Rachele Lynae “Party ‘Til The Cows Come Home”

With a voice as bold, expansive and deeply hued as the Alaskan sky that blanketed her childhood, Rachele Lynae is an impressive new artist whose talent, drive and creative range are quickly distinguishing her from other country newcomers.

Possessing a voice and personality that leap through the speakers and command attention, Rachele makes her national debut with “Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home,” a rollicking party anthem that showcases her strong, supple vocals and inimitable style. The burgeoning hit is supported with a video shot by award-winning director Trey Fanjoy that shines a spotlight on Rachele’s self-assured performance skills and natural charisma in front of the camera.
Rachele admits her style is a fusion of her favorite sounds. “Obviously I’m a country rocker,” the 24-year-old says with a broad smile. “And I have a little bit of a bluesy voice so there’s a soulful thing that peeks its head out occasionally. Stylistically a lot of my songs are fun, sassy and empowering.”

Her voice reverberates with an emotional intensity reminiscent of Martina McBride’s best work, yet she’s also drawn comparisons to Jason Aldean because of her gutsy, go-for-broke style and high octane live performances. Off stage, she has a sweet girl next door quality that endears her to fans, yet on stage she unleashes her passion for music and gives audiences a performance they can’t forget.

Rachele knew at an early age that she wanted to pursue a career in music and she wasn’t shy about stating her ambitions. “I always wanted to sing country music,” says the petite brunette, whose father is a commercial fisherman. “When I was 10, I remember sitting in my dad’s truck and saying, ‘Dad, we don’t have a lot of time. LeAnn Rimes was 13 when she released “Blue.” We don’t have time! We have to get on this!’”

By the time she was 10-years-old, Rachele had already been singing in church for five years and admits her identity as an artist has been shaped by her Alaskan upbringing. “There are a lot of really creative people in Kodiak because it’s such a different scene,” she says. “Alaska is full of all types of people. There are a lot of artists that paint or draw, and there are a lot of writers because people are inspired by the beauty. There wasn’t much of a professional music scene, but it was a good place to foster creativity. I grew up with that uninhabited space to be creative and grow my artistry.”

She began writing songs when she was 12-years-old, and by the time she was 17, she had hit the road and began gaining a reputation as a riveting live performer. “I was traveling and doing concerts up and down the west coast,” she says. “It was wonderful, a huge experience.”Rachele moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University, the prestigious school that groomed such country notables as Josh Turner, Trisha Yearwood and Brad Paisley. Like many of the artists currently reigning on the country charts, Rachele honed her skills performing at some of Nashville’s famed honky tonks, including Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. At the end of her senior year, she recorded a five-song EP that she shared with musician/manager, Jimmy Murphy. He was so impressed with her voice and the caliber of her songwriting that he shared Rachele’s music with his daughter, Jamie O’Neal. Known for such hits as “There Is No Arizona” and “When I Think About Angels,” O’Neal is a gifted singer/songwriter who has added producer to her resume in recent years. Jamie and Rachele immediately connected and began working on the young artist’s new project.
“It’s been awesome,” Rachele says of working with O’Neal. “When I first came to her studio, I was so excited to be working with Jamie. I was a little intimidated at first, but she put me at ease the moment we met. We both like to belt it out, so musically, we connected immediately. She’s been a big influence on me as a vocalist and I couldn’t be more thrilled about the music we’re making together.”

Working with O’Neal, Rachele has crafted an impressive collection that showcases her depth and diversity as an artist. “Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home” is an all out party anthem that makes it impossible to sit still. Rachele penned the energetic romp with O’Neal, Murphy and hit Nashville tunesmith Stephanie Bentley whose credits include the Faith Hill smash “Breathe.”
Rachele, Murphy and O’Neal also teamed up to write the feisty anthem “Scar” with a lyric that is quick to tell an unworthy suitor exactly what he’s become—just a scar. “I don’t want to ever, in my music, make someone feel like they are the victim,” the strong-willed young entertainer explains. “Sometimes we are victimized, but I don’t want to ever put myself in a victim role. I want to put myself in a place of saying, ‘Okay you’ve done me wrong, but I’m fine. I’m going to move on.’ ‘Scar’ is an example of that.”

