Who Is Kristen Merlin? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

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Who is Kristen Merlin? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

Kristen Merlin

Kristen Merlin

The Beginning:

Today we are highlighting a seasoned musician in the country music industry. Kristen Merlin, a rising artist, is creating a movement with music. She chatted with us all about her backstory, her personal struggles, and of course, her music.

Growing up in a little town outside of Boston, Massachusetts, Merlin gravitated towards music. “Music has always been something that was super important to me, that made me feel like I belonged,” declared the songstress. The singer recalls singing in the choir at church and later at open-mic nights in college.

Merlin used music as a form of therapy and as an emotional release. Even in middle school, she found herself writing songs. However, it was high school where Merlin wrote her first song that truly meant something to her and others. “My grandfather was sick,” she tell us, “I had this idea inside me that I needed to get out […] What it was was a goodbye to my grandfather from my grandmother.” The singer recalls singing it at her grandfather’s funeral, and again, years later, when she lost a good friend.

“It was really when I started to make sense of the idea that music is super healing. It is therapeutic, it can evoke emotion in people that they need to feel.” The singer-songwriter continued to feel into this even more, as she cultivated her sound after high school, hitting the cover band scene as a full-time artist.

The Turning Point:

Although clearly already successful, Merlin’s career began to grow exponentially, when she became a contestant on “The Voice.” She finished in the top five of the mega-hit show. “I was doing music full-time previous to “The Voice,” but it allowed me to do it on a much bigger level and it also gave me the jumping-off point to move to Nashville,” adding later, “Nashville is where I fell in love with the original music side of everything.”

As a Nashville transplant, the singer has found her passion in country music, a genre that she was not always interested in as a kid. “I didn’t love country music growing up, until I got into the 90s music of Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Reba.” Nowadays, the singer loves so many artists in the genre, including Carrie Underwood, Brett Young, and Luke Combs.

“I always loved the storytelling aspects of country music,” shared Merlin. “As much as I love every other type of music out there, it was really special to me when I started writing my truth, my stories, and things like that, and it fits in the country realm. It all just kinda came together naturally.”

Today:

Today, the singer-songwriter recently released her beautiful new song “Shame.” “The inspiration for the song was being so vulnerable and raw in the moment,” shares Merlin as she recalls sitting down for the write with fellow songwriters. “Shame just came falling out of us in that writing session and everything just felt right.”

“Shame on the way you’re acting // Shame that you can’t get past it // Shame that you just can’t see // I’m more than who I hold hands with”

The song shares the struggles that the LGBTQ community goes through, but really, it is an anthem for anyone who has ever felt misunderstood or like they don’t belong. Merlin was inspired by both, adding “being a person myself coming through tough times and feeling like an outsider [resonates with me].” The singer even partnered with the Human Rights Campaign in honor of Pride Month and the overall message of the well-respected organization.

Merlin promises to continue to release more music this year. She’s not sure yet what song will come next, but she wants fans to be involved in the process. Clearly an artist for the people, Merlin deserves a place in your music catalog and in country music.

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Kristen Merlin announcements and releases.

To keep up with Kristen Merlin, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

“Shame” is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Who Is Noah Hicks? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Noah Hicks? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

Noah-Hicks

Noah Hicks // Photo by: Austin Screws

The Beginning:

Today we are highlighting a rising artist in country music that feels like an overnight sensation. During our conversation with singer-songwriter Noah Hicks, we learned how humble and genuine he is as a man and as an artist. We chatted about everything from his upbringing to his current songs. Learn more below.

Growing up on a chicken farm in Georgia, Hicks never even dreamed of a music career. “I’ve always played guitar and played in church and stuff like that,” he shared, adding that it was really all just for fun. The singer always thought he would make a living doing blue-collar work, but music was still something he loved from an early age.

Thinking back to middle school, Hicks recalls loving the fresh sound of duo, Florida Georgia Line. “I remember being at high school parties with my brother and seeing the reaction to their uptempo vibe,” he shared. “I became just like in love with the fact that music can make you feel a type of way.”

Hicks also credits artists like Rhett Akins and Jason Aldean as early inspirations. Nowadays, he loves artists and songwriters like HARDY, Ernest, and Luke Combs, among many others. “I’m definitely a fan first,” stated the singer. “Now I’m a fan of songwriters ‘cause the songwriters are just as cool as the artists, if not cooler,” he added.

At seventeen years old with a push from one of his hometown buddies, Hicks started singing and taking his natural talent more seriously. “Ever since then I’ve been chasing this crazy dream and I somehow worked it out.”

