Deanna Bogart

"Whether you're a writer, a runner, a gardener, whatever it is, you have to have somewhere to put those things so that they don't stay inside of you and for me, whether I want it or not, it was music. It just saved me along the way and it still does. I find it really interesting and then I was trying to do other things, which were fine, but then other things kept coming from me musically. Even if I wasn't prepared, or I didn't think I was worthy of it. I would have to stop and say, Well, I respect that person. So should I believe them? Or believe me, and it was scary. So you have to fly above the fear and say, okay, I'll give it a go and, and it just never stopped," said Deanna Bogart, a nationally known musician who built the majority of her music career in Maryland.

Deanna Bogart found her true calling in music by expressing her emotions, and memories through song, and instrument, particularly with the saxophone and keys. Her music career grew tremendously when she resided in Maryland. She joined many bands and soon created one of her own.

"I was 25 when I decided to buy a saxophone because when I was 11 my friends and colleagues went around to ask who wants to be in the band? and I said, me, and they said, What do you want to play? And I said I want to play the saxophone. And all I got was, girls don't play the saxophone," said Deanna. 

She has proven to the world that girls can play the saxophone and be good at it. She has performed with national artists such as Jimmy Buffett and B.B. King. She also has a unique way to go about her performances. She has no setlist, she lets her soul and the flow of the performance speak to her and the rest of her bandmates follow her lead.

"As a bandleader with my guys, it's you know, how did I put it to them? Don't think -- feel more. Because I'm going to arrange kind of on the spot. The songs are a blueprint. The bridge, the verse, the intro, after that, guys, girl, whoever's there. Don't even think because I'll cue you when something else is going to happen. So you don't have to go okay, wait a minute, I have to wait for 12 measures before I do this. No, I don't want that world and I'm happy doing it, you know, with other people's gigs. If I'm like a special guest artist, you know, I will always respect the bandleader and do what they want. But on mine, it's going to be a little bit different every time because either I have no memory, or it just feels different that day. I don't know...there's live music and then there's alive music, and I like it to be alive. And sometimes it doesn't work, but it's worth it when it does," said Deanna.

Tune in to learn more about Deanna's musical journey. You can learn more about her by heading over to her website and visiting their Facebook and Instagram. Deanna is on tour and you can find her tour calendar here. Also, stay until the end of the episode to listen to one of her singles.