Whether she’s singing about healing, moving on or just having fun on a Saturday night, Rachele Lynae is an accomplished songwriter who knows how to bring emotional punch to any topic. Though she loves performing up tempo songs, she doesn’t shy away from exploring life’s more difficult moments. “I write what I know,” she says, “so my songs are going to reflect something that I’m going through or I have gone through or that one of my closest friends has gone through. It’s close enough so that I can feel it.”

Rachele also has a gift for taking people on the journey with her during her live performances. “On stage you get to go up there and live the songs,” she says. “It transcends you to a whole other place, and you get to take your audience with you. It’s almost like each song is its own little world, and you are inviting everyone to the party. It’s so cool to be able to go completely into that moment in a song. I love it!”

Sonia Leigh “Bar” Dr. Mango Green Remix

Loretta Lynn certainly didn’t know she was seeing a future opening act when she spotted a five-year-old girl in the crowd at an Alabama concert. As the story goes, during a quiet moment the enraptured child exclaimed, “now that’s country, dad!” The crowd stirred and the coal miner’s daughter herself spotted little Sonia Leigh, then bowed and waved, laughing, before moving on to the next song.
But nearly 30 years later, that little girl opened for Lynn, winning over audiences with her gritty vocal delivery and bold, disarmingly honest songwriting. Between her childhood concerts and her rising career today as a Southern troubadour were many hard days, battle scars and dues paid. Sonia Leigh has earned every bit of soulful, lived-in authenticity her songs and performances portray. At the same time, an amazing chain of events—and a long list of friends and supporters—has put her on the cusp of even bigger success.

“I’m nothing without all the people who have been there for me,” Leigh notes. “I’ve got keys to just about everybody’s apartment in Atlanta because I’ve slept on everybody’s couch. But I’ve kept at it, because I really do truly feel that this was the calling on my life. I always knew this was what I wanted to do.”

That sense of destiny has always been important for Leigh. She left home at age 17 to pursue her dream. “When I left home I had fifty bucks, a garbage bag full of clothes and my guitar,” she recalls. “And that’s it.”

Determined to make it on her own, the teenager took three jobs—despite not owning a car. And determined to make it musically, she joined a band, which fortunately practiced right across the street from where she worked. Nothing has been handed to Sonia Leigh. Shortly after that memorable Loretta Lynn concert, her parents divorced, and she spent her childhood being passed back and forth between her father and mother. Later Leigh moved frequently with her dad as he took various jobs across the south and Midwest. Leaving home was just another uphill battle in a young life full of them.

“My life wasn’t the easiest, but it made me who I am today and a stronger person,” Leigh observes. “If I hadn’t left home and endured the things I did once I left home, I wouldn’t have written the songs I’ve written.”

Oh yes, about those songs. The songs on 1978 December, Leigh’s Southern Ground debut, range from the boozy barroom sing-along of “Bar”—a throwback redolent of the less well-behaved Nashville of yesteryear—to the soulful Muscle Shoals shuffle of “I Just Might,” the acoustic groove of “Virginia” (featuring Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls) and the keenly observed country-rockin’ “My Name Is Money.” Categorization is futile. Is it country, blues, soul or rock? The answer is yes. Is it southern? Add an exclamation point to the prior answer.

In this Leigh has a lot in common with one of her mentors, Zac Brown, who recently signed her to his Southern Ground Artists label. While he’s now a country chart-topper, at one point many thought Brown was going in too many directions to be successful. But Leigh believed. And she was taking notes every step of the way.

“I was watching what Zac was doing and I loved his music,” she says. “So if he was playing and he wanted me to play, I was there. And even if I wasn’t playing, I would go. Usually he would get me up on stage anyway. That’s just him.”

