Courtney Santana

Listening to Courtney Santana belt out the refrain to the title track, “Living Through It All,” on her debut solo album, you realize she just answered that question once and for all.

The lifelong backup singer became a fixture in her current hometown of Austin, Texas performing with Jesse Dayton as well as Kevin Russell’s local supergroup Shinyribs, after contributing her vocal talents to more than 30 albums while sharing the stage with the likes of Hootie and the Blowfish, Robert Randolph, Salt-N-Pepa and Musiq Soulchild.

That eclectic background has allowed her to develop a voice that fits snugly under the Americana umbrella. Encouraged by Dayton, who co-produced and co-wrote most of the songs with her, Courtney’s solo bow comes straight from her incredible tale of surviving domestic abuse and raising her two children, now in their 20s, living in shelters and even her car for a while. While performing as a vocalist, she found the time to write a book, Off Kilter: Getting ‘Right After Abuse, as well as founding The Survive2Thrive Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing support to displaced and unhoused victims of domestic abuse, and an app, Sanctuary PBC, which connects domestic violence survivors with safe housing.

Courtney Santana may have been “30 feet from stardom” for most of her career, but she is more than ready to step into the spotlight on center stage.