'It feels great': Young Knoxville singer belts out national anthem for Tennessee basketball
It was a full house for the University of Tennessee men’s basketball game against Kentucky last week. UT sophomore Maddy Dishner belted out the national anthem and did not let the sheer size of the crowd intimidate her.
“The first time I did the sold-out game, I was literally shaking,” she said two days later. “The second time I was still a little nervous, but I said a prayer that I would find the starting pitch. I feel like once you get past the initial high notes, then you know you will clear it and it feels great.”
Dishner often tries to focus on the flag but admits others around her can be distracting. “A guy was mouthing the words and I wasn’t sure what to do,” she laughed. “I felt like I was second guessing myself. Did I have the words wrong and he was trying to tell me?
“When I am doing the anthem, everyone has their hand on their heart and there are thousands of people. The pressure is on,” she said. “The Kentucky game last year was the biggest audience and when the students kind of joined in, I was thankful because I started a little bit higher than I intended.”
Singing the national anthem at UT sporting events takes perseverance and commitment.
“You go through a chain of people, and once you find the right person, they will start emailing and texting you, offering basketball games,” said Dishner. The first opportunity was a year ago at a Lady Vols basketball game.
“For the Arizona game they called me a couple of nights before, asking me to do it; that was my first men’s game.”
Dishner does not remember a time when she didn’t sing. “I would sing in the car with my parents, a lot of old country and classic rock – the good stuff,” she said. “I remember every Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter all of us cousins sneaking off to prepare big showcases to perform for all of the adults – that they may or may not have wanted to watch.”Dishner would sing in church, and in the choir at Gresham Middle and Central High Schools, as well as participating in spring musicals.
Being a cheerleader in college was never Dishner’s goal. Instead, the marketing student has steadily built a following for her local gigs, thanks to agent Randy Webb.
“I met Randy at a dedication at the Everly Brothers Park in Bearden,” she said.Webb suggested a road trip to sing the Georgia Tech anthem. “I like to travel and hit thrift stores on the road, and it was a good way to get my name out there,” she said. Dishner has even sung at her mom’s alma mater, ETSU.
When Dishner started singing at the Embassy Suites Radius Rooftop Lounge, she would accompany herself on guitar until her cousin recommended a family friend, Bo Compton, to accompany her at their regular monthly gig. “He came to our house one night and started playing, and we discovered we like all of the same music,” said Dishner. However, she said Compton prefers classic country and gives any Taylor Swift songs a hard pass.
In the warmer months, Dishner likes to perform at Cancun Restaurant on Chapman Highway or Jay’s Boat Dock in Johnson City.
Dishner and Compton usually finish a set with “Rocky Top” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee.”
“If it’s a good night we will do ‘Magic Man’ by Heart,” she said. “ ‘Jolene’ is always a good crowd pleaser, and people ask for Chris Stapleton’s ‘Tennessee Whiskey.’ ”Right now Dishner is focusing on graduating college before moving to Nashville. “That is the dream; I do want to go there eventually,” she said. “I don’t have a limit; there is not a place where I just want to cap it. I am doing what I love.”
Clips of Dishner’s performances and upcoming dates can be seen on Facebook @maddydishnermusic.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball national anthem singer Maddy Dishner
