Country music singer-songwriter Makenzie Phipps was surprised over the weekend at The Southern Women in Film & Television Summit’s Women of True Grit Faith and Film Breakfast with the first ever “Rising Star” award, presented by author, Edie Hand.

“This summit is a collaborative experience with voices of women of true grit from award-winning entrepreneurs, music, producers, and writers and we celebrate outstanding women through the Alice Awards. This has been empowering for all who attended. We have never surprised an artist with an award, so it was extra special to present our first-ever ALICE “Rising Star” Award to Makenzie Phipps. She is making a lot of noise in country music and we are cheering her on in every way!” shared Edie Hand, Founder of Women of True Grit and board member for Women in Film and Television of Nashville.

“This was a wonderful surprise to receive the first-ever “Rising Star” Award from the ladies at SWIFT,” shares Phipps. “This has been such an incredible journey and to be acknowledged for my hard work is always humbling. I look forward to what God has planned for me next!”

Phipps recently released her new single “You Bring The Beer (I’ll Bring The Noise)” just in time for changing leaves, bonfires, tailgating, and football. With lyrics such as “We got Friday night tailgates right before the football games” and “Out on every corner everyone knows your name” are a way of life in small towns across the country, yet many struggle with the “want” for something more. Written by Shane Begley and produced by Sal Oliveri (Chris Stapleton, Garth Brooks, Keith Urban), “You Bring The Beer (I’ll Bring The Noise)” continues to showcase Makenzie Phipps’ talent and ability to captivate audiences one listener at a time.

Makenzie has landed features with Forbes, RFD-TV, Country Rebel, I Love Country Music, Classic Country Music, Addicted 2 Country Music, The Country Network, Center Stage Magazine, People.com, Newsmax, LifeMinuteTV, American Songwriter, Jesus Calling, and her acoustic video for “A Little Of Both” was premiered by Cowgirl Magazine. With a constant connection to her fans that is stronger than ever, Phipps continues to thrive on social media, releasing acoustic covers throughout the week. Her beautiful renditions of “I Want To Stroll Over Heaven With You,” “Amazing Grace” and “Travelin’ Soldier” have nearly 4 million combined views on Facebook and continue to grow daily.