering.

I just always related to that female more than I did a gown in heels or, you know, I still like that part of me, but I'm usually a boots over heels kind of girl.

Where did you dive, Headstrong? Where you really.

Probably after the Disney thing, because at that point, I'd never had anything before then that led me to think I could actually pursue it as a career. It was just a hobby and something. Which is funny because now that it's a career, wait, we got to go back to being the hobby. Where's the.

We lost the hobby. Yes, the fun part of it. Right?

Yeah.

And so I think that experience made me realize, oh, I could actually really do this thing.

So from there, I started putting together bands and writing original songs and playing shows and singing anywhere and everywhere I could, recording for the local composer who lived near us that did jingles for TV shows and movies and commercial spots. So, yeah, that's where it really started.

Doing that, though, in California. Because when I think about California, I think about pop music and, I don't know, wine country either.

Of course.

Yeah. Movies, pop music, tabloids in the. In the wine country.

Wine country. Right. It's only. That's its own country.

Right.

Well, it's funny with California is you do have. It's almost four states in one. Because if you're going north to south. Well, think about it.

If you're going north to south, it takes up so much space vertically. You know, when you get close to, like, NorCal, it's cold and there's seasons and the leaves change.

And a large part of California's agriculture, whether it's cattle or produce, California grows 75% of the nation's produce. So when you think about it, it's.

People forget that when you're outside of San Fran, San Diego, Louisiana, when you're driving outside of that, it's all farmland. When I moved to Nashville, that was the most urban experience I'd really had. So I was like, wow, this is the city that felt city living, you know?

Yeah, absolutely. Because I grew up in Brentwood, so to me, that was city living also.

Yeah.

My experience of living in Nashville as.

An adult, you're a natural native. You're like a unicorn.

I know.

You guys don't exist.

Well, yeah. Now whenever I find another one, we always high five.

Yeah, yeah.

But you and I both moved to the Nashville metropolitan area at the same time, even though from Missouri. Right. So we were experiencing the city life.

For the first and it's different when you grow up in the suburbs. You know, I grew up north of LA in Ventura county, but that's a whole other world out there. It's farming, there's really not much to do.

And then you go to LA and it's the Mecca of everything, you know? But I didn't grow up around that.

In our lives, when we're following a path, our heart, our journey, it's rare that we don't have an unsuspecting storm that hits us.

Wait, storm or storms?

Well, I was waiting for you to open that door. But what I love about what we do on this show is that we get to the nitty gritty. Where does the storm happen?

That's part of the human experience because that's also where the hope and the courage is born out of.

Oh, 100%.

So when I ask you that, what comes to mind as that initial. God.

I had been living here for almost 15 years doing music, and had put together a project that was kind of already falling apart. And I was playing a show downtown on Broadway. It was a four hour shift and I felt like air just came out. I was singing and then like.

Like nothing would come out. Yeah, it was terrifying. They call it aphonic.

So I knew something was really wrong and I went and I got scoped, looked at by a couple different doctors. They found a vascularity on my vocal cord, which is basically like a blood vessel. It hadn't burst yet.

That.

That can happen a lot. A lot of singers have had to deal with it from like Adele to Sam Smith, Michael Buble. I mean, there's a lot.

Keith Thurbin, Faith Hill, the list goes on. Aerosmith, it's pretty common because we put so much pressure on these little invisible muscles. No one sees them. So you don't realize it's.

But we're athletes.

Am I right in saying that it's a vessel basically herniating?

Correct.

Okay.

Yeah. And it hasn't quite ruptured yet, but, you know, with a. There's a. It's like a raised pocket of blood. Is disgusting.

So does it prevent your vocal cords from doing the.

The thing. You know, the.

My vocabulary is doing great right now. Yeah, that. What it's supposed to do.

Vibrate the vibrations. I had a vocal cord injury. We'll put it at that.

Okay.

And I knew something was wrong. I went to six surgeons who gave me six different opinions and I'm like, okay, well, that's not confusing at all. What am I supposed to do?

