Athlete turned music artist Liz Cooper is giving 'Hot Sass'

Nov. 11—Liz Cooper isn't the first collegiate athlete turned professional musician. Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line played baseball for Florida State University, violinist Vanessa Mae was an Olympic skier, and Billy Joel competed in Golden Gloves boxing tournaments.

Cooper, 29, earned a golf scholarship at Towson State University. But her stay in college was short-lived since, like many young athletes, she burned out. "I spent a semester trying to go to school and playing golf, and I was like, "This sucks," Cooper said while calling from Arizona. "I had to do something more meaningful, and music was much more meaningful for me."

So Cooper moved from Maryland to Nashville and focused on her career a decade ago. Cooper drew from her sports background to kickstart her career in music. "To be able to play sports, it takes a lot of discipline and will power," Cooper said. "That helped me with music."

Cooper's latest album, "Hot Sass," is full of gritty, clever indie guitar-driven rock with a tinge of psychedelia and a nod toward Liz Phair and Angel Olsen. Cooper connects with the moody tune "Slice of Life" and the anthemic title track. "I'm just letting it all out with this album," Cooper said. "It's autobiographical. I've come a long way from the world of golf."

And then there is her musical path since Cooper favored unabashed pop as a child of the 1990s. "When I was a kid, I loved Destiny's Child, the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears," Cooper said. "My parents said, 'Why do you listen to this music?' It's funny how I grew up loving different styles of music, and now I'm making music and I'm doing it my way."

Cooper was scheduled to headline Lucky You Lounge on Saturday, but the date has been canceled.