NYCS Swag Spotlight: The Swon Brothers

Back in September of 2017, New York Country Swag hosted a sold-out event at Bungalow Bar in Queens featuring The Swon Brothers.  Fast forward to 2019, we are catching up with the duo and finding out a little bit about their backstory and what is next for them in the new year. Zach and Colton Swan tell us in a recent interview that they were born into a musicians life, their parents singing in a southern gospel band and traveling around on their bus to different churches.  Muskogee, Oklahoma is where they call home, but they quickly knew that Nashville was an important place for them to travel to and eventually move to to make their dreams come true.  Zach started playing drums for the family band when he was just seven years old and then when Colton came along, they started playing together and writing songs. “We wanted to be a kid version of Brooks & Dunn and we started making our parents take us to Nashville. We never really had a backup plan, it’s been our goal since we were little,” Zach tells us.

Colton recalls spending time in Nashville, sitting in the hotel room with his family, eating bologna sandwiches and then heading out to all of the different writer’s rounds, any place that would allow kids to play. “We did that for years then we actually went to Music Row and knocked on every door, asking if we could sing for these major labels,” he explains.  Zach and Colton were only twelve and nine years old at the time, already persistent in reaching their goals.  Although almost every record label turned them down, the secretary at what was Virgin Records at the time allowed them to sing for her, and the president of the label just happened to walk by and heard the boys singing. Colton recalls him saying “‘You guys keep up the hard work, you’ve always got an open door’ and we’ve always kept in touch with him. That was the first moment, validation that we might be able to do this. “

On a whim, just days after traveling back from Nashville, the duo took a chance and drove back to Memphis to try out for the singing competition show, The Voice.  Usher, Shakira and Blake Shelton all turned their chairs during their blind audition, eventually choosing Blake as their coach.  They finished third in the season, becoming the first duo to make it to the Top 12. After finishing The Voice, they made the move to Nashville.  “Being in Nashville gives you opportunities that you wouldn’t have the chance to write with anywhere else,” they say of Music City. “The biggest advantage of making the move is meeting kindred spirits. it’s great to be in a town that surrounds you with people that make you better.”

In October of last year, The Swon Brothers released “Midnight Lovers”, a song that Zach and Colton Swon wrote with Stephen Hunley and Brandon Day.  The track tells the story of forbidden love, reminiscent of a modern-day, Romeo and Juliet, love story. “We are kind of throwing rules out the window and just having fun, musically and lyrically, we are writing for ourselves which we’ve never done,” Zach says of the new music they are excited to release.

Just last week the duo announced The 17:17 Tour with a photo on Instagram of their matching “17:17” tattoos saying “…A brother is born for a time of adversity…” The 17:17 Tour is about us being brothers. Doing what we love for who we love. Y’all keep showing up and we get to know you better every time we step on stage. Thanks for a being a FamBase, not just a Fanbase. See you on the road.” Full lineup and ticket information for The Swon Brothers’ 2019 tour is available at www.swonbrothers.com

 

—————————-

Thank You for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Subscribe to our Weekly Round-Up here
for ticket giveaways, meet & greet contests, upcoming events,
and all things country music in the New York metro area and beyond!

+ Follow our country music adventures on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook: