Today’s spotlight shines on incredibly talented, Texas native, Hudson Westbrook. We chatted with Westbrook about his incredible rise to stardom, his upcoming debut album, and everything in between. Keep reading to learn more!

“I went to high-school and I was playing all the sports, and playing guitar was kind of for fun. I didn’t really take it too seriously for a while,” began the singer. Despite, loving music and guitar, like many kids, he did not see music as a future career right away. “It was kind of I’m going to learn songs and cover songs, and that’s all I’m ever going to do with the guitar, just learn the chords, and it could be a party trick. I always loved music and playing music, but I never really aw it coming in this sense or this fast, but now it’s really cool because everyday I’m growing more and more, and learning more and more.”

Throughout his upbringing, music was a constant. Westbrook found himself listening and connecting with artists across genres. “I think that in the past I listened to a ton of Flatland Calvary. I listened to a lot of John Mayer, Jack Johnson, I istened to a bunch of Koe Wetzel and John Pardi,” he shared, adding, “I feel like John Mayer and Koe and all them really did that was it felt like you could relate to exactly what they were saying and it was personal, it was relatable topics and it was things that, you know, aren’t all about boots and jeans and, you know, maybe might not be the most country thing in the world, but I love John Mayer’s melodies and I love Jack Johnson, just his vocals.”

The Turning Point:

Eventually Westbrook graduated high-school and attended Texas Tech. “I ended up going there and just majored in chemical rights, trying to be a land man in the future, and then I was also breaking bulls at the same time. […] I didn’t really mind college. […] At the same time, I was making music for fun, and I posted it, and it blew up out of nowhere. That’s the short story,” shared the singer.

In April of 2024, Westbrook has a video of him singing his song “Take it Slow” go viral, ultimately changing the course of his life from that point on. “There was a label River House that was in Nashville, and then I also had a buddy named Grant Gilbert, and Grant was like, ‘hey, let me hook you up with these people in Nashville. I know you have absolutely no idea what to do.’ Because I thought, now I have a song blowing up. I don’t have a van, I don’t have a trailer, I don’t have a band. And I don’t have anything ready. And so I bought a van. I bought a trailer all in a matter of three weeks. I bought a band trailer. We got the band together.”

While keeping him home base Texas, Westbrook began making frequent trips to Nashville and found his team “We rehearsed a set and we started touring three weeks after I dropped that song. And then I dropped another one. Ended up signing with River House between those two songs because it was taking off, but I just  needed someone who knew what to do. And so I kept making the music.”

Westbrook added, “I’m like the best things happen on accident ya know, but you have to be there when they happen, and be ready to soak in so much, and I’ve realized so much music in a year span, and I’ve learned so much through that. It just shows how much I really do love music. […] I feel like the work as it kind of translated from football and all that type of stuff, or like football, baseball, basketball, playing sports, and going to college is now just translated to like, okay, now I’m an artist and I’m going to put everything I have into that now, you know, and make sure that the same effort that I would be putting in at a job right out of college is the effort I need to be putting in with this, you know, like I want to make a name for myself.”

Today:

Flash forward just a little over a year later, Westbrook is about to release his debut album, Texas Forever, out Friday, July 25th. The record features seventeen songs all co-written by the singer. “I don’t think for the time being that I won’t be on a song that I put out for a while. I want to make sure my voice is heard, at least at an early stage, because this is when you feel stand, you know, this is when you’re in the roots, so I want to be in the songs, you know,” he shared.

When it comes to the album, the record has really come together since December 2024, when Westbrook began working on it. “The main thing in that whole process was I still live in Texas, and now I’m going back and forth from Lubbock or from Fort Worth to Nashville to Wright. And I come up to Nashville when I need to, you know, record, but I still want to live in Texas, still stay in Texas and not change that aspect,” he shared, adding, “There’s a lot of love and a lot of breakup songs. But at the same time, there’s one life song on there. I feel like love and breakup is where I am in life right now. And I couldn’t tell you how to raise a kid yet, so that’s kind of the route of the whole album is heart break and love and so I really try to stay on that topic.”

Over the last nine months or so, Westbrook wrote songs that he hopes fans will relate to and also understand him a bit better. The record features fan-favorite songs like, “House Again,” “Damn Good Taste in Whiskey,” and the title track, “Texas Forever” too, with the other songs being purposefully selected to showcase Westbrook’s story.

“I think the best way to know if you should cut a song or put it out is how you feel when you show it to someone. Like, not how you feel personally about it. Like, if you got 100 songs and you got to show someone 17 of them, which ones are you going to show them, you know? Because I do want them to be sure to sell, but at the same time, you are doing it for a living, you know? And so I always try to think, like, what song does this part play in my career? And so I was super intentional.”

Westbrook will continue his rise to stardom as the year unfolds. With touring plans already under way, the record almost out, the singer-songwriter and his team are already talking about the next iteration of songs. Westbrook is the real deal, so if you’re not already a fan, now is the time! Stay tuned!

Connect:

To keep up with Hudson Westbrook, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. 

Hudson Westbrook’s music 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.