The Turning Point:

Although clearly gaining popularity in his home state of Georgia, Hicks really started to gain traction earlier this year when he recently signed with RED Creative Group. Prior to his signing, the singer would travel back and forth from Georgia to Tennessee, eventually making the move to Nashville to pursue his dreams.

“I never thought I’d be in the position I am,” shares Hicks, “It happened a lot faster than I can keep up with.” The singer also credits his quick success to the friends he has made in Nashville. “I fell into a great group of guys who live up here. And it took all of the hard work out of moving to town and meeting people,” adding, “They would just knock out the hard part and say ‘this is my friend Noah Hicks.’”

The singer also recalls the moment he knew that music was his passion. “When I first released my first ever single ‘Raised On The Radio’, we had a big old concert down on the square and all these people showed up. I was like ‘okay, this could be possible.’”

Today:

Now, Hicks has two more songs out under his new partnership, “No More of ‘Em” and “Miss You Back.” The former is a collaboration with one of his heroes, Rhett Akins. “I had these people I wanted to write with and Rhett was one of them […] I saw his name on my calendar and I planned ideas for two weeks and he shot down every one of them,” he laughs reminiscing about what it was like to write with Akins for the first time.

After the song was created, the singer made a comment to his manager about asking Akins to be on the song, and to everyone’s surprise, he agreed. The Georgia native wanted to release a song that was close to his heart and a story that could help fans get to know him and his artistry. “No More of ‘Em” was that song.

On the other hand “Miss You Back” showcases a different side of the singer’s talent. “It was me, Paul [DiGiovanni], Cole Taylor, and Jeremy Stover, during a write, and we wrote six songs in four days.” “We just kept trying to write about me and get really specific about me cause every song that I release, I want there to be some truth behind it.”

As it turns out, the singer was able to tap into a more somber emotion to create the song with his fellow songwriters. “It’s a double lining. Obviously, it’s about a girl, but also when we were writing, we all talked about it being universal, you can miss anyone back.”

The two songs are just the beginning for Hicks. “Writing songs, playing shows, realizing music, that’s what I hope to do in 2021,” he declares. Fans are in for a real treat with this budding star!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Noah Hicks announcements and releases.

To keep up with Noah Hicks, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

“No More of ‘Em” and “Miss You Back” are available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Who Are Juna N Joey? The Story Behind Their Journey to Country Music

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Who are Juna N Joey? The country-pop duo joined us to chat about their journey to country music. Get to know the rising stars here…

who-are-juna-n-joey-something-new-to-miss

The Beginning:

We love supporting new and rising artists in the industry! Today, we are excited to introduce up & coming country-pop duo, Juna N Joey. Despite their young age, the brother/sister pair are incredibly talented and knowledgeable about music.

Growing up in West Palm Beach, Florida, the siblings were always surrounded by music. “Our mom’s dad was in a country band and he played a ton of instruments and wrote music,” shared the twosome. It was Juna though, who first fell in love with music at the tender age of three.

“I actually got into music lessons through the song “Love” by Frank Sinatra,” she tells us. “Then I did classical piano and vocals and that’s kinda when Joey came in the picture with music.” Joey shared that his first love was sports, but after attending one of his sister’s vocal lessons, he found his own voice.

Both Juna and Joey went on to attend performing arts schools and even sang and played in a rock band. “It was definitely one of our dad’s favorite times in our music journey,” joked Juna. Although the two loved performing rock hits from artists like Led Zeppelin and Blondie, country music was really what they were listening to.

“We always listened to country-pop music in the car, so we decided to take that path,” they explained. Later adding that they find inspiration from fellow duo’s like Florida Georgia Line and Dan + Shay. They also named artists like Kelsea Ballerini, Morgan Wallen, and Luke Combs as some of their favorite in the country genre.

Still, the duo reveals that they really do love all music. “I listen to pretty much everything,” shared Joey, “Some of my influences are Stevie Wonder and Adam Levine.” Juna also named Billy Joel and Elton John as two of her personal favorites.

The Turning Point:

With a dream to make country music declared, Juna N Joey decided to share their talent on their YouTube channel. Consistently putting in the work, the duo has over 80,000 subscribers on just that platform alone. “We would cover a bunch of songs on our YouTube channel and it would mostly be country-pop, that kinda thing.”

