After performing on NBC’s The Voice, Hope Hull native Charity Bowden said that she still loves performing for small towns like the one she grew up in.

Bowden will open for Willie Sugarcapps at July Jamz next Thursday.

“I am originally from a very small town,” Bowden said. “So getting to go to small towns and perform is amazing. You can’t beat the people in a small town.”

Bowden had started singing at a very young age, and had to get over stage fright when she was seven years old if she wanted to keep singing.

“I started doing a lot of pageants to get comfortable on the stage,” Bowden said. “I got involved in the Miss Alabama Outstanding Teen program and needed a talent and singing was all I knew how to do as a talent, so after a couple pageants I started singing at little places and just kept on progressing from there.”

Bowden started taking vocal lessons from a coach in Birmingham when one day, he called her to tell her that producers from The Voice wanted her to go to Memphis for an audition.

“It was pretty out of the blue,” Bowden said. “I was 16 when I auditioned for The Voice and it was amazing to have someone think I was good enough.”

Bowden said that the best part of her Voice experience was spending time with her mother in Los Angeles.

“I was 16, so my mother had to accompany me and pretty much go everywhere with me,” Bowden said. “We got really close during that summer and I learned a lot about who I was as a person and who I wanted to become.”

Bowden said that after being on Miley Cyrus’ team, she learned a lot about different breathing techniques and how to control her voice better.

“It was amazing to be on Miley’s team,” Bowden said. “But other than her, I had a separate vocal coach that taught me a lot about my voice that I was doing wrong. It was a very educational visit to say the least.”

Along with being a participant on The Voice, Bowden has won the talent competition at Miss Alabama two years in a row.

“All I can say about that is that I couldn’t believe it,” Bowden said. “There were so many talented girls there. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Miss Alabama competition and the Miss America organization.”

Winners of the talent competition receive a full tuition scholarship to the University of Montevallo, which came in handy when Bowden started in the fall at the University of Montevallo.

“I think I’m set on tuition money for like six years,” Bowden said. “The only money that I have to spend at college is for sound equipment, so hopefully I won’t come out of college in debt.”

Bowden is studying marketing at the University of Montevallo with the hopes of learning all about the business world and pursuing her singing career.

“I know that I want to keep on singing, there is no doubt about that,” Bowden said. “I just want to pursue a lot of exciting things.”

Bowden’s style of singing is based on classic country, the music that she grew up on.

“I was raised on classic country and gospel,” Bowden said. “I listened to a lot of Patsy Cline, George Straight and really just all kinds of country.”

Bowden said that she is beyond excited to be performing in Andalusia next week.

“I have been through Andalusia a couple of times,” Bowden said. “I have actually sung at the RattleSnake Rodeo a couple times as well.”

July Jamz kicks off next Thursday with Willie Sugarcapps and Bowden with gates opening at 5:30 and the show starting at 7 p.m.