Leigh has been a part of Brown’s musical family for seven years now, having met the singer/songwriter in Atlanta musical circles. Brown’s right-hand man John Hopkins served as producer for Leigh’s independent outing Run or Surrender. Like everything else she’s done 1978 December is the sound of Leigh expressing her soul. It’s not calculated, focus-grouped or target-marketed. In fact, Leigh wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to do that. “It’s hard for me to just sit down and write and try to write a hit,” she says. “That’s just not me as a writer. I write about what’s happening and what I see.”

That’s something Leigh has been doing from childhood. Blessed with a musical family she picked up her dad’s guitar almost as soon as she could hold it without help.

“When I was 10 I really started being serious and asking him to show me chords, so I’d come home every day and practice after school and use his guitar,” she recalls. “Finally he saw I was getting good and he was actually tired of me using his guitar… because I’d be playing and he’d be wanting to play. So that’s when I got my own guitar. Then I started writing—I was writing songs as soon as I could make chords—lyrics and everything.”

At age 14, a song she’d written for a friend led to a chance encounter with a major-label producer—which, at age 17, turned into a management deal. And though that was now half a lifetime ago for the indefatigable performer, Leigh has taken encouragement from each connection and from each hard-fought rung up the ladder.

For her, it all comes together on “Ain’t Dead Yet,” 1978 December’s lead track, which delves into the influence her musical peer, blues artist Sean Costello, had and continues to have on her, even after his unexpected passing. The entire Atlanta musical community mourned the loss of such a promising young artist, but few more than Leigh, who still visits his grave regularly to hold one-sided conversations. “When he died I pretty much made a vow that I was gonna keep this going for both of us,” she says. “That’s basically that. I’m not dead yet, so let’s go out there and do it.”
Band Interests
Singing, Writing, Touring, Playing, Hula Hoop Contests, Singalongs and Fun.
Artists We Also Like
Beth Hart, Michelle Malone, Zac Brown Band, The Wheeler Boys, Nic Cowan, Janis Joplin, Sean Costello, Johnny Cash, Band of Heathens, Meiko, Sally Jaye, Jay Nash, The Kooks, The Whigs, The Bravery, Marshall Tucker Band
Basic Info
Joined Facebook 08/18/2009
Genre Country/Southern Rock/Americana
Members Sonia Leigh – Guitar and Vocal
Hometown Atlanta, Georgia
Record Label Southern Ground Records
Influences Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Joplin, Jackson Browne, Sean Costello, Melissa Etheridge, The Indigo Girls
Current Location Atlanta, Georgia
Contact Info
Website http://www.sonialeigh.com
http://www.twitter.com/sonialeigh
http://www.myspace.com/sonialeigh

Jason Sturgeon “Time Bomb”

Imagine tuning into your local radio station to discover what sounds like a handful of your favorite country legends singing together on one single song. You’ve never heard this song before, and yet, you can’t help but feel as though you could almost sing along. Then, just as this new sound begins to feel like a comfortable, old pair of jeans or boots, the DJ interrupts with “Ladies and Gentlemen… that was the new single by Nashville recording artist, Tim Culpepper!”

It’s at this very moment you realize that you’ve just discovered honest-to-goodness real Country Music again! And that feeling, of hearing multiple country legends together on one song, is simply the answer to the question George Jones posed in his 1986 hit, “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?”

With hints of Randy Travis, Keith Whitley, Gene Watson, and George Jones, it only takes one listen to know who influenced Culpepper’s smokey, honkytonk, brand of vocals. What you need to know is… he’s no accident. In fact, you might say it’s in his blood…

Tim’s journey began as kind of a love story, with the marriage of his Mother Judy, to his father, country entertainer/musician, Forrest Culpepper, or “Curly”, as he had come to be known by those who frequented the honkytonk scene in and around Montgomery, Alabama. The birth of Tim, soon after, would complete an already accomplished family of singers and musicians that, at the time, included such close friends as Hank Williams, Sr. (who had passed, before Tim’s birth), and Marty Robbins.