As independent artists, the duo continues to make strides with their music. They have toured with artists like Cade Foehner from American Idol and received recognition from some of the biggest producers and networks. They also just made a big move, buying a house and officially moving to Nashville to further their careers as singers and songwriters.

“I think the dream was ultimately to be in music, be on big stages, and continuing writing music,” shared Juna N Joey, when asked about their desires. If all of this news is not enough to be an epic turning point, their brand new song “Something Good To Miss” sure is.

Today:

The singers recently released new music, which was produced by Ken Royster (Luke Combs, “Hurricane)” and is off their upcoming self-titled EP. When asked about the track and the writing process, the duo shared their unique and interesting process with us.

“Joey and I have a thing called a ‘Hook Book’, which is pretty much in our phones, a notes page of a bunch of ideas that we’ll just write when inspiration hits,” shared Juna. Joey later added, “I’m more of doing the melodies and the music, and I bring in some lyrics, but Juna is mostly the lyrics and I’m mostly the harmonies and stuff.”

For “Something Good To Miss” the singers were able to bring the idea to a write with their co-writers in Nashville. “We said the title sounded like a story.” For them personally, the story is about having Florida to miss, since moving to Nashville, but they recognize that others may connect to the song in a different way. “That’s kinda how we relate to the song, but it can be different for a lot of other people and other family situations.” The song is currently finding success on streaming platforms and with fans.

Juna N Joey have a lot on the horizon for fans. They will continue to drop more music from their self-titled EP and hope to continue to connect with even more fans. The twosome are also headed to England in September to tour with another rising star named Twinnie. Additionally, they hope to play more shows in the states in the coming months. A behind-the-scenes video of their newest single is also slated to come out soon!

 “This feels like where we were meant to be and our destiny,” shared the duo. We couldn’t agree more and looking forward to hear more from the talented pair.

 

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Juna N Joey announcements and releases.

To keep up with Juna N Joey, follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

“Something Good To Miss” is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Who Is Tyler Braden? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Tyler Braden? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

Tyler Braden

Tyler Braden // Photo: Robby Klein

The Beginning:

Recently we got to catch up with singer-songwriter, Tyler Braden. The Warner Music Nashville recording artist spoke candidly about his journey to country music, weaving in his unique experiences throughout.

The Alabama native grew up around music but never dreamed of it becoming his career. “My parents, my aunts, my uncles, everyone in my family pretty much sang,” he tells us. Adding later, “One of my uncles is a full-blown Elvis [Presley] impersonator.” It was clear to us that music was just something in Braden’s blood from an early age.

As a kid, Braden would sing in church and sing at family parties. However, it was not until after high school that he started giving music a real shot. At nineteen, the singer played in a rock cover band, singing songs by artists like Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin. Although rock seems like a far cry from country music, the singer maintains that he was exposed to many different genres growing up.

Braden was a huge fan of artists like Boyz II Men, The Chicks, Kenny Chesney, and even the Foo Fighters. Despite his eclectic music taste, country music was his first love. “I was always a bigger fan of country,” shared Braden, “Like leaving shows and leaving practices, I was still always listening to country in my truck.

After encouragement by a friend, the singer entered himself in a local contest. Ultimately winning, the artist won his first trip to Nashville for a recording session. He credits that experience for instilling in him a desire to move to Music City to pursue his real dream. 

“I actually had a buddy of mine that made the trip to Nashville,” shared the singer. “He said man you kinda gotta be here if you want to have a shot. So I just kind of took a shot in the dark by trying to move up here.”

The Turning Point:

Taking the plunge, Braden moved from Alabama to Nashville, Tennessee. At first, the singer worked as a firefighter and a first responder to make ends meet in the new city. The singer recalls playing shows and gigs all over Nashville to hone his craft even more. The singer began co-writing for the first time with other songwriters in the industry and really learned to appreciate everything that goes into making music.

Eventually, the singer garnered more and more success and his buddies at work began to cover for him. “About the last six months of the fire service, the careers started to overlap. […] So many guys at the station were stepping up and working in my place to allow me to chase this whole thing.” The humans he worked with allowed him to chase his dreams, something he is eternally grateful for. Ultimately, Braden’s hard work paid off! The entertainer signed a record and publishing deal with Warner Music Nashville.

Today:

Flash forward to today, the singer is releasing music under his new label home. Back in March 2020, Braden released a cover of the song “Brother.” The song pays homage to his friends at his old job, as well as, all the other heroes in the world. Although not planning on making it his debut single, it felt like the right timing and the right song.

