With warming neon lights spilling from the windows, country singer and songwriter Alana Springsteen stands alone in the center of the stage of Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon. The crowd is small when she starts, but that’s normal when it comes to opening acts. Soon, after a few songs, the attendees begin to click in. They start hearing the young artist from Virginia up on stage, and suddenly, the whole crowd is coming to play.

Soon, line dancing breaks out in the back of the venue, people start to sing along, the crowd grows around the stage to listen. With this being only the second stop on Alana Springsteen’s first road tour opening for musical artist Filmore, it’s surprising to see how at ease she is on stage performing.

It’s been an exciting year for Springsteen. Having been signed by a record label last fall, she has now put out an EP, with more on the way and now opens for a national tour. Additionally, Springsteen is accomplishing these musical artist benchmarks despite having just turned 18.

For Springsteen, singing and songwriting has been in her blood since she was a little 9-year-old in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her homeschooled upbringing allowed her to experiment with writing and various instruments including piano, guitar, and, more recently, cello, leading her to discover her love for music.

“I grew up listening to country music. I grew up listening to everything honestly, from Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Keith Urban,” Springsteen said. “But I was also into Mariah Carey and all these different pop artists, too, and I feel like I have put that into my music.”

While listening to Springsteen’s first EP — self-titled Alana Springsteen — the theme of love can be easily heard threaded throughout the tracks. The theme of choice was very much intentional, the artist said.

“I love to write about love,” Springsteen said. “ I also think it’s a very interesting thing to have a perspective on at my age; it changes as you get older, and I think it’s unique to have that first-love perspective.”

Springsteen’s focus on love might be influenced by her supportive family relationships. The family recently moved from the beaches of the East Coast to the hills of Nashville, Tennessee. With early aspirations of becoming a musician, and through past songwriting trips to the music capital, Springsteen’s family knew the move was needed, said the young artist.

“It was very much us all trying to figure out what that [music career] all looks like together,” Springsteen said. “It was like, ‘How do we do this?’ ”

The move to Nashville taught her a lot of lessons, Springsteen said.

“I realized when I moved to Nashville that I wasn’t the only pretty girl with a guitar that wants to do music,” Springsteen said. “So you have to realize that you have a story to tell, and you learn to be true to yourself and not try to fit into a box.”

Since the move, Springsteen has released such songs as “Still Love,” “Slow Down,” and “Over.” Each track has the warm sensation of a country-style pop song. But Springsteen is really excited about her new track coming out in September, “Feel Better.” Now, with only four months left in the year, Springsteen shows no signs of slowing when it comes to her musical ambitions.

“It’s not an easy career path, but I love it,” she said. “I will always be a songwriter. I will always be an artist — it’s just who I am. I just can’t wait to see what happens.”