While most children began life experiencing a mostly subdued environment, young Culpepper was backstage with the likes of Hank, Jr., Marty and Johnny Cash, or in the audience with his Mother, while his father was performing. On one occasion, while sharing stories of her son’s early childhood, Judy fondly recalled one particular night during a Hank Jr. performance, when songwriter and manager, Merle Kilgore, was charged with babysitting Tim while she got up to 2 step, “It wasn’t the ‘Brady Bunch!’” she laughs. “But we sure were a family!”

By age 9, anxious to take part in the “family business”, Tim approached his Father, holding an over-sized Epiphone guitar, asking for his first lesson. Having earlier traded the stage, for more stable work, as an over-the-road trucker, his Father agreed to teach his son with ONE condition- Tim had to promise that when ready, he would take his gift to Nashville. Curly did not want his son to waste his talent in the bars of Montgomery. In his opinion, the serious musician needs to be where things were happening…

After high school, where Tim spent early evenings playing football, and late nights performing at any local venue his Mother could talk into allowing the under-aged singer to enter, Tim kept his word and made his way to Nashville.

He would eventually be discovered by Nashville based Honkytone Records, managed by songwriter/producer, Elbert West, while performing in the famed honkytonks of lower Broadway.

Under the guidance of West, Tim would spend the following two years, honing his craft, while writing his first album, “Pourin’ Whiskey On Pain”. The title cut, having been the self-penned song that sparked West’s interest, would now represent the body of work that would launch his career as an Artist.

With the recent release of his first single and video, “Ghost”, Tim continues the process of bringing full circle, a journey that began as a simple honkytonk love story under the neon lights of Montgomery, Alabama.

So yes, you might say that country music is in his blood…But upon closer inspection, you might also agree that Tim Culpepper, as one of a rare breed of singer/songwriter Artists, is the lifeblood of Country Music…

Dustin Lynch “Cowboys and Angels”

A Tennessee native — he grew up about an hour south of Nashville — Dustin Lynch is no stranger to the ways of Music City. Discovering Nashville’s songwriting haven the Bluebird Café is what got him started, while performers like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson inspired his style. With an authoritative voice and a stoic demeanor, he’s making a strong first impression with “Cowboys and Angels,” his debut single from Broken Bow records. Viewers recently voted it up to No. 7 on CMT Pure’s 12-Pack Countdown, while radio listeners have run it up to No. 37 on the country songs chart.

SEE ALL

Colton James “Date With Dixie”

“I do it for the love of my family, for the love of my friends, for the love of my country, but mostly for the love of God. Without God, I wouldn’t be here.”

If this doesn’t sum up the roots of a down-to-earth country boy like Colton James, nothing will.

Colton’s country roots run deep, and were developed at a young age. What started as a truck ride to the fishing hole became a lifestyle. In the front seat of his father’s truck, Colton was treated to legends like George Jones, Keith Whitley, George Strait, and Merle Haggard. Both of his grandmothers played piano and organ, and his singing pipes come from his mother. “She has a beautiful voice and always sang with happiness, heart, and sincerity in church,” Colton recalls.

Over the years, Colton has perfected his songwriting and guitar playing skills resulting in opening for Toby Keith, Mark Chestnut, Chris Cagle, Joe Nichols, the Dixie Chicks, Lonestar, Keith Anderson, and Trick Pony. His most memorable performance was when he opened for Jason Aldean at Little Creek Amphibious Base, because it was here that 16,000 fans heard him play “Brave Men,” a powerful tribute to American troops. Colton’s moving lyrics earned him a standing ovation that night. “These men and women do something incredible for us. They deserve being recognized for the sacrifice they make and this is my small way of letting them know how much we appreciate them.”

