Tony Croff

Anthony “Tony” Croff began his musical journey at age 10 when he started taking guitar lessons. By the time he was in seventh grade he was the guitarist and backup vocalist for The Young Disciples, a group he formed with two brothers who attended his church in the very rural community of Hasse in central Texas. The group played various churches and community events.
In his freshman year of high school, Tony decided to go solo with his performances, auditioning and earning a spot as a regular performer on Cross Timbers Country Opry in Stephenville, Texas. With his combination of country gospel and classic country tunes learned from his mother’s vinyl records, he quickly became a fan favorite. Tony was elected music director of Hasse Baptist Church in 2001, where he served two years before moving to East Texas. Tony was voted “most talented” by his high school senior class in 2002. Whether it was a small café, a town festival, or a backyard party, Tony has taken any and every opportunity to perform for a live audience.
In both 2000 and 2001, the Cross Timbers Country Opry Association nominated Tony for Best Male Vocalist age 16 and under, which he won in 2001. That same year, Tony was hand picked by Johnnie High while performing at an audition for the renowned Johnnie High Country Music Revue. He played the Friday night Horizon Show at the Revue for several years before earning a pass to perform monthly on Johnnie’s Saturday night show, famous for turning out the likes of LeAnn Rimes and Steve Holy.
Tony had his first introduction to studio recording when he cut a six track demo of cover tunes at Ace Bowen’s studio in Terrell, Texas, in 2000.
In 2002, Tony auditioned for the USA Network show Nashville Star, winning a top 10 finalist spot in Austin and receiving another call from USA telling him that he had been selected to compete among the top 20 performers in Oklahoma City. At the Austin audition, Nashville Star producer Ben Silverman commended Tony for his outstanding performance and urged him to audition again.
In 2003, Tony was narrowly edged out in the Colgate Country Showdown in Stephenville, Texas, coming in second. In 2006, Tony finished third in the Showdown and he also competed in the Ft. Worth local edition, where the staff of 95.9 The Ranch selected Tony’s demo as one of the top 10 out of over 60 submissions.
In 2004, Tony was elected music director of New Hope Baptist Church in Mineola, Texas, where he still serves, organizing and executing all the musical decisions at the church.
In 2006, Tony placed second in his school’s inaugural Patriot Idol competition at the University of Texas at Tyler. This caught the eye of his peers who began requesting copies of Tony’s demo that he cut in his home studio. He also grabbed the attention of the school’s Campus Activities Board and some fraternities who intend to book Tony for some on-campus student functions this coming semester.
In 2006, Tony also became a regular performer on the Gladewater Saturday Night Opry and the Gladewater Opry Friday Night Gospel Show. In 2007, the Opry nominated him for the Newcomer of the Year award.
Most recently, Tony won first place at The Ranch Pickin’ Party in Fort Worth, a singer/songwriter competition sponsored by 95.9 The Ranch. Winning the competition earned him a spot opening the summer concert series (held at the locally popular 8.0 Bar) for up-and-coming Texas country artist Josh Grider and veteran songwriter Walt Wilkins who wrote some songs recorded by Pat Green.
Tony is assembling a band of professional musicians, Tony Croff and The New Southwest, which intend on touring heavily once Tony graduates with a B.S. in Journalism in May 2008.
Tony is currently finishing up his first commercial EP, which is set for a September release.