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Introducing Starla Queen…….
Starla has earned the name "Queen of Swing”! Some people work hard to learn a trade but for Starla – it’s a god given talent. Actually, her father, Virgil Watts, known for his musical endeavors from the Bowling Green area, gave her the ability. He is the best non-pedal steel player in the state of Missouri. Starla made a choice years ago to be a wife and mother (she is so proud that her daughter is musically inclined singing and playing flute). If she had decided to get into music seriously, she would be on top of the charts today! Starla plays several instruments ( guitar, steel guitar, keyboard, sax, trumpet, and percussion instruments) but you ought to hear her sing! We think that Starla’s country music background has been a plus for her today as she sings jazz, blues, country, and pop. She decided to follow in her father's footsteps when in 1996 she decided to sing and began performing at the Mark Twain Country Music Show in Hannibal, Mo. Then she appeared as a special guest at various shows in the Mark Twain Lake area until 1998 when she started her own show “The Pike County Jamboree”. She also put together an all female band, "Country Angels", the first of it's kind in the area. Starla ranked in the top at the local “Jimmy Dean Country Showdown” and was s regional finalist where she performed her original tunes. In 2000, Starla relocated to the lake and her life has made a turnaround. She and Jimmy host weekly radio show on KRMS radio and a western swing show on steelradio.com. She has had the honor of sharing the stage with Johnny Bush, Curtis Potter, Leon Raush, Leona Williams, Jack Greene, Ferlin Huskey, the Kindells, Narvel Felts, and others. Starla appears annually on the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame Fundraising Show in St Louis. Most recently, she was nominated for the Academy of Western Artist "2007 Female Western Swing Female Vocalist" and nominated for the AWA "2007 Western Swing Cd of the Year". Starla was the recipient of the prestigious AWA 2007 "Song of the Year" for her original song "Show Me". She is concentrating strictly on her music, daughter, and new husband Jimmy. She will blow you away!