Country artists have many different career paths and stories, which makes the industry so interesting and exciting at the same time. This week we spotlight a new artist who found his start recently thanks to social media and loyal fans.

Warren Zeiders hails from Pennsylvania, where he shares that his supportive family is everything to him.”It really started in church for me,” Zieders explains, regarding his introduction to music. “I come from a family that grew up in church,” he continues, “I just found a love for singing old hymns and singing in church.”

The 22-year-old spent his childhood enamored with music; despite, never considering it as a career.“Being raised in church and realizing that I loved to sing, music was always my outlet, but it was never a career path in my eyes or my family’s eyes,” he shared.

Regardless, that did not stop Zeiders from collecting a large variety of influences and, of course, learning to play guitar in 6th grade.“The first concert I ever went to was with my father. It was a Jeremy Camp, TobyMac concert and those are two Christian artists. […] It was something that really left an impact on my life and my love for music.”

Zeiders also shared with us a love for southern rock, country music, and rock music. “I have a lot of different influences when it comes to where I take inspiration from, so my music really has hints of southern rock in it. I like to incorporate my Christian side into my music with my lyrics and certain messages that I spread to my fans and what I believe in.”

The Turning Point:

Things really started to shift for the singer-songwriter during his sophomore year of college. Up until that point, Zeiders focus was on playing Lacrosse and getting a degree in marketing. However, quarantine stopped him in his tracks, and really changed the course his life was on.

“The whole music thing did not really start until after quarantine,” begins Zeiders. “So after I gave up lacrosse my sophomore year and moved back home and had a change of pace in my life, I had some things to think through and figure out what I wanted to do in my life as a young adult.”

With some encouragement from a friend, the singer starting posting himself singing covers on social media apps like TikTok. “As a person who always loved to sing and probably sang more than he spoke, quarantine kind of came out of nowhere and I had a friend tell me you should make a TikTok and post on TikTok and Instagram and make it solely for music.”

Quite quickly, Zeiders found success and a fanbase on social media; garnering over 1.5 million fans on TikTok today alone. He eventually found the ears of a manager in the country music industry, who truly believed in his talent, leading the singer to release his own original music, as well as, a project of fan-favorite covers.

“I started recording music in my bedroom and starting putting it on social media […] Fans were consuming it at such a large rate where I never would have expected that. With that being said, that’s kinda where it all started to open my eyes to I might have an opportunity to pursue this.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Zeiders is definitely pursuing a career in the music industry. In his young career, he continues to show off his undeniable talent, charisma, and ability to craft music. Earlier this year, the singer released his first project of original music on what he calls the 717 Tapes. The EP features five original songs all co-penned by the newcomer, including fan-favorite “Ride the Lighting.”

Zeiders shared with us the interesting story behind the lead single, “‘Ride the Lighting,’ my most popular song right now, was actually the first song I ever wrote. It was the first song I ever wrote in Nashville during my first time in Nashville.” The singer wrote the song over Zoom, sitting in his manager’s guest bedroom.

Of course, Zeiders’ covers are just as popular as his own music. The recently released Acoustic Covers (Deluxe) album features some of his most incredible renditions that fans have fallen in love with on social media, including “Outskirts of Heaven.” Zeiders’ rendition features none-other than Craig Campbell on the track as well.

It is safe to say that Zeiders is the real deal. He will continue to release original songs and covers that speak to the diehard fanbase he has organically built, as well as, speak to his own journey as as a country music singer-songwriter. Keep your eyes peeled for more from the singer coming in 2022!

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