Sadie McClendon of Tuscaloosa has the accomplishments of a veteran performer.

Her first CD, which includes the self-composed songs "Sunshine on My Mind" and "If I Try," is available for pre-order. And she's performed onstage around Alabama and as far away as Hershey, Pennsylvania, with prestigious gigs at Tootsies Orchid Lounge, Honky Tonk Central in Nashville and the Honkytonk Music Series in Morgan City, Louisiana, as well.

Not bad for an 11-year-old.

“I’ve always been listening to music,” said Sadie, who is a sixth-grader at Holy Spirit Catholic School. “I love country. I really like the sound of the steel guitar.”

Sadie’s parents, Allen and Annie McClendon, have shepherded her young career, but they have allowed their daughter to set the pace and direction.

“Some kids do soccer. Some kids do dance. We just treat this the same way,” said Annie McClendon, who is the music teacher at Holy Spirit Catholic School. “She has an interest, and we will let her go as far with it as she wants to go. It’s her thing. If she ever tires of it, she can stop. It’s all her. We just drive her where she needs to go, and she takes it from there.”

Sadie used her own money, which she earned performing live, to completely pay for the recording of the new songs. The CD features the performances of Johnny Barber, who played drums for Johnny Paycheck; Cowboy Long, who played steel guitar for Hank Williams Jr.; fiddle player Donnie Carpenter; and bass player Scott Icenogle. Sadie sang lead and backup vocals, in addition to playing rhythm guitar. She paid all their fees. The songs were recorded at Clearwave Recording Studios in Decatur.

Sadie was discovered while playing at the Bull Pen in Oakman. A man heard her singing and made some calls on her behalf. He connected her with the Last Honkytonk Music Series. From there, she has played venues as far-ranging as the famous Nashville music clubs to a business convention in Hershey to her school talent show.

Sadie doesn’t have a manager. Her parents present her with the requests they receive from around the country and Sadie chooses which ones she wants to play. In addition to the artistic side of music, her father, Allen, who is the manager for external affairs and development for the College of Engineering at the University of Alabama, is helping her learn the business side of music.

“This is her business,” he said. “She is learning the good and the bad. She pays the expenses to get to the gigs. She earns her own money. She puts that money in the bank and she sets goals.”

He and Annie have also helped her form her own publishing company so she owns the creative rights to all her work and her merchandise. Sadie even gets into the negotiations with venues to determine her fees.

“It’s not like we are booking shows for her,” Annie McClendon said. “She is legit. We want musicians our age and older to look at her as an equal.”

For Sadie, all these things are side benefits to the music. Her new single was written after she overheard her school friends bickering.

“My friends were arguing about a bunch of stuff, and I just took a negative and made it into something positive,” Sadie said.

That is the theme for her music and life.

“I want to inspire people. If someone is sad and they listen to my music, I want them to become happy.”

Sadie shows her benevolent side by playing several shows, including three this year in Texas, Florida and West Virginia, benefitting disabled veterans. She donates to pancreatic cancer research as well. After a show in Montgomery, a man wanted to purchase her Gibson guitar. Sadie decided to auction it and brought in $15,000. Sadie donated all the money to pancreatic cancer research.

The balance between performer and sixth-grade kid can be a delicate one. The McClendons said Sadie does a good job discerning the difference between the two sides of her life.

“When she is on stage, she flips a switch and she is a professional. She comes off stage and she might spin in circles and go eat cotton candy with her friends,” Allen McClendon said.

They also keep a close eye on Sadie when she performs in the Nashville honkytonks. They bring her to the venue just before she is scheduled to perform and then take her out as soon as she has finished. When they travel to music festivals or out of town shows they make sure to schedule kid-friendly activities to help her stay balanced.

Annie McClendon played Sadie’s song for her school friends for the first time this week. While they knew Sadie performed live, they had no idea she had a new single out until they heard it in music class. Sadie said she didn’t believe it would change anything between her and her friends.

“They’re cool with it,” said Sadie.

To hear Sadie's songs, go to www.sadiemcclendonmusic.com.