Colton’s passion to help his country and community doesn’t stop with the military. He also shows his support for families, and victims battling cancer. Colton was given a flyer for a benefit put on by Kelly McCann, the manager of Towne Bank, for a local resident named Diane Stokle who was battling breast cancer. After hearing her story Colton put himself in her family’s shoes and imagined what he would do if it was his wife, mother, grandmother, or children battling the disease. Being the family man and husband he is, Colton, “felt compelled to do something about it.” Colton sat down with renowned songwriter and founder of NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) and within an hour wrote “What Keeps Her Strong.” Colton says, “It was a gift from God that I awakened that night with the idea of ‘What Keeps Her Strong.’” Colton had the opportunity to sing the song to Diane before she passed away in May 2009. He remembers her smiling and not letting her battle keep her from living life to the fullest. Colton has been blessed with the opportunity to sing “What Keeps Her Strong” during The Race for the Cure, and for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Colton is currently working with producer Steve Sturm (best known for working with Travis Tritt for 12 years) on his new album that will feature “Brave Men” and “What Keeps Her Strong.” His motto of “101 Proof Country,” is reflected in his country roots, strong sense of family, and his infectious ability to make everyone around him have a good time.

Marlee Scott “Train Wreck” Dance Remix

As a teenager, Bigride Entertainment artist Marlee Scott knew she was born to be a singer. The only problem, she would discover, was that young Marlee was expecting to fulfill that destiny before she was even old enough to drive!

“I remember always wanting to be a singer,” says Marlee. “When I was fourteen years old, every night before I went to bed I would tell myself that I would be a recording artist by the time I turned fifteen. It didn’t happen quite that fast, though!” she laughs.

Born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, the Scott family moved to St. Albert, Alberta, when Marlee was only six years old. It quickly became evident which direction her musical career would take.

“Marlee’s mom had called to schedule flute lessons for her,” remembers one of Marlee’s childhood music teachers. “When it came time for her first lesson I asked her, ‘So, you want to play the flute?’ She smiled at me and pointed to a pink electric guitar that I had in the corner and said, ‘No, I want to play that.’”

Marlee spent her childhood and early teenage years learning guitar and taking vocal lessons, but it turns out that it was a chance car ride with some of her friends that led her back to her affection for Country music.

“Country music has always been a part of me,” Marlee says, “but around the time I was sixteen, I was listening to a lot of Pop music on the radio. I remember riding around in the car with my friends one day, and a song we didn’t like came on the Pop station, so we switched it over to the Country station. Alabama’s ‘Mountain Music’ was playing. We liked the groove, so we left the radio tuned to Country. I guess we just never changed it back!”

Alabama may have brought the teenager back to her roots, but it was songs like Rascal Flatts’ “Prayin’ for Daylight” and Emerson Drive’s “I Should Be Sleeping” that pushed Marlee to try her hand at writing Country material. So, while most of her friends were participating in school activities, Marlee devoted all of her free time to riding her horse, Sidra, and to writing and recording her music.

Marlee’s first album, Souvenir, was released in Canada in 2005. It introduced the young singer to the Country music masses, but more importantly, it generated enough buzz to showcase her songs at various festivals and fairs around the country, garnering invaluable performance experience for the rising artist.

Before recording her follow-up effort, however, Scott moved to Nashville in the summer of 2007. She spent months writing material for the project, which eventually caught the attention of veteran industry executive Gerry Leiske. Leiske was intrigued by Scott’s natural ability as a singer and songwriter, and in 2008 he signed her to a management deal. Under Leiske’s guidance, Marlee released her self-titled sophomore album, establishing a solid foundation for her developing career in the States.

“By the time I recorded my second album, I had grown up a lot,” Marlee reveals. “I had experienced love and heartbreak; I moved to Nashville, away from my family and friends and made a new life for myself in Music City. I was so much more comfortable in the studio at that point, and I think you could hear a new maturity in my music.”

The resulting album earned Marlee a coveted nomination in the Rising Star Award category at the 2010 Canadian Country Music Awards, as well as a 2010 nomination at the Canadian Radio Music Awards. Not one to stand idly by, Marlee capitalized on the momentum of her critically-acclaimed sophomore effort and quickly released the international hit, “Here To Heaven.” The track went Top 20 in Australia and Canada and shot to the top of the charts in Europe. Within months, plans for her first U.S. release began to take shape, bolstered by her new label deal with Leiske’s BigRide Records.

“One of the highlights of my career so far has been signing with Bigride,” Marlee says. “The entire team is behind me and that is such an amazing feeling. I feel like they have invested their time and energy into helping me develop as an artist, and we are all extremely excited about this new project for 2011.”