“When everything shut down, and you saw how firefighters, police officers, nurses, doctors, and everyone started working twice as much, twice as hard, while most of us started working from home then it just seemed like the time,” he said about recording and releasing the song. “They needed some sort of thank you and some sort of appreciation they deserved.”

Most recently, the singer released his song “What Do They Know.” Co-written by Braden, the song became one of those songs that the singer kept going back to. “The song stuck with me and I changed some things and I changed some lyrics here and there, and I added a bridge and just made it even more true to myself and my story,” he shared. “The more we played it live and the more I sang the words and realized how true they were and how true they could be to a lot of people, it really started to mean more and more and more to me.”

The song is the perfect combination of all of Braden’s rock and country influences, something that is truly a staple in his artistry. “That’s kinda rolled over into songwriting and the performance aspect of my career today, the rock backgrounds the rock influences, every time I’m writing I’m thinking how will this look live.”

Fans can look forward to even more music by the artist this year. The next single, “Ways to Miss You” is slated to be released later this month. The music video is even being filmed in Downtown Nashville, as a live show later this week. Braden also hints at a possible EP. At this rate, anything is possible for the newcomer. Regardless, it’s safe to say that we will be hearing more from the singer-songwriter soon enough!

 

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Tyler Braden announcements and releases.

To keep up with Tyler Braden, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

“What Do They Know” is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

who-is-kasey-tyndall-new-music-middle-man

Who Is Kasey Tyndall? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

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Who is Kasey Tyndall? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

who-is-kasey-tyndall-new-music-middle-man

Kasey Tyndall

The Beginning:

There are few things we love more than supporting women in the music industry. Today, we get to share our lovely interview with the extremely talented Kasey Tyndall. The songstress may be a new name to country music fans, but she has staying power for years to come.

Tyndall grew up in North Carolina, the oldest child of divorced parents. Despite the split, the singer recalls having an incredible childhood and supportive family and extended family. She credits her mother and father for her early love of music. “Growing up, both of my parents listened to lots of music. I would ride in the car back and forth to their houses and my mama would listen to rock, and my daddy would listen to whatever was on country radio.”

Picking up the guitar at an early age, it could only be her access to music and divine intervention that cultivated her unique talent. “Music was kind of a calling for me. It just kind of happened. I felt like myself getting lost in song and music,” shared the singer. Tyndall was inspired by rock legends like Joan Jett and Pat Benatar and bluegrass/country singers like Alison Krauss and Miranda Lambert. Avril Lavigne and Brantley Gilbert are also two of her long-time favorites.

Currently, the singer finds inspiration amongst her fellow women in country music and newcomers on the scene. Artists like HARDY and her friends, Lainey Wilson, and Ashland Craft are some fellow singer-songwriters that she really enjoys right now. “I feel like some of the best music in a while has come out in the last couple of years, and it makes me super excited.”

The Turning Point:

Despite an early love for music and a natural gift, Tyndall never really considered playing music for a living. “I didn’t feel like it was an option as a career,” she tells us, “To chase being a country singer, that felt just so out of reach.” It was not until her friends convinced her to enter a local contest that she realized her potential.

A local radio station hosted a contest in Raleigh, North Carolina. The winner got to sing with superstar Keith Urban. Tyndall ultimately went on to win the contest and proved to herself that her dream could be a reality. This led Tyndall to finally make the decision to move to Nashville to pursue her dreams.

“After I won the contest, it was either move to Nashville or go to nursing school and I picked Nashville and I haven’t looked back since.”

Today:

Today, the singer finally feels like she has found her footing as an artist with her recent release, “Middle Man.” “Just seeing the reaction from the Nashville community and the fans, it’s like nothing I have experienced with my previous music that I have released,” shares Tyndall, as she reflects on the success of her newest single. “It’s the first time in my career that I’m like ‘wow’ this is who I am as an artist.”

Of course, “Middle Man” was not a song the singer had intended on writing. It happened organically, during a back-porch-hang with fellow singer-songwriter, Lainey Wilson. “We just got to talking about our families, and I happened to start talking about mine being divorced,” she begins, “and I was like it was great, I was the middle man because I was the oldest sibling and she goes ‘go get a guitar right now.’”

Although Tyndall shares she had a great experience growing up with divorced parents, she realizes not everyone does. “Like I said, I had a great experience with it, but I didn’t realize [at the time] all the lives that I was touching, hitting it on the head for others that didn’t have the best experience.”

