Austin Moody, a young singer-songwriter from East Tennessee, has already compiled quite the list of collaborators and supporters via his rock-infused, story-driven take on country music.
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Moody's cheering section includes Alan Jackson's go-to producer Keith Stegall and veteran guitarist, songwriter and recording artist Mac McAnally.
"Austin Moody is a rare combination of a bunch of good things," McAnally says. "He has a reverence for traditional country music alongside a natural connection with classic rock and roll ala Tom Petty. Put that together with an all-American work ethic and blue collar spirit and you get somebody you want to know and some music you want to hear."
Stegall and McAnally co-produced Moody's forthcoming, Kickstarter-funded debut album in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with the help of Moody's touring band and two special guests: Highway 101 drummer Cactus Moser and Nashville guitar great Jeff King. Those sessions brought us the previously-shared song "Ride Like Hank" and today's premiere, "Summer in Austin."
"'Summer in Austin' has always been a crowd favorite at shows," Moody says. "You can't help but sing along when it hits the chorus. It's one of my favorites to play.
"To me 'Summer in Austin' comes from the perspective of a dude who compares his streak of bad luck and love lost to the dog days of a Texas summer," he adds. "He's on a Tex Mex drive. Telling his story to a couple ole boys sweating around a taco truck and drinking beer. Dogs laying under porches. A pick-up on the side of the road with the hood open, steam coming out of the radiator and heat waves distorting the view. What happens next is up to you."
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Moody won over his star collaborators the old-fashioned way: Applying childhood experiences playing bluegrass and listening to classic rock to songs informed by not just Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Strait and other usual suspects but also what's happening in Texas and on commercial radio. Songs reflecting these varied influences got refined by non-stop performing, on the road and at Betty's in West Nashville.
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