Don’t mess with a southern belle.

Maggie Rose, an up-and-coming country artist based out of Nashville will be coming to Buffalo to play alongside Kip Moore and Greg Bates for the WYRK spring acoustic show. The show kicks off at 7 p.m. on March 20 at the UB Center for the Arts.

Getting her big break from one of the music industry’s major players, Rose is on her way to a successful year with the release of her debut album and tour.

We chatted with the singer about her upcoming show in Buffalo, life on the road and a place called Lake Winnipesaukee. Check out the interview below.

You’ll be sharing the stage next month with Greg Bates and Kip Moore. Are you excited to play with them?

Maggie Rose: Yeah, I’ve played a couple shows with Greg Bates recently and have known Kip for a bit. I met Kip when I first moved to Nashville and he was one of the first writers I knew. We played a pretty intense game of ping pong—it was a great match.

Tell us a little bit about your song “I Ain’t Your Mama.”

MR: It was a great introduction to listeners and has a lot of confidence and sassiness for my first single. It has a great and relatable hook that women can relate to. Also, it’s not an intimidating song for guys by any means. More like an “I can do anything as your girlfriend, but I ain’t your mama.”

Have you ever been to WNY before?

MR: I’ve been to Buffalo, but not Niagara Falls—maybe my band can go while we’re in town to check it out. Buffalo was just a radio visit last time so we didn’t get to see a lot of the city. Maybe this time it will be a good time and we’ll have some stories to share about Buffalo. My friend from college lived there and I always wanted to visit her.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being on the road?

MR: My favorite part is the opportunity to go out, meet fans and be in front of as many people as I can with my music. My least favorite is probably being away from my family and friends. I definitely don’t have a routine, considering the opportunity that you get to be out there and play shows. I’ve got a really supportive group of family and friends though.

How did you originally get started in music?

MR: I started singing at a really young age, around two years old. What made me nurture my love for music was my parents and sisters. They always asked me to sing and I woud be like, “oh, people like this?” I just started getting out in the community at church choir and weddings.

At 16, I got hooked up with a Bruce Springsteen cover band that I was the opening act for. It was a great way at a young age to get live performance experience. Then my sophomore year at Clemson, Tommy Mottola [known for starting the careers of Celine Dion, Destiny’s Child and Mariah Carey] became a fan of mine and introduced me to James Stroud.

I had to move to make my dream a reality, but I was fine once I got to Nashville.

What was that move like?

MR: It was a huge milestone in my life. But it was sort of breaking the conventional way to do things. I wasn’t finishing college like all my friends and missing out on that time of my life. I had an entirely unique experience that I was meant to have. It all started in Nashville. It was a hard choice, but the right one.

After a big year, what can we expect from you in 2013?

MR: I just completed my debut album and honestly, artists work on their forst album for their entire lives up to that point. It’s great to finally be done. It’s awesome, but also makes me anxious. We’re touring a bunch and my band is such a great representation of my sound. What we do live is what the music on the album sounds like. I’m also traveling around on a big purple tour bus.

Any favorite cities along the way so far?

MR: Every city has something cool about it we realized. We do love it anywhere by the water though. It’s fun with the beach atmosphere when we get to go down to Florida. New Hampshire was great too, theres this place called Lake Winnipesaukee that we all jumped into in the middle of nowhere.

Are you a fan of Buffalo wings at all?

MR: I’m definitly more of a hot wing kind of girl. I like spicy food.

What are some of your favorite songs to sing in the shower?

MR: I love singing Alicia Keys’ “Fallin” in the shower. There’s a lot—a wide range of songs I sing. Etta James’ “At Last,” although it’s not really part of my range, I love singing it.

Photo courtesy of Maggie Rose.