FRANKLIN
April Marie Truitt is a Christian singer/songwriter who lives in Franklin. She has been singing solos in church since she was in grade school. She has produced three albums, and her most recent, “New Day,” was just released this week.

Truitt lived in Norfolk until she was 13, at which time she moved to Suffolk. Her mother has always played piano and sang. She was heavily influenced by her uncle who played the guitar and wrote his own lyrics. In 1995, she learned to play the guitar and when she was 13 she started writing her own lyrics.

During Hurricane Floyd, the area she lived in was severely flooded and it ruined her house. Her family didn’t have flood insurance.

“All these people just showed up to help us rebuild our house. I don’t even know how they knew we needed their help and I had no idea who they were,” she said. “I used music as a way to cope with this.”

Shortly after that, Truitt’s father started having back problems and the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.

“This was another time I used music to get out my feelings,” she continued. “Writing how I felt about what was going on really helped me get through it.”

She has written more than 60 songs to this day.

Truitt has played at many local churches and events, these include: East Pavilion and Village at Woods Edge in Franklin, The Franklin Fall Festival, The Boykins Fall Festival, Smithfield’s Farmer Market, God’s Garage Band in Hampton and at Christmas time she has played at Farm Fresh and at Walmart for the Salvation Army.

Almost all of the venues where Truitt has performed, she has played with Kate Walsh, another recording artist who lives in the Holland area.

“Kate Walsh and I met at church. We have played together as separate music artists, yet accompanying each other,” she said. “We are both homeschooling moms, we write our own music and almost always perform together.”

In spring 2010, Walsh taught Truitt how to play the percussion on the conga drums. April then got a gig at Boykins Beans and Ice cream.

Truitt said, “I asked her if she would want to come do percussion with me and she said yes. When she came she brought her baby son, Ridley, who bounced along in a snuggly while she drummed.”

After that performance Truitt and Walsh continued playing together once a month at Boykins Beans and Ice Cream and once a month at East Pavilion. They continue to branch out to other venues.

In October 2010, Truitt wrote a theme song for Boykins Beans and Ice Cream. That song later won a $150 first prize when she performed it at the Boykins Talent Show with Walsh and her sister-in-law Charlee Eaves.

In April 2012, Truitt, along with Walsh and Eaves, entered a contest to be the opening act for “Third Day” at Busch Gardens. They created and submitted a YouTube video that was voted on.

“The video has over 400,000 views to this day, that’s a lot for us. They voted on our video and we were picked in the top 20,” she continued. “We unfortunately didn’t win the contest, but that was a really big deal for us. The video got us a different gig in Virginia Beach.”

In 2013, Truitt and Walsh made a Christmas album to raise money for Gospel for Asia, which she stated that it ended up being a success.

“Each time one of my kids was born I thought my music career was over,” she said. “But, each time I kept on singing, playing and writing music. God keeps me using my talent and I am so thankful for that.”

Truitt will be playing at The Hungry Rooster in Boykins on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 8 to 10 p.m.