Downers Grove Native Finds Fame, Love as Musician

The first project harp guitarist Muriel Anderson and photographer Bryan Allen worked on was a double CD called Nightlight Daylight that was released in 2014 and has now garnered first place in 11 national and international awards..
“The album began as a kids’ album,” Anderson said. “The whole album started when my best friend had his first baby; I figured, she needed an album of music to go to sleep to, for the parents even more than the child.
“A year later, my best friend, (and his significant other) had their second baby. I was already on the album recording music to wake up to.”
Allen did not enter the project until it was time to create the cover for the CD. Anderson had something specific in mind -- the first ever CD to light up with fiber optics (when you push the cover's moon the stars and fireflies light up then there is a shooting star) -- and she sought out art that spoke to her.
When she saw Allen’s photograph The Lightning Catchers, she knew she had to meet him.
In November 2016, the two released a second collaborative project - Wonderlust - a DVD that gives viewers a bit of an experience of what it is like to be at Anderson’s live show.
“(It’s) a version of what we have been doing as a live show, combining music with beautiful imagery,” Anderson, a native of Downers Grove said. “It’s been more like an experience."
“There is even a section where you are following along the European tour with me.”
Working on the first project together did not just lead to more to professional collaborations. The two also fell in love.
Back in 2013 when Anderson approached Allen about the album cover, she sent a very simple email.
“What would it take for you to do my album cover?” the email stated.
Allen explains his take on that first Skype call that started it all.
“(She was) curious about me and could not find any pictures of me, so (she) requested that we work by Skype,” he said.
He said she was the one flirting first.
Anderson said that the Skype meeting was flirty, but when she met Allen in person, there was no doubt in her mind.
“When Bryan came to town to do the actual photo art- it was just immediate,” she said. “I have never experienced anything so profound.
“We realize that we were really designed for each other.”
At the time, Allen lived in Long Island, New York and Anderson lived in Nashville, Tenn.
Despite the distance, Anderson said the two managed to stay together most of the time.
Their newest project, Wonderlust, is the result of a lot of coming together. The two made a choice to travel together and much of that travel is chronicled in the live show and on the DVD.
“We decided we wanted to be together and travel together,” she said. “That was the whole reason that we came up with doing the live Wonderlust show.
“It was so successful that people were asking for some memento to bring back with them.”
Now that the DVD has been released, Anderson said fans have been commenting that it feels like they should need a passport to watch it.
Early beginnings
Anderson has been playing guitar since she was a young child. She was hooked the moment she picked it up.
“I think ever since I had a guitar in my hands for the first time and felt the way it vibrated against me, since I was 7 or 8, it was a way to directly express myself,” she said.
About 10 years ago, she began playing the harp guitar.
“It’s still a rather rare instrument,” she said. “(It’s) always a curiosity to create a different sound, a different feel.”
Her passion for music does not stop with herself either. Anderson is very outspoken about the importance of music in education. She formed The Music for Life Alliance, which makes sure that music remains accessible.
“The MFLA hosts a database of 125 different national organizations that help further music education, and they work closely with groups across the country that collect and distribute instruments,” Her Web site states. “My vision was two-fold; first, I wanted to collect instruments for music programs in need, and second, I wanted to create a national database, giving grants and recognition to organizations making a difference in the lives of children through music.
“I just feel it’s important for kids to learn music for a number of reasons.”
Want to sample Anderson’s music for yourself? She is offering a free download for fans who are reading this story. It can be found here by clicking here.