Who Is Wesko? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music
Who is Wesko? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising artist here…
Wesko // Photo credit: Underscore works
Quick Facts:
Birthdate – 05/03/2000
Hometown – Kenansville, North Carolina
Current city – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical influences – Bruce Springsteen, Eric Church, Jason Isbell, Neil Young, Alice In Chains
Today our spotlight shines on an artist that has been on our radar for the better part of this year. We chatted with rising artist, Wesko about his path to country music, his new music, and of course, where he’s headed. Although his path wasn’t traditional, it’s clear that Wesko has a promising future in the genre.
Originally from a small town in eastern North Carolina with a population of around 500 people, he spent much of his early life working blue-collar jobs. From selling diesel parts and working in his family’s body shop to supervising an erosion-control company and farming, music wasn’t always the plan. “I’ve done a little bit of everything, and music was kind of something I picked up on a whim,” he shared. “Kind of late in comparison to a lot of people in the business now.”
Wesko picked up a guitar at 19 and started writing songs at 20. Just a year later, he even began to sing in public. Once music became an important part of his life, he found it hard to quit. “I just started late, but I’ve run with it as far and as hard as I can run with it,” he explained. That determination came from something his parents taught him growing up, which was finding your purpose can take time, but when you find it, you owe it to yourself to pursue it.
“If you go seeking your purpose in life, it takes you a while to find it, but most of the time, the best things come to you when you’re not expecting it,” Wesko shared, adding, “And then you take it upon yourself to chase it with everything you got. Otherwise, you’re kind of cheating yourself out of a gift of knowing what you’re supposed to do.”
Music was always around him, even before he realized it would become his career. His parents grew up during the grunge era, so his childhood soundtrack included Pearl Jam, Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, and Alice in Chains, alongside country artists like George Strait and Kenny Chesney.
That combination helped shape the sound he’s developing today, blending his rock influences with country songwriting. But it wasn’t until he was around 14 or 15 that he really began connecting with country music on a deeper level.
“When I got my first iPod, I really started to listen to what those guys were saying,” he shared., referencing artists like Eric Church and Jason Isbell. “I never really understood what they were saying in their songs until I was old enough to kind of comprehend it.” Once he started paying attention to the storytelling, something clicked. “Once I kind of got into the storytelling of country music, I fell in love with it, and kind of decided that that was what spoke to me the most.”
The Turning Point:
Wesko’s first real taste of performing came during a trip to Nashville for his 21st birthday. His parents brought him to town, and while he was out on Broadway, he unexpectedly found himself onstage singing in front of a crowd. By the time he and his family were making the nine-hour drive back to North Carolina, he was already booking shows.
He continued pursuing music while attending university and working a full-time job, using platforms like TikTok to share his music and connect with listeners. His schedule was packed, but music remained a constant. “I had my attention divided in three ways, but music always held the front of that,” he said, adding, “I would skip class and call out of work to go play shows and stuff. It pursued me in the same way that I pursued it.”
During this period of time, songwriting became an important outlet for the singer-songwriter. He picked up his guitar and began writing about what he was seeing, feeling, and experiencing. “When you’re in a truck with four other grown men for 40 to 50 hours a week working in the hot summer sun, things can get a little tense,” he said “I was actually just writing the things I was feeling in the moment. What came out is a lot of those songs that you hear that I did at the beginning of my career.”
As he continued putting music out into the world, he started building a small audience on TikTok, which led him to connect with his now manager. . That audience eventually helped lead him to Charlie Salvatore, who would become his manager. “In many different ways, my manager saved me from a life of boredom and bad contracts,” Wesko said. He eventually signed a record deal with Warner Records.
Today:
Flash forward to today, Wesko is releasing music and getting his name out there. His latest release, “Big Bad Love,” marks a new chapter in the sound he wants to bring to country music.
He had been holding onto the title for about two years, waiting for the right moment and the right writing room to turn it into a song. When the time finally came, the writing process moved quickly. “We sat down and we wrote that song, maybe an hour,” shared the singer.
The track also represents a shift after spending three years releasing strictly acoustic music. Rather than gradually introducing a louder sound, Wesko decided to make a clear change in direction. “The way I did that is to not segue at all and to just be as loud and rocking as I could possibly be, because that’s who I am at my core,” he explained.
For Wesko, the rock influence isn’t something he’s adding to his music just to stand out, it’s a part of who he is as an artist, shaped by the music he grew up listening to and the sound he naturally gravitates toward. “It’s loud, there’s attitude,” he said. When the decision was made to create a fully produced debut record, he knew how he wanted to approach it. “I looked at my theme and said, well, you know, it’s time to rock and roll.”
Wesko is consistently in the studio creating and recording more music. He shared that he already has ten dogs recorded and anticipates even more coming soon. “This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for my entire career,” he shared. “This is one of my dreams, to do a project like this and really try and throw my hat into the ring of country music as it exists.”
Stay tuned for more!
Connect:
Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about future Wesko releases.
To keep up with Wesko, follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Wesko’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.