The last one That I saw made the most sense to me, and I trusted her the most. So I had surgery on my vocal cord, and it was just heart, gut wrenching, you know, to not be able to sing.

And then I couldn't really sing normally for a year. So I had to rehab my voice. And it wasn't until I found a vocal coach that put me through a series of crazy exercises. It was insane.

When I got done with the training after a couple months, it was. I was hitting these notes that I couldn't even hit before because I was training my voice, which I'd never really done before at this level.

And so I moved home because you can't talk. So I'm living with my parents, going through a breakup. As soon as I'd finally kind of rehabbed it and it was full strength, the pandemic hit.

So I was like, this is just great. Another year delay, year and a half. And, yeah, I mean, I was completely hopeless. It was weird.

It was a combination of, like, I was so sad, I was so hopeless. I was so helpless. But then there's kind of a peace that comes with fully surrendering to God.

And in that moment, I knew that was my only choice because I was like, what if I can't ever sing again? You know, what if it's never the same? And so I'd say that was probably the scariest. And I was also dealing with business betrayal.

And I couldn't defend myself because I had no voice to actually defend myself. I can't speak. I can't sing.

I was gonna say, and you're, like.

Kicking me when I'm down, you know?

And it was like, so you both metaphorically and actually, your voice had been taken 1,000%.

Yeah. I couldn't even, like, defend myself. And so I actually, believe it or not, went to a Tony Robbins seminar.

I was like, I'll do anything because I'm so depressed to, like, to get out of this. And I met an attorney there who basically, with one email and a letterhead from, like, one of the biggest firms, it was, like, done. I was. I was out.

He totally solved everything. Yeah, it was wild. And then I also, someone else I met got me a grant with MusiCares for vocal rehab, because as a singer, I had no work.

You can't sing and I can't talk. What am I supposed to do?

Exactly.

So there's hope at the end of this because I said, I. I'll go back to Nashville when I get a gig, which I did. And I had a God wink. I Had two God winks, actually, which we'll talk about. But this was a really dark, depressing time.

And it's not that I don't face those. I am a fiercely positive, upbeat person. I'll still hit little road bumps where I think that's part of.

Of life, you know, you feel to me like somebody who's such a naturally positive. On a scale of 1 to 10, you probably hit higher than mid level. You're more of a yes.

Yeah. But 20% of the time, like, I'm struggling and I'm not afraid to now say I need help.

I'm struggling because I feel like for so long it was this stoic, everything's great. And I'm like, no, that's, that's not real. You know, that's not real life where it's, it's great all the time. It's not.

What got you to a point where you were willing to ask for help when you needed it?

That's a great question. There came a point where I didn't. I didn't really have a choice, you know, it was like, either that or like, you're never going to get better.

Do you remember that point?

Yeah. I can tell you. One of them was when someone introduced me to Porter's call because as a musician, it's like, I need therapy.

I need to talk to someone, I need help. But like, how am I supposed to pay for it? I'm already struggling to pay bills and I'm a musician and I still will catch myself.

I can't justify spending this much money on a therapist or a life coach because I'm a musician and I need to save because I don't know when the next gig's coming, you know, But I will say whenever I make a point to go do that, when I'm like, no, I know I need help, the money will show up. And I think it was a series of meeting different people and individuals, you know, who made me feel like it was okay to not feel okay.

And also it's okay to, to get help.

I love that you talked about one of those first experiences asking for help, being actually getting therapy and free therapy for musicians. What a wonderful organization. Is this your first therapy experience?

I had been exposed to a life coach when I was 18. That was really helpful. And then, yes, after that, I'd say Porter's call was my next therapy experience.

Were there any preconceived notions that you had about it that were shattered when you went to therapy with a licensed therapist? And what surprised You. About what you received.

I think sometimes just speaking to someone in a room about everything you're feeling, letting that off your shoulders, letting that unload in itself is critical because if not, you're just holding it inside. So even if they don't even say anything back to you, but someone's sitting in front of you and you're.