The song was not supposed to be the next single, but Tyndall knew it had to be after seeing the reaction from fans at a writer’s round. The singer even credits God as a “co-writer,” due to how effortlessly the song unfolded on that fateful night with her friends.

As “Middle Man” continues to touch the hearts of music lovers everywhere, Tyndall shows no signs of slowing down. She will be heading on tour with Jamey Johnson and Whiskey Myers through the rest of this month. She also promises that new music is on the horizon for this Fall.

kasey-tyndall-new-music-middle-man-song

Kasey Tyndall’s brand new song “Middle Man” is available now on all streaming platforms.

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Kasey Tyndall announcements and releases.

To keep up with Kasey Tyndall, follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Middle Man is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Adam-sanders-who-is-what-if-i'm-right

Who Is Adam Sanders? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Adam Sanders? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

Adam-sanders-who-is-what-if-i'm-right

Adam Sanders

The Beginning:

Today we bring you the story behind singer-songwriter Adam Sanders’ journey to country music. Growing up in a small town in North Florida, Sanders’ life revolved around music. “I started singing when I was three years old. I always say music picked me, I didn’t pick music,” declared the singer at the start of our interview.

As a child, Sanders recalls being enamored with music especially, 90s country music. “90s country was sort of my first love and always will be,” shared the artist. Later, he declared his love for one particular country music legend. “When I was about 3 years old, Alan Jackson was like my childhood hero. I really looked at him as who inspired me to move to Nashville.” Of course, the singer now credits his love of music in general for inspiring him, namedropping artists like The Band Camino, Jason Aldean, LANY, and Tim McGraw as some of his favorites.

Interestingly enough, Sanders later realize that Alan Jackson reminded him of his uncle. That same uncle happened to work in country music. His uncle inspired him to begin writing songs at the tender age of 12 years old. “You should look into writing songs and that could be your way into the music industry one day,” said his uncle to Sanders. “The next day I wrote a song with my dad at 12 years old and found that I really enjoyed the process. Fast forward however many years later, that was actually true and that’s how I got my start in the music industry.”

The Turning Point:

Sanders’ dream to move to Nashville to pursue music came to fruition in 2009. “I started writing songs for a living. I was in Nashville for two years and found my first publishing deal. […] and about 6 months into my deal, I had my first cut on a Luke Bryan album.” The singer went on to achieve cuts on albums for the likes of Bryan, Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, Dustin Lynch, and more. He even scored two number ones as a songwriter with Swindell’s “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” and Lynch’s “Hell of a Night.”

Slowly, but surely, Sanders began to cut his teeth in Nashville as an artist too. The singer began releasing songs independently and growing his fanbase organically throughout his years in the industry. “I’m just sort of programmed to think about music all day, every day,” shared the singer, when asked about the challenges of being an independent artist. “For me, it’s never felt like a job because it’s the only thing I ever really wanted.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Sanders has crossed the threshold of 100 million streams on music platforms. Also, this year, the singer finally got to release a full-length project that his fans have been patiently waiting for. The album, What If I’m Right dropped earlier this month.

“Last year, when I released a song call “Make Em Wanna Change,” I really started to find a common thread about what my fans wanted me to sound like and what they wanted to hear from me. I feel like that was sort of the tip of the iceberg for the album,” shared Sanders.

The singer included a fan-favorite song, “Bible Versus” on his newest project. Another standout track on the record is a collaboration with friend and co-creator Cole Swindell. “Daddy Jesus & Earnhardt” was written during a time when Swindell invited Sanders on his bus to catch the NASCAR races together.

Through conversation about their childhoods, their mutual love of NASCAR, and country music, a song was born. “We thought how cool would it be as a visual to have people in the crowd to hold up a 1 for daddy, a 2 for Jesus, and a 3 for Earnhardt,” began Sanders. “I feel like [the song is] just very honest and true about how I grew up and how a lot of other people grew up. So, I think the relatability of that song is what makes it really resonate with people.”

As the record continues to gain in popularity, Sanders shows no signs of slowing down. The singer is hopeful that another album will be out before the year ends. Sanders is also looking forward to getting back out on the road to connect with country music lovers all across the country!

Adam-sanders-what-if-i'm-right

Adam Sanders’ ‘What If I’m Right’ album is available now

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about future Adam Sanders releases.

