Who Is Austin Burke? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

For several years now we have championed rising artist, Austin Burke. Today, we get to finally spotlight his incredible talent and story with you all in this week’s feature. The Scottsdale, Arizona native was pretty much born with a mic in his hands. “I started singing really when I was 2 years old,” began Burke. “By the time I was 3, I was ready to hit it big, and I went to all the sporting events in Arizona,” shared the singer.

At the time, his father would share videos of him singing the national anthem at different events, which led him to being asked to be on The Rosie O’Donnell Show at just four years old. He was invited on to the show again just four years later. “She gave me a guitar. It was a cool moment in my life and a lot of things really sparked from that.”

Another standout experience was when Burke sang the national anthem at a baseball game, where Garth Brooks was playing for the Padres. “The first time I saw Garth, I actually sang for him,” laughed the singer. According to Burke, “Garth Brooks was my day one hero,” and he still loves him to this day.

Despite early success, the singer yearned to just be a kid, so by the age of ten, he “retired” from the music industry. “I just wanted to be a kid and play baseball and hang out with my friends.”

Shortly there after, Burke’s life took a turn. His parents lost a lot in the recession, so they moved to San Diego, while the singer was in high school. According to the singer, going to school in San Diego was tough and he got bullied a lot.“That’s when I started songwriting. It was my way of coping with everything,” shared the artist, “I started to sing again.”

Moments like these would continue to happen through college for the singer, who eventually found his way to Nashville, a place he belonged.

The Turning Point:

While playing baseball at Santa Barbara for college, Burke realized something was missing. “I picked up my guitar and I found so much joy in it and so much happiness. I didn’t know what I needed to do, but I knew I didn’t want to go to L.A.” Despite growing up on country music, Burke admits not knowing anything about Nashville. Still, he picked up everything and moved.

“I always knew, I just had this feeling that I had to be in Nashville. I didn’t even know what it was, I hadn’t even been to the south or anywhere near Nashville.” Later, he added, “I was just so excited to be here. I was like where do we start. And I worked at a restaurant for four years, but everyday I was just so happy to be in Nashville, it almost didn’t matter the work that I had to do.”

Throughout his nine years in music city, Burke cultivated a sound that is all his own. “My musical influences are so diverse, but I think that’s how it is for everyone, especially for our generation. We didn’t really grow up on one thing.” He draws inspiration from 90s country, reggae music,  rap, and even artists like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

While working on his craft and cultivating a following, Burke finally got the attention he deserved, and landed himself a publishing deal. “I signed my first publishing deal a few years ago with Thomas Rhett. I met him at the BMI awards and he was like ‘I just started a publishing company, come sign with me.’ It was literally like that.”

Today:

For the past couple of years, Burke has been quietly writing and working on his songwriting. “I stepped away from the road. I felt like I was getting too heavy into touring,” shared the singer,“I just wrote as much as I could, and obviously TR was huge in helping to pick the songs and be apart of the process.”

Burke’s hardworking is paying off. He recently released his EP, Changed Everything. The record features five high-quality songs that speak to the singer’s talent and work ethic. Through social media and working with his team, the singer was able to choose the songs for this project.

“It’s kind of a mixture of my small circle and then the fans. Definitely “Let It Burn” and “Changed Everything” came from the fans and the other three songs were songs that I wanted to put it out or my team thought were the best,” shared Burke.

Fans can expect even more music to come very soon from the singer-songwriter. According to Burke, “I am super excited about this year because I have so much music coming out. It’s probably the most amount of music I have ever put out.” The singer even let us know that his next single, “Take My Life” will be out next month. Get ready, it is only going to get bigger from here!

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