That in itself, you'll usually find through your own speaking what steps you need to take next or what your answer is. People will say, the best therapists don't tell you what to do. They'll lead you to the decision.

Now, my therapist, I. I do have one of the best. And she. She's just the worst about that because.

Yeah.

No, tell me.

Tell me what to do.

Right. And I'll try and be sneaky and be like, so if I was your kid and you, Patrick, not doing that.

She knows.

She's.

Don't you. You sneaky. Yeah.

Oh, gosh. I'm trying to manipulate my therapist. Can you believe that?

Everything's fine. I swear by the end of it, you're just bawling, crying.

I won't hide anything from her. But it's the. It's for me, it's the manipulation. Because I want you to tell me what I need to do.

Yeah.

And she's so big on the path. Has to be you. You. One of the biggest lessons that I've learned, and right now I'm saying this and embracing it.

Right.

But the next hurdle that I come to, I'm gonna. I didn't know what I was talking about. You know, if somebody were to tell me, you need to do this, and then I follow that instruction.

Yeah.

And things go wrong.

Yeah.

The first person I'm going to blame.

Of course, is that is them. Because they told you what to do.

How much of a lesson do you think I'm going to learn from that?

Zero.

Me. I'm not talking about the average person. I won't speak for anybody else.

No. You're going to learn way more if it's on you. You made the decision, and then you have to live with it. That's the only way that we learn.

Yes. I'm holding all my hands up when I talk about friendship.

Yeah.

What is your biggest theme that you would say is important to you?

Total transparency. My closest friends. I can call about anything. Anything. Everything. The most humiliating, embarrassing. Oh, my God. That's it.

If we can talk to each other about that stuff. Yeah. That's important.

When we talk about and compare. If someone were to be like, but if you have healthy friends, then why do you need to go talk to a therapist?

I mean, because certain people are trained in these things, and they've seen the situation that you're facing probably a thousand times play out. So they're going to have a different vantage point, and they're going to know how to give advice a little differently.

It's also nice that therapists can give you, like, action plans. Okay. I think you need to read this book because this is what you're going through, and this might help you navigate it.

It's nice to walk away with homework. Sometimes a friend is just to bitch and be like. You know what I mean?

Yes, yes.

Yeah. To vent.

I think ultimately, I'm so glad to know. And that's the big thing, is that we all need that outlet where we're getting honest about our lives with somebody. Because when we keep inside.

Yeah, yeah.

It's poison.

It eats up your whole body and mind and soul and. Yeah. 100.

Can you speak to some significant things you walked through from your therapeutic experience?

Letting go of douchebags, for starters. For starters. Getting rid of the douches. Yeah. That was lesson number one. People are really complex.

And so for me, it's been helpful to have someone from the outside that sees it to give you that different vantage point. Because if you go to your parents, they're most likely going to give you the narrative of being your parent. Right.

Whereas if it's someone that's totally objective, there's a lot of truth to gain from someone that doesn't have any preconceived notions.

Yeah. How did your life change from that point of asking for help where you had no choice but to throw your arms up and accept the situation.

The vocal cord thing, moving home, that was probably the first time I've ever had to. Yeah, well, okay. And then you think as a woman, there's so much pressure on your age. I'm like, great, another year.

And then another year with the pandemic, and then another year, and you're like, no, how could this be happening? You know, I still need to go do this when I'm young.

So did the radical acceptance lead to surrender at that point?

Yeah, for sure. And it's still something I work on.

You walk away with a lesson learned from that. How has that benefited you in your career and how you make decisions since then?

I think the realization that I like to be in control and you want to control the situation, but you kind of realize that a lot of it is not in your Control. And sometimes you need to let things play out the way that they're supposed to because you try to push, and then you get the.

You know, the push back and you're okay. Well, that didn't work hard.

Is there a situation you're thinking of right now? That was a big theme.

Yeah, I think I deal with it all the time. Even little things like really wanting to work with someone and then feeling rejected.

I can't tell you how many times, four years later, I've met that same person, and they're like, oh, my gosh, we're together. And then you're working together. Next thing you know, you're in the studio.