Produced by David Kalmusky and penned by accomplished songwriter Marcus Hummon, the album’s first single is the shimmering “Beautiful Maybe,” an up-tempo gem with a positive spirit and message that fittingly reflects Marlee’s personality. With “Beautiful Maybe” due out this summer, and the album set for release later this year, Marlee is ready to hit the highways with her new songs.

“I cannot wait to get out on the road and start playing my music for everyone!” she says, beaming. “There are parts of the U.S. that I’ve never been before, and I’m getting ready for my first official radio tour down here. I am so pumped to meet everyone at Country radio!”

Growing up in the community of St. Albert, Alberta, the down-home, small town spirit is alive and well in Marlee Scott. Her fun-loving demeanor, coupled with her accomplished skills as a musician, songwriter and vocalist, have prepared the rising star for a long career in the States… and beyond.

“It’s the storytelling and honesty of Country music that I was always drawn to,” Marlee says. “I hope people hear and identify with that on this album. Lyrically, these songs represent who I am more accurately than anything I’ve ever written before.”

The JaneDear Girls “Merry Go Round”

There may be no better place to start, when talking about the JaneDear girls, than with the description offered by their producer, John Rich.

“They are,” he says, “the girls next door that kick country A**,,,”

Their name offers another level of insight.

“We wanted something that was feminine, All-American, and country,” says Danelle Leverett, the Lone Star portion of this Texas-Utah duo. Susie Brown, adds, “It took us a while to find a name that really described who we are and what we want to say to our country audience, and the JaneDear girls does just that.”

All of that is embodied in the JaneDear girls’ debut single, “Wildflower,” as perfect an introduction to their high energy, soaring harmonies, and world-class instrumental prowess as a country fan could ask for. It’s also a song whose very roots express the organic unity of the approach Susie and Danelle take to life and music.

“I have a vintage electric Mandocaster which is essentially a solid body electric mandolin that I found in a little guitar shop in Salt Lake City, Utah,” says Susie, “and I bought an amp, plugged it in at a co-writing session and ‘Wildflower’ popped out. I had a wildflower in my hair that day, and that’s where we got the title.”

“We have an amazing band,” adds Danelle, “and once they laid it down and we added our vocals and Susie’s electric mandolin and fiddle instrumentation, it was pretty much a no-brainer that it would be our first single.”

Danelle and Susie were each pursuing careers when a friend suggested Danelle see Susie perform at a Nashville club. Before long, the two tried writing together, and from the moment they finished their first song together, they knew that they were a duo. While they struggled–”We would eat $10 worth of taco soup for a week, every meal,” says Danelle–they quickly began impressing industry people. After they performed at a Muzik Mafia event, John Rich became a huge supporter, helping them ink deals with Warner Music Nashville (under the guidance of Scott Hendricks), Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing and Turner Nichols & Associates Management firm.

Susie was one of seven children in an extraordinarily musical family. She was playing violin at four and winning her age group in the Utah State Fiddle Contest at 10. She honed her skills as a vocalist and instrumentalist in her family’s band and in high school musical events. After moving to Nashville she landed slots as a backup singer and instrumentalist for several artists including Trisha Yearwood.

What music was to Susie’s family, sports were to Danelle’s. A highly competitive gymnast, she pursued athletic competition until high school, when downtime due to a pole vaulting injury led her to guitar playing and songwriting. She won a regional songwriting competition, and while in college, signed an independent label deal. After graduation, she moved to Nashville, where a widening circle of friends and supporters led her to Susie.
Polished entertainers, Susie and Danelle have differing fashion outlooks but a unified approach to the music.

“We’ve always told John, ‘We want to rock,’” says Susie. Not missing a beat, Danelle adds, “We like our guitars loud, our fiddles ripping and a steady beat that makes people want to dance!”

It’s a formula for excitement that makes the JaneDear girls one of the most exciting new acts in the world of country music.