To keep up with Adam Sanders, follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

What If I’m Right is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Spencer-crandall

Who Is Spencer Crandall? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Spencer Crandall? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

Spencer-crandall-music

Spencer Crandall

The Beginning:

Throughout our interview with singer-songwriter, Spencer Crandall, we got a chance to learn all about his path to music. Growing up in Denver, Colorado,  Crandall identified more as a music fan than a musician himself. “I loved music growing up. I grew up in a huge music family, where my parents were fanatical country music fans,” he shared with us. As a child, he remembers being a sports kid and a class clown. However, the singer always loved and appreciated a wide variety of music.

“To and from every camping trip, sports practice, vacation, it was music all the time,” he begins. Later, adding, “We talked about music all the time.” Crandall credits his parents for his love of country music, specifically 90s country, but it was his brother who introduced him to EDM artists and rappers like Eminem. “I was getting all these kind of mixed messages [about music]. So I ‘Frakensteined’ them together to have this sense of what I thought was cool.” The artist also shared loving pop-punk bands, old-school Taylor Swift, and John Mayer growing up.

Crandall has kept that eclectic taste in music, even until now. “I’m more inspired by people making music than others.” The singer named incredible artists like JP Saxe, Sam Hunt, The Band Camino, Keith Urban, and Drake, as some of his current favorites. 

“I really love great songwriting. For me, it’s always been about the song. So, you can find an amazing song in any genre, because it’s whoever is being authentic and who is ever really telling their truth that’s what I’ve always been really inspired by.”

The Turning Point:

Still, despite loving a wide variety of music, Crandall had yet to shed his identity as a football player. He graduated high school with a football scholarship but ended up sidelined with multiple shoulder injuries. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know who I am,” he remembered feeling. That is when the singer picked up the guitar he had learned how to play a year earlier,

“I never would have thought that this would turn into what I do for a living and what I love doing,” the singer shared while reminiscing about this shift in his life.

The moment he picked the guitar back up and started singing again, it was clear that he had a talent. Slowly, but surely the singer started putting clips up on YouTube and developing an organic fan base. Finally, in 2016, Crandall made the move to Nashville. He has been working as an independent singer-songwriter ever since.

Today:

Now, Crandall is fully engulfed in the country music industry. Last year, he released his record Wilderness, which was the culmination of four creative projects. The record featured a song called “My Person” that has quickly become one of the most romantic and real songs of our generation.

“My Person has always been the song that people gravitate towards. It is something I don’t think really has been said, and people love to say it to other people that they love,” shares Crandall. Fans have loved the song, so much that they inspired Crandall to release a wedding version of the song, which was recently released.

The new rendition of “My Person” will appear as one of the few other re-imagined songs on Crandall’s upcoming EP, Lost In the Wild, due out this Friday, May 28th. The record also includes two brand new songs. “So there was a couple of songs that didn’t quite fit the formula [of the last album] that I really loved,” shared the singer. “When we started to talk about the next project, I was like what if what is lost in the wild was these songs.” An obvious spark of genius, Crandall included both a break-up song, “Apartments in LA” and a love song, “Nothing To Do With You” on the upcoming EP.

Besides the EP, Crandall has so many new projects coming down the pipeline. A YouTube series about the singer’s life called ‘Road to the Stadium’ just launched. The singer also promises that he will be back out on the road playing shows as soon as possible, and we are sure that even more Spencer Crandall music will be coming sooner rather than later!

 

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To keep up with Spencer Crandall, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about future Spencer Crandall releases.

Spencer Crandall’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Who Is Alannah McCready? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

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Who is Alannah McCready? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

We love supporting females in the music industry, so when Alannah McCready came across our radar, we knew we had to interview her. The country-pop singer-songwriter is our Swag Spotlight artist this week. Getting to know McCready and her story was both inspiring and exciting, and we know fans everywhere will love her just as we do.

Growing up in Minnesota, the songstress’s life was all about marrying her two polar-opposite passions in life, hockey, and music. Her upbringing in Minnesota clearly influenced her love for hockey, but it was her Oklahoma-native mom that introduced her to country music. “Ever since a young age, I’ve been listening to country music with her, ya know Trisha [Yearwood] and Martina [McBride],” adding later, “I think I kinda taught myself to sing by listening to them and copying what they were doing. Country music was always a big part of my life.”

She continued to merge her two interests through high school and college, winning championships in hockey and doing things like singing the National Anthem at games. Despite her knack for both passions, McCready knew that music was her first love. “Once I graduated college, I was like you know what, I need to do what I feel like I’m meant to do which is music full-time, and I have been doing music full-time since 2012.”