So I feel like not taking things personally is something that I. I've had to develop, and I wish I was better at it. If there's anything I wish I would have learned sooner, it would have been, don't take it personal.

Rejection just means not yet and keep doing you and don't even care or look blinders. Great. They're on their time. If you work every day becoming the better version of you every single day, your time will show up.

And it might not look like anyone else's, and it might look different, but you're giving yourself the best shot at being you. And when you're you and the best you, you just upped your odds of success by 100%.

Everybody, we experience rejection. We experience the not now.

Whether it's a promotion, whether it's a this, whether it's that, but especially in entertainment, because you're talking about collaborations, you're talking about all the different things that you would want to build your career.

Is there one or two that come to mind that were disappointments to you originally, that came full circle and later ended up being the duet or the collaboration that you. That the timing ended up being better or the situation ended up working out and just reinforced that lesson for you.

I would say every single one of them, every success or breakthrough or thing that's ever happened to me was a closed door at some point in the past. The timing's gotta be right. You know what I mean?

The same person that they came to see me in a show years ago that didn't sign me, ended up signing me years later. And they probably, to my knowledge, don't even remember seeing me play the show that they came to years prior. I don't think they remember it.

Yeah, that's the name of the game. It's like, you know what I mean?

There's so much power in what you just Said when I saw the wheels spin in your head just then, and. And that realization where you were like, wait a second. No, all of them. It was all. No at first.

They were all nos. Yeah. At some point. Or I just didn't have access to them. And I was like, God, it'd be so cool to do something with them one day.

Dwight Yoakum was on my vision board of all the people I dreamed of working with, my heroes, and he was on it, and he had, like, the fringe jacket and the whole thing. And I was like, God, that'd be so cool if I could work with him one day. He's like the king of California country music.

And then I was at an after party, and I just saw him, and I was like, I'm gonna go talk to him and his wife. And I walked up, talked to them. I was like, I'm such a huge fan. Your music has revolutionized my life.

And then we kept in touch, developed a friendship, and then the right timing came. So it's not that it was ever a no. It's just that I had no access point. I had no entry point.

That initial thing, it's a no if you're not willing to have patience and do the work.

Yeah. To get it.

It's a not yet.

Yeah. 100.

If you're willing to take time and understand what's needed, whatever realm of life you are orbiting, we have to be open to the lesson that is there in order for it to be a Not yet.

100, you gotta wait for your timing.

Like, I think about singing backgrounds for Darius Rucker and Adele, because for years, I was a working singer before I ever signed a publishing deal. Really kind of went on and did my own thing because it beat the other jobs.

Yeah.

I didn't get to do music at all.

Yeah.

You know. Okay. Well, if I can do music and still make money at it, that beats all the other things.

So I'd opened for Darius years and years ago, and then I sang backgrounds for him, and then just recent, kind of became friends again. So I feel like I had the right song, the right timing, signed a record deal. Okay.

Now I can go to him and say, hey, you know, but this is after years and years and years of being in someone's orbit.

Yeah.

There's still some other people that I haven't worked with yet, but I know I'm going to at some point.

Sure. Don't you always want there to be more to climb to till the point that you actually retire? If you. If you retire Totally.

I'm terrified of getting to a place where I've made it, where I don't need to do anymore and never.

I always want to grow to the next thing for sure. If I don't feel like I'm expanding or growing, whether it's personal business, something. I just feel like I'm dying inside.

Well. And you seem like somebody who definitely thrives off of excitement and anticipation of the good. The good that you're working on.

The good that's gonna come from what you're doing.

You have to. Even if you don't believe it or see it yet, you gotta believe that it's gonna lead to the next thing. And for me, looking back, it always has.

So what would you say has been the biggest door that finally opened for you?

Opening for Dolly? I mean, come on.

That just. I just. If. If you're listening right now, I just cheesed so hard, right? Yeah.

I don't care who you are. Show me one human on the planet that does not love that woman.

I. I can't. I haven't found them yet.

Yeah. She's an anomaly.