Singer-songwriter Kip Moore combines a raw and rustic voice with compelling lyrics of honesty to create a unique sound that’s simultaneously hypnotic and edgy. His voice is weathered by life’s detours and disappointments and strengthened by his dreams and determination. His music is infused with relentless intensity, both of passion and frustration.

The boy who grew up daydreaming about life outside of the small town of Tifton, Ga., became a man who has been continually inspired by Bruce Springsteen and Kris Kristofferson to paint vivid portraits with his lyrics.

“I am not drawn to the fairytale kind of love,” says Kip, who had a hand in writing every song on his debut album. “I am drawn to the real-life experiences between a woman and a man. I try to sing about the way it is, but yet at the same time, what you can hope for between a couple. I don’t intend to paint of picture of what it’s really not.”

His music powerfully captures some of the contradictions that he grapples with personally. Although he’s from a large family and enjoys musical collaborations and performing onstage, he’s an introvert who is often more comfortable being alone. “There’s a combativeness to the music too, a fight within,” he says. “With ‘Faith When I Fall,’ I know how bad I need that spiritual realm, but yet I find myself on this other end a lot of times.”

Despite its edge, his music remains desperately optimistic. “I am hoping for what I have yet to become,” he says. “I feel like it’s hopeful for what I’ve yet reached, how I look forward to feeling, but I haven’t gotten there yet.

“I have truly lived my music to a sense, even the milestones I haven’t reached yet,” he says. “I have been in those moments. I’ve been at those crossroads with a girl: ‘Are we going to take that next step?’ I look forward to taking that next step, but I haven’t wanted to yet. I look forward to being ready for that.”

He was born in Tifton, near the Florida line, and was one of six children, the youngest boy who had three younger sisters. “You had to make your own fun, for sure,” he says of Tifton. “I had a lot of time for daydreaming. It was a great town, but I dreamed about getting out. I do enjoy going back now.”

His father was a golf pro and his mother was a painter who used anything handy for a canvas, whether it was cake plates or baby crates. She also taught piano and played the church organ. “I can remember sleeping in the pews,” he recalls. “She would bring us blankets and give us a coloring book and we’d sit there while she played.”

Weekends were often spent driving to the beach with his father for fishing expeditions. “He would play a lot of Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Bob Seger, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen,” he says. “As early as I can remember, I always gravitated toward lyrics. Even when I hadn’t lived enough to understand then, they still shaped me. “

During high school, he secretly began playing his brother’s guitar because he was intimidated by the talent of his mother and older brother. “I would play when nobody was around, just figuring out stuff, watching his hands and trying to do the same thing.”

He played point guard for Wallace State’s basketball team and also played on its golf team in Hanceville, Ala., for two years and then transferred to Valdolsta State University on a golf scholarship. He wrote songs daily and joined a band that performed throughout the South, providing him with all of his income. “I was one of those kinds who didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life,” he says. “I didn’t know music was an option. Maybe it was one of those things where I didn’t quite believe in myself enough.”

Although he devoted every free moment to music during college, his parents still didn’t know about his musical activities. “They were all shocked when they found out about it because they didn’t know I could sing or play,” he says.

After graduation and a short stint as a bartender on St. Simon’s Island, he moved to Hawaii on a whim with just a backpack, a surfboard and a friend. They slept on an airport bench the first night and then lucked into a hut that was $50 a month. They would walk or hitchhike the mile to the beach daily. After six months of this tropical paradise, Kip thought he had found his permanent home until his friend encouraged him to pursue songwriting as a living.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about the world of songwriting,” he says. “I just did it for my own enjoyment. We talked about Nashville and I ended up saying, ‘I’m going to give it a shot.’ I flew back home and told my folks. They thought I was crazy. Now they’ll say different, that they knew all along.”

He drove to Nashville on Jan. 1, 2004 in an old black Nissan truck that contained one bag and his guitar. He immersed himself in the songwriting community, observing songwriters’ rounds for two years and honing his craft before gaining the confidence to join in. After four years of performing locally, he caught the attention of Creative Artist Agency’s Mark Dennis, who called Universal Music Group Nashville’s Joe Fisher. Not only did Joe’s encounter lead to his record deal with MCA Nashville, but it also brought about his introduction to songwriter Brett James, who produced Kip’s debut album.

