Country music duo Maddie and Tae visits with students at Houston high school

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Two young country superstars visited Waltrip High School Monday and talked with students about their experiences of getting into the music business.

Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye, better known as "Maddie and Tae," have been working together for seven years.

"Whatever you're doing, make it unique and make it authentic to who you are because there are so many people trying to do the same thing and that's what's going to separate you from everything else," said Marlow.

Marlow was born and raised in Sugar Land and she credits elementary school music classes with getting her involved in music. Dye, who is from Oklahoma, was home-schooled and says she wishes she could have attended music classes at a young age.

"All subjects are important," explained Dye, "but music is the one where you teach life skills and it's more about self-expression and confidence and being able to just be free and create music."

We asked the two women how they stay such good friends.

"My answer to that is that we are grown women, and being grown women, you respect each other and we lean on each other like we're sisters," said Marlow.

The Country Music Association's critically acclaimed CMA Songwriters Series Presented by U.S. Bank will visit The Heights Theater in Houston Monday, Sept. 17 at 7:00 PM featuring award-winning duo Maddie & Tae as well as Josh Kerr and Jon Nite. The series hosts intimate performances with some of Country Music's most exciting songwriting talent taking turns telling the stories behind their hit songs and performing them in the raw as originally written.

The CMA Foundation, CMA's philanthropic arm, and the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation will also team up to host a musical instrument drive in Houston Sept. 14-24, encouraging the community to donate gently used musical instruments at several drop sites located throughout the greater Houston area. Collected instruments will be cleaned, repaired and donated to Houston school music programs. Visit mhopus.org/instrument-drive for more details about drop sites.

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