And a Internet crashed when everybody thought she was dying.

I know, I know.

I don't know that anybody got work done, because we were all texting each other going, oh, my God, if you do. With.

I know. For real. The Dalai Lama. Pardon? I call her. Yeah. But getting that phone call was crazy.

Tell us about that.

My agent had said, hey, just so you know, like, I kind of planted the seed with her manager. She's going to have openers at Caesar's palace. And I'm like. Because Caesar's is. I'll never forget.

My dad took me to see Celine Dion there, and they just built the Coliseum for her. I was, like, mesmerized. That show changed my life. And it had the Cirque du Soleil behind it, and the acoustics are insane in that theater.

Oh, yeah.

Have you ever heard it?

I've only seen Adele three times in.

Oh, my God. Right?

Yeah. I got to get.

It's magic.

But Cirque du Soleil was not performing behind her.

Well, I saw the Garth Brooks show, and there was no circle on that either. But the sound is insane, and I love that theater.

There's not a bad seat.

Yeah, yeah. And it's just Dolly. So I think feeling so rejected objectified everything.

As a woman, at times feeling as though your voice doesn't matter or your opinion doesn't matter, because that just happens a lot. Sadly, it's what comes with the territory. Until you have a private plane, and I'm sure everyone shuts up and listens to you. We're not there yet.

I'm still on the Southwest connecting flight at 5:00am One of these days.

I. I love Sol.

I do, too.

That's my airline of choice, right?

Yeah. Because my points are off the chain, but you know what I mean, she dealt with major chauvinism and not being taken seriously.

And especially in the beginning, no one really touches upon that. Of what she kind of had to go through as a woman. I mean, she didn't even headline her own show until recently, like have her own headline tour.

That's crazy, because she was always paired with other male acts.

When you say recently, as recent as.

I think, like the last decade or two. Ish. Yeah, I know.

She is not one to ever, ever play the victim.

No. She's a voice for all women. She could. She did it all.

Yeah.

She had tremendous success later. And for 40s, 50s, 60s. I mean, what, 70s? Now, she's the ultimate. So to get that phone call was. It doesn't get bigger than that. It doesn't.

Oh, now I can't. Yeah. People ask, who's your ultimate person that you want to interview on your show? And I'm like, Dolly.

I think number two for me would be Jay Shetty, just because I adore him as an individual.

So good.

Yeah. But. But my number one is absolutely Dolly Parton.

Because if there's ever a person that models every part of what I aspire to be, spiritually, emotionally, how I treat other people.

Yeah.

All the things. There's not another individual that compares.

No.

This is such a great segue into not taking moments for granted, not taking chances for granted.

No, I'm with you on that. There's a show. I went to go see Toby Keith in Las Vegas.

My parents were there because I was singing at the nfr and I told them, I think we got to go to this show because we just. You don't know he had cancer. At the time, everyone knew he had cancer. To share that with my dad, who's such a massive Toby fan. Oh, my God.

We still talk about it. We will never forget. He was only supposed to play maybe an hour and a half, and he played for two and a half hours and just sang his heart out.

I'm like, I'm so glad I did that. So, yeah, whenever I have the opportunity.

I'm going, are there any ways that that same sentiment has translated into your personal life? And just stepping into asking the question, taking, doing the thing that you would have waited longer for before.

Yeah, I definitely have some regrets of wishing I had acted on certain things sooner. Basically, me just feeling not worthy. You know, procrastination a lot of times isn't because someone actually wants to procrastinate.

It's because they don't.

You don't feel worthy of something or you're over analyzing your response, which ultimately stems from you just not feeling good enough and questioning yourself and doubting yourself versus having that real self where you just have that complete trust in yourself. That's been something I still struggle with and I definitely wish I'd acted on things sooner.

But in my personal life, I definitely try, if I can, to go book the plane ticket, go see your parents. If you can be at the birthday, go be at the birthday. Go spend that time with the people that you love.

And make sure to take time out of your busy schedule to do that. Because at the end of the day, your trophies around your hospital bed, that's not what's going to matter at the end of your life.