After a stint in New York City working in public relations, the singer gave all of her attention to crafting her sound and artistry. Her first record was created through “a culmination of all those journals” she had written over the years. Little did she know, she was also a songwriter. “I think as a songwriter it’s really awesome to pull from all different genres. I feel like the story-telling is what makes it country music in a sense because country music is a wide range of genre now, and story-telling is what keeps us all together.”

As a strong woman in country music, McCready finds inspiration from other strong and confident women in the music industry from all genres. “I think definitely growing up it was those powerful women in country, back then they kind of dominated country music. […] Now, I feel like it’s getting back to that, we have all these amazing, powerful, different women in country that I feel like we’re really making a comeback,” she shares when asked about her influences. The songstress also name-dropped artists like Christina Aguilera for helping her find her voice.

Alannah McCready Something Like That

Today, McCready is a new Nashville native that just released her single “Something Like That” back in February. The track is the first in an upcoming EP that was created during quarantine. The new song is a fresh take on relationships and standards.  “It kind of turned into scaling back relationships and what people want in relationships, especially nowadays people get so caught up in these really specific, detailed items that they want or need from a person […] but in reality, it’s really the fundamental things that make a relationship work or not work,” the singer explained, when asked about the inspiration for the track.

As we await more music from McCready, fans can be excited that she promises to get back on the road ASAP. “The goal is to get back out on the road,” she tells us, and we’re sure her new home in Nashville will help her garner an even bigger much-deserved fanbase.

To keep up with Alannah McCready, follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about future Alannah McCready releases.

Alannah McCready’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

elvie-shane-number-one

Who Is Elvie Shane? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Elvie Shane? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

Elvie Shane

Elvie Shane

This week our spotlight shines on Broken Bow Records recording artist, Elvie Shane. The singer-songwriter released his debut EP County Roads last month and his debut single “My Boy” just broke into the top 25 on the country charts. We chatted with the singer about his whirlwind few months and all the work he has put in to get to this point.

A Kentucky native, Shane never lived a day without music in his life, yet never dreamed that it would be his career. “My mom likes to say I was born on a Sunday and the following Sunday she had me in church,” adding, “The first week out of the hospital I was exposed to music on a weekly basis, or even a daily basis, listening to 90s country in the car with my mom.” As the singer reminisces about his childhood he labels those Sundays as probably “the most monumental days as far as music goes in [his] life.”

Shane quickly found a love for 90s country, but he credits his family for his diverse musical taste. His dad introduced him to classic rock, the grittier side of country music, southern rock, and even The Temptations. “I was just exposed to a lot of different stuff from R&B to Rock and Roll, to Country, to Gospel music, and that was pretty much in one Sunday, every Sunday of my life.” Specifically, the singer shared a love for John Fogerty, Steve Earl, and even appreciates the harmonies in groups like Boyz II Men, a group his mother took a liking to.

Eventually, his love of music and his faith led him to play in a band with other churchgoers until he left home to attend college. While in college, the singer played gigs at bars and remembers writing music, but after meeting his now wife, he admits he hung his guitar up for a few years. Thankfully, the singer got back out on the music scene a few years later, after he met some of his wife’s friends, who had a band. Shane ended up opening up for them early in his career.

Despite his clear talent and the encouragement of his friends and family to head to Nashville to write and try to ‘make it,’ the singer was hesitant. “I wasn’t really connecting with what was going on in country music at a time,” he begins, before sharing the event that actually changed his mind, “But one night Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake ended up on stage together at CMAs and I’d been a Stapleton fan forever ’cause he’s another Kentucky boy. […] It’s probably one of the most incredible performances that we will ever hear.”

Shane went on to share his internal dialogue after watching the iconic performance, which solidified his desire to head to Nashville. “If these two different worlds can blend in such a way then there has to be a place for me in country music somewhere,” he thought. Moments later, his buddy, who has been trying to convince him to come to Nashville to write called him, and he finally agreed to take the leap.

Shortly after coming to Nashville, Shane scored a publishing deal; however, after he wrote his now debut single “My Boy,” record deals started calling. The singer eventually signed with Broken Bow Records, and just recently put out his debut EP County Roads. The record was inspired by the coming of age years in life. “What better way to relate to people is to try to focus on those years, the first loves, love lost, love found, where I grew up, how I grew up.”

Although all the songs on the record are spectacular in their own rights, “My Boy” is the current fan favorite. Written during what Shane calls “a God moment,” the single went viral on Facebook and then viral on TikTok three years after it was initially written. Ironically the singer was worried about making “My Boy” his single, but eventually, he came to his senses realizing, “What better time in history in music to put a song about love and family than a time when we’re stuck in the house together, so we put it out, and here we fit.” We agree!

