Who is Redferrin? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music
Who is Redferrin? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…
Redferrin // Photo credit: Sean Hagwell
Quick Facts:
Full Name – Blake Redferrin
Birthdate – 11/25/1992
Hometown – White House, Tennessee
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical Influences – Ozzy Osbourne, John Anderson, Alan Jackson, Nelly, Post Malone
Label – Warner Music Nashville
Current Single – “Jack and Diet Coke”
The Beginning:
Todays’s spotlight artist is one we are really excited about. Tennessee native, Blake Redferrin, who goes by Redferrin is one of those artists that has the ‘it factor.’ We chatted with the singer-songwriter about his journey to country music and where he is headed.
“I grew up in a little town called White House, Tennessee,” he began. “As a kid, my dad worked at Gibson Guitar for fifteen – twenty years, so we always had guitars at our house. I was always really into it, but I was also really into my dirt bike.” Redferrin recalls being exposed to many different genres of music throughout his upbringing.
“We used to have this bluegrass festival that I went to every year […] My dad was listening to a lot of ZZ Top, Metallica, and Ozzy Osbourne. My mom was listening to Alan Jackson […] and my sister was listening to Three 6 Mafia and Nelly, so growing up I was listening to a range of stuff and I picked my favorites out of it all,” he shared. Adding, “I think I kind of came by it all so honest, because I was surrounded by bluegrass in my hometown, my dad listening to rock, why mom listening to radio country, and my sister’s doing whatever she can to drive them crazy, so I grew up around so much different music, which is probably why my stuff is so blended.”
Despite loving music, Redferrin also loved motocross, so that became his focus because music did not seem like something he could do professionally at first. “I grew up racing motocross for most of my life and music was kind of a hobby. I was pretty shy growing up, so I just never saw the music thing working out for me.”
The Turning Point:
While racing as a professional motocross rider, Redferrin started connecting with people in the industry like Florida Georgia Line. “I think what piqued my interest to get back into music was when I was racing. The really good races would have a DJ or an artist, but the ones that weren’t that fun, didn’t have any kind of entertainment. At the time, I would write songs just as a hobby, but I remember a couple of my friends found out that I did music, and they were like ‘you should play at the races.’”
Redferrin started asking if he could play at smaller races, and soon enough he was making more money performing than he would have if he actually won the race. “I got to know Florida Georgia Line through some great motocross guys, and they were like ‘buddy you’re never going to go to a title, but you should be a songwriter.’” I waited my whole life to get into the stadiums racing, and I was like ‘I can’t give up yet’.”
Soon thereafter, Redferrin got offered a publishing deal anyway, but he declined it. “I remember I got offered a publishing deal, and I turned it down because the condition was I had to quit racing. I turned it down and then that very next weekend I broke my arm and knocked myself out in the Georgia dome. I remember calling, “hey is that publishing deal still there?” And they were like “Nope.” So I had to write for a year to kind of work my way back in, but I think God just really forced my hand and showed me what I should be doing.”
Today:
Flash forward to today, Redferrin officially got rid of all plan Bs and is pursuing music for a living. “The transition was good for me as a human more than anything because I got to find who I was through this process I reckon,” shared the Warner Music Nashville rising star.
For the first time in his career, Redferrin is officially releasing a new EP called Old No. 7 (due out February 16th) featuring seven songs, including fan-favorite, “Jack and Diet Coke.” “I’ve been stacking songs for a while. I feel like I’ve had five or ten versions of an EP just waiting to release it. However, I was glad that “Jack and Diet Coke” is the one that caught a spark for me, because that’s my favorite kind of music. Happy, sad, kinda dark, but kinda moving and stuff. Once I got the green light to write one of that, it was on. We kind of just dove in, and it’s a lot of real stories, it’s a lot of stuff that means something to me. I wrote a good bit of it this year,” shared the artist reflecting on the forthcoming EP.
Fans can expect the record to blend sounds and showcase authentic stories throughout all the songs. “I just realized that there was a lot of stories that I hadn’t told the right way or haven’t really tapped into. I got to take a lot more ownership on this project cause I produced it myself with a couple of buddies, and I just got to be really hands-on and make it what I wanted.”
Be on the lookout for Redferrin’s record coming out this Friday, February 16th, and make sure to catch him on the road this year too! Checkout his tour dates here.
Connect:
Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news and announcements about future Redferrin releases.
To keep up with Redferrin, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.
Redferrin’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.
