NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Country singer-songwriter Mae Estes isn't sure Texarkana music fans remember her.
The Hope, Arkansas, native first learned how to perform as a child at regional venues such as Hope's fairgrounds and Texarkana, Texas' Oaklawn Opry, and now she's making her mark in Nashville, with a new single just out. She wonders whether those who heard her sing cover songs and "The Star-Spangled Banner" as a middle-schooler are aware of her professional career, she said in a phone interview Monday.
"I don't think they've connected that I am that little girl from from that area. So yeah, it'll be nice when people start to realize that I'm from there, and that I'm still down there quite often, and really get that hometown support driving the train," she said.
Estes' family were ardent rodeo participants, which provided her first performance opportunity when she was only 7 -- with results that now make her cringe.
"My mom helped run the books and stuff for those events. So I said, 'Y'all don't have to play that LeAnn Rimes tape of the National Anthem. I can sing it for you live right here.' And so Mom gave me a microphone and said, 'Well go get after it, sister.' And it was terrible," she said, noting that her mother recorded all of her performances as she grew.
The support of her family got her through paying her dues as a novice performer, including driving her to regular shows on an AM radio station in Glenwood, Arkansas, and at the Oaklawn Opry when she was 11 or 12.
The Opry was "where I learned to perform with a live band. And I had a lot of embarrassing, embarrassing performances there, too, where I had no idea what I was doing," she said.
Now 27, Estes is in full command of her talent and working to break through to country listeners using every tool available. She released her new single, "Thinkin' Bout Cheatin'," (video link: https://youtu.be/0OYr8iF7C9c) digitally, without waiting for a full album's worth of songs. Two more singles are coming soon, and perhaps an EP by the end of the year.
The song, which Estes co-wrote with Alex Kline and Autumn McEntire, came from a conversation she had with her husband. It's about saying something when a relationship may be in jeopardy.
"What if we as a culture thought about openly communicating with our partner instead of the betrayal?" she said. "It was just kind of a cool approach I hadn't heard done before, where it's just very uncomfortable. You're in the middle of the conversation. The singer is the narrator."
A career and personal milestone was headlining a show at Hempstead Hall in Hope.
"If they were there, they were there to see me, which was pretty crazy. So that was that was a super special moment for me. And that's a beautiful venue in my hometown. So I'm really excited that live music seems to slowly but surely be making its way to South Arkansas," she said.
Estes cites singers Keith Whitley and Lee Ann Womack as main influences. Estes won Female Vocalist of the Year at last year's Arkansas Country Music Awards, and she and Womack are both performing at this year's award show June 6 in Conway.
"She (Womack) has a lot of respect in the industry, and I think she's built a career that I would be really proud to build myself," she said. "I'm kind of losing my mind about getting to meet her for the first time."
Another country superstar also serves as a role model for Estes.
"I want to take the Dolly Parton approach to this thing, and I'd love to use use my music and any influence I get out of making music to try to leave the world better than I found it," she said. "And Dolly has been a big inspiration for me on that."
(For more information, visit maeestes.com.)