At the end of our conversation, Shane made sure to let us know that he will be hitting the road as much as possible this year. He even hinted at touring with both male and female artists in “the same realm as [he] is in country music.” It is only a matter of time until Shane is on a stage near you and releasing even more new music!

Elvie Shane's debut EP, 'County Roads' is available everywhere now

Elvie Shane’s debut EP, ‘County Roads’ is available everywhere now

To keep up with Elvie Shane, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about future Elvie Shane releases.

Elvie Shane’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Who Is Jackson Michelson? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Jackson Michelson? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

Jackson Michelson

Jackson Michelson

“That’s what I love about country music today, it all comes together around the story and we have such a wide array of sounds right now which I think is really good for our genre.”

Today we are highlighting an artist who we have been loving lately. Jackson Michelson, a Curb Records recording artist, is one of those people that is simply made to be a musician. During our conversation, we learned that the singer has been writing and singing since he was a young kid. We also got to talk to Michelson about his journey into country music and his current radio single, “Tip Jar.”

For Michelson, music was everything growing up. The Oregon native shared, “I grew up in the church playing music. My older brother was ten years older than me and he played guitar and wrote songs,” adding, “So I remember for my 10th or 11th birthday, I asked for a guitar, learned a couple of chords, and I just started writing songs right away.” The singer found himself gravitating towards the music that his parents liked, recalling that his mother was a big country fan (Collin Rae, Tim McGraw) and his father was a huge soul fan, introducing him to artists like Sam Cooke and Earth, Wind & Fire.

“It was kind of like living in two different worlds growing up” shared Michelson, as he opened up about his parents getting divorced when he was young, “but what’s really cool about country and soul is that there are gospel roots between both of them.” Interestingly enough, Christian music is where he would first experience being a working artist.

Michelson’s older brother got a record deal as a Christian artist, and he soon found himself selling merchandise for his sibling. It wasn’t until one day when the band’s bass player couldn’t make it that Michelson started gigging with his brother. This led to the singer playing bass for his brother more frequently and eventually starting another band right alongside him.

“I was like 18 years old on the road, seeing all these places, just loving it,” he shares, reminiscing about his time playing gigs across the West Coast with his band, “And this whole time, I was writing my own songs and they came out country because I grew up in the Grass Seeds capital of the world.”

Still not realizing that what he was writing and recording was country music, Michelson just aimed to make good music that people would love. “I always wrote songs and I never called myself a country artist. I just would write songs and they would come out as a story. […] my friends started saying you should go get this played on the local country station, like this is really cool country music. I wasn’t even calling it country,” he tells us.

Once one of his songs got picked up by Sirius XM The Highway, the singer unexpectedly had record labels and executives calling him from Nashville. He ultimately inked a deal with Curb Records, leaving his band with his brother to pursue his country music career.

Now the singer has a song at country radio and is creating music that he always wanted to create. Laced with his pop-rock influences from his high-school days of listening to bands like Maroon 5 and his knack for story-telling, “Tip Jar” was a no-brainer to release for the singer. “I love catchy melodies and bringing that to country music,” he shares, “I still want to write in complete integrity of a great story, but I love how catchy a song could be.”

“Tip Jar” is exactly that! The song has heart, but at the same time is an absolute jam. Michelson shared that the song came to fruition last year when he was waiting for his writing partner on Zoom one day. While he was waiting, he started thinking about the title tip jar that he had in his phone for what seems like forever. Ultimately, he started playing a melody on the guitar, and the rest started flowing together.

“I started thinking about Nashville and how you want to request a song on Broadway, you throw out a $20 and put in the tip jar, and the band will play it. […] It’s a story about a guy who had his heartbroken who needs to make new memories with all these songs cause his girl broke his heart.” Michelson eventually added a bridge with his writing partner and re-wrote the 2nd bridge with another songwriter before deciding with his team that this was the song he had to release.

We ended our interview by asking Michelson what he has in store for fans as the year goes on. The singer promises that he will have more and more music coming down the pipeline, sharing that he will be putting out music consistently until October. It is important to him to “let each song be their own hero for the moment.” Of course, we will be able to catch Michelson back on the road sooner rather than later too.

To keep up with Jackson Michelson, follow him on Instagram, Twitter,  and Facebook.

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about future Jackson Michelson releases.

Jackson Michelson’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.