Music reminds her of home

Valley native releases first album

Story by Chris Graham
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Amanda Mackintosh set off for Belmont University in 2005 hoping that one day she’d make her name in Music City.

Her first album is coming a bit sooner than expected.

“It’s pretty exciting that I already have an album coming out,” said Mackintosh, a Clarke County native and 2009 Belmont grad whose first album, “Shenandoah,” will be out later this month.

You can get a sneak preview of the title track and other songs from the album on Mackintosh’s MySpace music page.

“I was able to meet so many great musicians and producers. I got to cooperate with some really talented people on the project,” said Mackintosh, for whom a music career was probably an inevitability.

“I come from a really musical family,” said Mackintosh, tracing her musical roots to her grandparents and the family band that had her dad and his brothers and sisters playing gigs across the Northern Shenandoah Valley growing up.

“Shenandoah” invokes her Valley roots at the same time.

“I miss the Valley. The music reminds me of home,” said Mackintosh, who will promote the album on the Valley circuit with gigs at venues up and down the Valley this spring and this summer.