Anthony Billups @ The Music Box

“Coming out of Hononegah around the turn of the century, Anthony Billups dreamed of becoming a Major League Baseball pitcher. Today, the professional artist and country singer and songwriter lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and he knows that baseball was just a road he needed to take to realize his true dream.

Billups’ love for playing guitar, writing songs and singing them was born when he was a sophomore in college and briefly lost his sight following a car crash that eventually led to the end of his career as a baseball player. His passion for art was born in a similar fashion, when he was later told, “the only thing you can get done in two years is art. So, I’m going to get a degree in art? OK. And I just fell in love with painting.”

Now, the former hard-throwing Hononegah pitcher owns Music City Murals and his paintings can be seen all around Nashville. He also plays his own songs once a week at a honky tonk bar on Broadway Street in Nashville at the Tin Roof.

Billups has built Music City Murals into a respected business in the area. A lot of his murals can be seen on his Instagram page.

He was on the A&E reality series “Crazy Hearts: Nashville” in 2014, and has also grown his music brand, releasing a new album during the pandemic, his third. ”

(abbreciated version written by: Jay Taft)

Presented by Music Box of Rockford.

This is an 18+ event