Before long, Smith was writing songs and playing local shows, and in 1998 she decided to move to Nashville in hopes of making music her career. With a mere $300 in her pocket, Smith wasted little time in making a name for herself in Music City, and after winning the Tin Pan South Open Mike Competition in 2000 and becoming a finalist in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk Competition, Smith earned a publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog Music. Smith's big break came in 2003, when she was tapped to appear on Just Because I'm a Woman: The Songs of Dolly Parton, a high-profile tribute album to the long-reigning country superstar that found her performing alongside Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, and Parton herself, who was by all accounts quite impressed with the young performer's interpretation of Jolene. That same year, Smith was signed to a deal with Vanguard Records, and her debut album, One Moment More, was released in early 2004. In 2006 she returned with her second full-length, Long Island Shores. The holiday collection My Holiday followed shortly thereafter in October. A fourth release, Stupid Love, was issued by Vanguard at the end of the summer in 2009. She released several albums in the 2010s, including a self-titled full-length in 2012. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi