Candy Coburn has plenty of experience blending music with promotion. As a freshman at the University of Missouri, she traveled the state playing shows that pushed the music program to high school students.

“I was a scholarship student, so they paid for my tuition,” said Coburn, who lives in southwest Missouri (she won’t say the specific town), in a recent phone interview. “I wasn’t aware we’d be doing so much of that. I also had a 17-hour workload, so it wasn’t the smartest first semester there.”

But her experience with promotion has allowed her to easily segue into being a celebrity ambassador for the Susan G. Komen foundation. All profits from her new breast-cancer anthem, “Pink Warrior,” go to the foundation. The song has been downloaded about 5,000 times on iTunes so far.

“My grandmother fought breast cancer for 10 years, so it’s near to my heart,” Coburn said. “I thought it’d take (the Komen foundation) a year to hear it. But a month after recording it, it went crazy. I performed it for 50,000 survivors in Washington, D.C., went to Vice President Biden’s house and had an amazing reception.”

Coburn’s Grandma Tucker died from cancer, but Grandma Borders is still going strong. Both inspired Coburn.

“Grandma Borders is still alive and kicking in Louisiana,” Coburn said. “She’s the reason I sang. She had us singing when I could barely walk. My other grandmother, she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but she sang as loud as anyone. She had soul.”

Between stints at Mizzou — where she eventually earned a theater degree — Coburn worked other jobs. She has now been a full-time musician for about five years, and that theater degree still serves her well.

“It was good for me,” Coburn said. “It’s helped me to be very organized, getting things the same each night. That’s a challenge for me because I like to make every show different. It helped absolutely, if for nothing else than knowing the verbiage for talking about the stage and lighting.”

And also, performing and selling products. After her Missouri State Fair show tonight, Coburn will stick around and mingle with fans. If you get an autograph, you might get a pitch, too — but not for her new CD, which comes out later this year.

Coburn’s pushing “Pink Warrior” at the moment.

“About 50 cents from every download goes straight to Komen,” she said. “Every penny counts.”

Getting to know Candy Coburn

What’s your favorite color?
“I’ve always loved green. My first green guitar — it was about 10 guitars ago — I saw it in a store and told my husband about it. He brought it home for me. I’ve never been able to trump that gift. I’ve always been the dark-headed girl with the green guitar wherever I was at.”

What’s your drink of choice?
“Diet Coke.”

What up-and-coming musician impresses you?
“I’m not in touch enough to answer that.”

What’s the best movie you’ve seen lately?
“‘Harry Potter (and the Half-Blood Prince).’ I was surprised by how good it was.”

What TV show do you never miss?
“I never miss ‘Top Chef,’ ever. I’m pretty obsessed. I love to eat. My husband’s a pretty good cook. I can do the vegetable-type soup stuff, but if it entails more than turning on a burner, that’s above my patience level.”

If you go
Who: Candy Coburn
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, opening for Little Big Town
Where: Missouri State Fair grandstand
Tickets: $15-$25, available at the box office or ticketmaster.com
Web site: candycoburn.com