It's the people and the relationships that are going to matter the most.

I want to bring this full circle from talking about the storms of life. What did you learn either in life or in therapy the hard way or from somebody else?

Always the hard way, always. But I shouldn't say that.

I think, look, your lesson is going to be a lot more impactful when you lived it and when you have to live with that regret that why did I do this? But I have an older sister who I'd say has mirrored certain things with me in life at times.

And you know, I've seen her make decisions that haven't led to what she wants, which is a husband and a family.

And so I think I have looked at her a lot and gone, maybe I shouldn't do that because I don't want to wake up one day and feel that which I know I want to. And so I think it's a combination of the two.

But it's definitely a lot more impactful when you go through it yourself and when you have to sit and stomach in all conflict.

There are certain things that are our part we get to take ownership of.

We miss out on growth if we miss the opportunity to view how we could have responded better or spoke out and asked for help sooner or, you know, whatever. There's always a lesson, always.

Right when you look at the lessons you've had to learn in life, what have you taken away that you know to the core you're taking with you into every relationship, whether it's friendship, whether it's romantic, whether it's, wow, that is so deep.

There's a few. I think it's really important to know what you want and be transparent about it. Don't beat around the bush.

You gotta be clear on what you can and can't do and what you want.

And also, I think you gotta know how much you're willing to tolerate because I think in any relationship there's sacrifice and it's never gonna be a hundred percent all the time. My grandma calls it the 80% rule. You know, you could, you'll get 80% from someone and.

But there might be that 20% you're missing and you could go find someone else who has the 20% that's missing, but then that person's gonna have another 20% that's missing and they're only gonna give you 80% because they're not gonna have this. And you can go over here and they're gonna have what they didn't have. But then there's gonna be something else missing that's good.

So you realize, oh, my God, no one is ever gonna give you no.

And that 80% is only gonna show up part of the time because nobody can give you all of their everything.

Totally.

All that they bring to the table.

Totally. I think, yeah. Those would be the two, two biggest lessons of, okay, what are my deal breakers? What am I not willing to tolerate?

And, and what do I want? And be really transparent about it.

What are some deal breakers you learned are important to you?

I can't compromise my desire to have a family. I can't compromise. I'm not willing to change my fundamentals, my beliefs, my religious values.

I'm not going to change those anymore because I went through phases where I was, well, maybe I don't have to. Maybe I could. I've realized, no, that's a deal breaker. And someone has to really be on board with you and who you. You are authentically.

Because at first I think we all kind of like pretend it's like, oh, let me be the person that you want me to be and look at how perfect, shiny perfect I am.

And then like, the real shit comes out, you know, year or two later and you're like, oh, okay, so that's who you are because your real stuff comes out, you know. But someone has to be okay with seeing all that and being like, still love you, still want to be with you.

You know, I think that's my favorite part of your answer. Right there. Because it's applicable to absolutely every human connection. Whether it's romantic, whether it's friends, familial, whether it's friends.

Totally. You go through seasons where you are so upset, someone's upset you, they've betrayed you, they, whatever misunderstanding.

You go through little bumps in the.

Road when you authentically are there and believe in the other person. Yeah, the bump is a bump, and you see it as a bump. And it might be a bigger bump. It might feel and look like a bigger bump than it really is.

But when the relationship's not right, the bump feels catastrophic.

Life ending.

Ending.

Yeah, relationship ending. And in other situations, a Mueller Hill. It's nothing. It was a ditch that's done out easy.

I think that is this great nugget to leave our listeners with. If it's a lesson you've already learned yourself, then it's a reminder.

If it's something you haven't learned yourself, hopefully this can be a warning sign for you or guidepost that encourages you as you're contemplating that friendship or that romantic relationship you're in right now that things aren't making sense about. Because in the grand scheme of things, if it's meant to be, they're there authentically through the hard stuff, and they.

Support you and you'll make it through those seasons. The couples I respect the most, my parents have been married 46 years.

