Madie Renner’s Out in Front band performing at Olympic Theater in Cedar Rapids Aug. 10

The common denominator between music and sports is performance. Madie Renner made a difficult decision after graduating from Prairie High School in 2017. Renner could have played tennis at Wartburg College in Waverly and majored in music therapy. The other option was diving completely into the music world by attending Belmont University in Nashville to study songwriting.

Renner, 25, decided on the latter. "I applied to Belmont on a whim," Renner said from her Los Angeles home. "When I went to visit Belmont, they had a songwriting program that was perfect for me. When I was accepted. I had to make a choice."

Renner focused on music at Belmont but played tennis on the side, which had a surprising impact on her career. After graduating from Belmont in 2021, Renner relocated to Southern California. She became a tennis pro at a country club where she met fellow tennis pros, bassist Ryen Wagner and drummer Isaiah Volk. The trio formed the acoustic country-folk act Out in Front in 2023.

"We connected and we jammed together and we put this band together," Renner said. "It's been great."

"Golden State," the group's latest single, is inspired by Renner making the leap to California. "That song is about moving away, and I'll admit that it was scary," Renner said. "I was taking this huge chance. It's expensive and hard here. The song is about saying goodbye to my hometown."

Renner will return to Cedar Rapids when Out in Front performs Saturday at the Olympic Theater.

"I’m so excited to come back home and perform," Renner said. "I’ve not been able to go home as much as I would like since it’s so expensive. I'll come home for weddings and the holidays. I would like to be back more since I miss my family and friends. I’m so excited for my hometown to see me as a singer-songwriter with my band. They can see that I found myself in this band and I want to share what I've been doing with my band."

Renner looks forward to showcasing the catchy single "Happy Graduation Day," which is about struggles growing up. "It's an upbeat song," Renner said.

Renner said she’s loved writing songs since she was a child. The songwriting bug bit her while she was in first grade.

"That was when I wrote my first song," she said. "I just always loved music and then I wrote that first song. My passion for music became more intense. I saw Adele and Ed Sheeran (both shows in Chicago). And then I saw Brandi Carlile at the Paramount (Theatre) and that really inspired me."

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However, it wasn't until Renner was studying at Prairie High School that she realized that she wanted to be a professional singer-songwriter.

"I just knew in high school that making music could be a full-time career," she said.

Renner would like to encourage Prairie students to go out on a limb to pursue a career in music. Prairie High rising senior Elsa Marxen's band Blanket Statement has been tabbed as the opener for Out in Front. Renner said promoter Jeff Johnson told her about Marxen.

"I was thinking about someone at Prairie performing. I want to support a high school student, who wants to chase her dream," Renner said.

Perhaps Marxen, a singer-songwriter, will follow in Renner's footsteps.

"I'm all about helping a student," Renner said. "I remember what it was like in high school. I was the songwriter in high school since not a lot of people wrote songs in my high school. Now I'm the little fish in a big pond but that's fine."