“Brett gave me the freedom to find who I was as an artist, the freedom for writing a different kind of thing, a different kind of melody and lyric,” he says. “He gave me room to grow.”

He also found important relationships with songwriters Dan Couch, Scott Steppakoff, Westin Davis and Kiefer Thompson, two of whom didn’t have publishing deals when he began writing with them. “There was definitely a special thing when we got in the room together,” Kip says. “I got offers to write with a lot of the bigger guns in town, but I enjoyed what I was doing with them. They were open to my ideas of being different.”

And different his debut project is, as evidenced by the album’s first single, “Mary Was the Marrying Kind,” the story of the one who got away. The dreamy and spell-binding song is the true story of one of Kip’s friends, who returned to his hometown after about six years and saw the once tall, lanky girl who had since come into her own and become a model.

“It’s the story of what every man in this world goes through at some point,” he says. “It’s the story of the one that got away that you should have paid attention to. Every town, every city, everybody knows one. Every girl believes they are Mary.”

The anthemic “Drive Me Crazy” is the story of two troubled teens who find a safe harbor in each other, if only for a few fleeting moments. “They are the getaway car for each other from everyday life,” he says. “When they’re together, what they live in is in the rear-view mirror and it’s just one big infatuation love story that lasts for a very short time.

With its irresistible bass line and drums, “Up All Night” is about continuing to live life to its fullest. “’Up All Night’ is the story of not wanting to give into your age and how life is supposed to be lived once you reach a certain age,” he says.

When Kip plays shows, he’s often asked for advice by aspiring songwriters. “Everybody’s experience is different, but I do believe it has to be the only thing,” he says. “I don’t think it can be a gray line. Either you want it and there’s nothing else or it’s not going to happen.”

For instance, Kip was offered a sales position with an enticing salary, but it required working six days a week, leaving no time for creating music. “You come to the crossroads: do you really want this? Are you willing to sacrifice everything, including relationships? I can’t tell you how many relationships have been doomed from the get-go because of this.

“It only took me a few minutes to decline it. It’s such a risk and it’s an alone feeling – you feel like you’re on an island by yourself – but it’s worth every single minute. Had I taken that job, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

Chris Cagle was born on Nov. 10, 1968, in DeRidder, La. When he was 4, his family moved to the outskirts of Houston. The son of an Exxon supervisor, Cagle began guitar lessons at age 6 but gave up after a year because it was too difficult for his tiny hands to master the large classical guitar. He took piano lessons throughout high school and began playing guitar again after receiving an Ovation acoustic guitar for Christmas during his senior year. The first song he learned to play was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”

Cagle enrolled in the University of Texas-Arlington but soon found himself skipping his finance courses to audit music classes. His nights were spent performing in Texas clubs. At 19, he realized he was wasting his time at school and left Texas to pursue music full time. He moved to Nashville in 1994, spending the next five years performing odd jobs — from waiting tables and tending bar to being a golf caddy — all the while polishing his songwriting skills. His writing vastly improved after meeting legendary writer Harlan Howard, who taught Chris how to write a true country song. Howard was so impressed with his student’s efforts that he was the first to publish one of Cagle’s songs.

A few years later, Cagle met Donna Duarte at a restaurant where he was working. She was really interested in music, so he invited her to come to the studio to hear him record some demos. Duarte heard it and loved it and took it to her boss. Unbeknownst to Cagle, she was the assistant to Scott Hendricks, president of Virgin Records Nashville. She played it for Hendricks and Cagle soon landed a record deal.

When Virgin closed its country division, Cagle was absorbed onto the Capitol Nashville roster, home to Garth Brooks, an obvious inspiration. Capitol re-released his 2001 debut album, Play It Loud, with two new songs, including the future No. 1, “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out.” A self-titled sophomore effort followed in 2003. He released Anywhere But Here in 2006.