You see the highs, the lows, the, you know, the promotions, the demotions, the job list, biggest job. If you're able to ride with the person through the storms and you make it out the other side, then you have something really special.

So is there anything else that's coming out for you?

So the album California Cowgirl is out. Really exciting.

Just put that out and gonna follow up with a duet with Amy Grant to my song God Winks, which is out, but gonna put the duet out with her, which is huge because Amy is an angel. If you've ever met her. She's angel in the human flesh form.

And her and Vince both kind of came into my life at a time when I was sort of struggling career, you know, I just didn't know what was next. And they were both so empowering, encouraging this beacon of light. So I thought, who better to do this song with me than her?

And she said yes, which was so special.

Do you care to speak to the story behind Totally.

So I'd moved home, surgery on the vocal cord. I couldn't talk for a month, couldn't sing for a year. And then the pandemic hit. And I said, I'll go back to Nashville when I get a gig. I got a gig.

And at the gig, Vince Gill was there and he said, what are you doing? And I was. I'm working on an album, which at this point was only in my head.

I wasn't actually working on the album in a studio, but I was manifesting, of course. So he's like, well, I want to sing and play on it. And at that point, I'm, well, now you really have to go make the album.

And the fact that he offered, which he's such a heart of gold, such a supportive person in this moment, for someone to offer it was what I needed. It was my godwink moment of, oh, okay, I am supposed to be back in Asheville. I am supposed to record.

I have to record this album now because I can't miss the opportunity to record with them. And it was sort of the little nudge, the green light, the open door really led to a friendship with Amy as well.

But that's really what I needed in that moment to keep going. And so then I thought, well, if he would do a song with me, who else would? Ended up recording a song with Dwight Yocum.

I ended up doing a song with Raoul Malo, the lead singer of the Mavericks. I put that out. My manager heard it on Spotify, which led to everything else happening for me. So that was my godwink.

And I, you know, I pray for signs all the time and I'm a believer. If you're open to the universe giving you signs, I'm a believer that they will come.

Maybe not the way you thought or when you thought, but I think if you're alert and you're open to them, you'll receive them. And if you ask for them, too.

I love that so much, and I want to add to it.

I think that one of those things, when you start to ask for it, which is a form of prayer, whether you want to call it that or not, I think that we start opening ourselves up to be a conduit so that we sometimes get to be that godwink for somebody else.

Totally, totally.

I don't know that there's another comparable meaningful experience. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I just played a show recently and a lady came and had just lost her husband not too long ago, and this was her first outing.

She's like, I heard your song God Winks. It made me think of my husband.

And I want you to know I had to come see her show tonight because that song and this was the only thing that could get me out of the house.

And she was sitting there front row, singing every word, and I'm like, oh, my God, if this is all I do for the rest of my life, if this was the pinnacle, if this was it, then I did it. You know what I mean?

Can't be a better way to wrap this show. Because I always say that if there.

Is one little thing that you say that someone hears.

Yes. First of all, if you're listening or watching, this episode is meant for you.

I think that there's always people in the audience that think I'm probably the only person finishing the episode or listening right now. If your life has changed by anything that has been said in this episode.

Yeah.

To make a better decision for yourself or your life, then that's all I could ever ask. My. My job is done. And there's no greater blessing than that having had happened.

Amen to that.

So, yeah. Annie, you are such a beautiful soul.

Thanks for having me. And I'm excited. I can't wait to watch your podcast Blow Up.

Yes.

And say I was the first. First cut is the deepest.

You know, bring it back to the lyrics always. And you can find and follow Ms. Annie Bosco. Don't get the last name wrong, because there are some people out there in the media.

Annie Costco. Have Annie Roscoe.

Wherever you're picking this up, you can find her links attached. So go follow her, because social media is everything. And it is.

While I'm at it, please follow us on whatever platform that you're streaming from and our social media as well, so that we can reach a broader audience and make a bigger difference. And with that, I will say thank you, Annie. Such an honor for having you as our first guest to our audience.

I hope you enjoy this episode and catch us next week for the Patrick Custer Show.