Who Is Troy Cartwright? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music (2023)

Back in 2021, we introduced you to singer-songwriter Troy Cartwright. At the time Cartwright had just released his project called, Halfway To Houston. Much of Cartwright’s career has evolved since, but for the singer, it is all good things! We caught up with the artist and chatted about the last two years and what fans can expect moving forward.

Growing up in Dallas, Texas, he recalls always loving music. “I’ve always been into music. I always joke that writing songs is the only thing that nobody told me to do.”

At just twelve years old, Cartwright started playing guitar. “Once I could play, I just kind of stopped practicing, and just started writing songs,” shared Cartwright. “I always sort of had a knack for that part of it.” Despite loving music, interestingly he tried to avoid the country genre at first because it was his older sister’s favorite.

“When I was kid, it was just sort of whatever was popular at the time like Simple Plan and New Found Glory and stuff like that […] There was some singer-songwriter stuff that I fell in love with like Pete Yorn.” On the contrary, now, Cartwright also draws inspirations from artists that his parents listened to when he was younger like, Tom Petty.

“I find that I’m doing even more and more digging into the stuff that has stood the test of time. I have probably listened to more Tom Petty in the last two years, then I have my whole life,” he shared. Adding, “At a certain point, like an artist that is a legend like that, it’s something that your parents listened to and then it changes over to something you choose to listen to. I guess for me, I don’t why, but it’s hitting different these days.”

The Turning Point:

Cartwright loved music so much that he took a leap of faith. He headed to Boston for college to pursue a degree in music business. Little did he know, this move would soon change the trajectory of his life.

During his junior year of college, Cartwright participated in an internship that became a major turning point for him. “I realized that was not the path that I wanted to go down,” shared the singer about the business-oriented job. “I realized through that process like ‘hey if you’re going to be an artist’ you just got to go for it.”

Upon graduating college, Cartwright headed back to Dallas to pursue his career as an artist.“ I was able to pretty quickly string together enough shows to pay the bills. […] That was kind of my start in country music, just playing the honky tonks and the bars that would have me.”

“After I came to Nashville for the first time and got to co-write, I knew I was going to move to Nashville no matter what… I just had to figure out how to get there,” Cartwright explains. Eventually, he caught the ear of a publisher in town who offered him the opportunity to write. He also landed a record deal with Warner Music Nashville; however, now, the singer is happily an independent artist.

“I’ve since gone independent, and that happened pretty soon after we put out that record. That’s been pretty life-changing for me. I think at the time it was pretty scary, but it’s actually been great. The results have hopefully spoke for themselves, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to forge my own path in my career and with the music and get to release whatever is inspiring me at the time,” shared the singer.

In the last two years, since we last spoke, Cartwright has reinvented himself, drawing on new inspirations both as a songwriter and as an artist. “It’s interesting like I write so often, I’m probably writing 3 or 4 days a week that like you actually oddly listen to less music, which seems counterintuitive, but from a songwriting perspective, I think I’ve been spending a lot more time trying to source interesting topics. […] I’ve been reading a lot more books and trying to watch more film and TV to get different ideas, and for all my melodies and stuff, I’m constantly trying to switch it up.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Cartwright is cranking out new music. “It’s been a really wild two years. If you would have told me the ride it was going to be, I wouldn’t have believed you, but it’s been fun. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been a lot of rewarding work,” he shared.

Most recently, Cartwright released two songs called, “Girl I Loved Before” and “Can’t Stop Falling Apart.” The former was inspired by the crossroads between possibly breaking-up and falling in love.

“Well “Girl I Loved Before” more or less I was just kind of chasing this idea of there’s a lot of songs about break-ups and about being in love, but there’s not a lot of songs about trying to accept where a relationship might be at, if it’s going to workout or now,” he shared. Adding, “To me in the song, the person is deciding that we’re going to do this thing and make it work, and there’s a spark in that, a rekindling of a frame that’s an exciting concept to tackle as a writer and an as artist for me.”

On the other hand, “Can’t Stop Falling Apart” is an introspective song that uncovers the messy truth of being human in today’s day and age. “Then “Can’t Stop Falling Apart” is one of the most honest songs I’ve written,” began Cartwright. “It was really just a day where the advantages of the new music landscape with TikTok and Instagram reels are so amazing, but it’s also really exhausting because you feel like you never have any rest period. It’s always I have to create today, and you can choose to say I have to or I get too, and most days I say “I get to,” but some days it gets to me, and that day I was coming from this place of ‘man, I’m super burnt out right now’.”

Both songs really speak to Cartwright’s growth as both a vocalist and as a songwriter. According to the singer, more new music is coming down the pipeline soon. Fans can get excited for more authenticity and honesty showcased throughout the singer’s music.

“I’m really excited about the future and some of the music that I’m making. I think one of the things that I love about being independent is getting to try different things, and I really look forward to getting to continue that and trying some different angles, and experimenting with releasing stuff not just as singles but a whole project or something like that.”

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