Een posterboy voor de hedendaagse (new) country, waar country radio van smult (en de vrouwtjes ook), waar de straten van Nashville mee geplaveid zijn... waar ik minder van hou. King is sterk beïnvloedt door sterren als Alan Jackson en Clint Black, een generatie die samen met Garth Brooks het genre naar de stadions bracht. Maar ook door meer recente vaandeldragers als Dierks Bentley. Een generatie ook met respect voor traditie, voor de lange geschiedenis van country & western. Niet al te poppy dus, getuige deze sfeervolle ballad die evengoed door een southern rock band gebracht zou kunnen worden: beetje meer gitaren, beetje minder pedal steel.
Zijn debuutalbum Into The Neon verscheen op 26 januari 2024 via Warner Music Nashville.
Luister ook naar: I Could Be That Rain LIVE
Ter Info
A West Texas native and self-described “old soul," Warner Music Nashville's Randall King has never wavered in his honky-tonk allegiance – in fact, he’s worn it like a badge of honor, growing with pride into a leading voice for today’s traditional country. Amassing over 300 Million streams with singles like “You In A Honky Tonk,” “Hey Cowgirl” and “Mirror, Mirror,” he’s kept the twang alive in country’s mainstream while also earning acclaim through deeply personal EPs like 2020’s Leanna, and his 2022 major label album debut, Shot Glass – which landed on both Whiskey Riff’s Top 40 Country Albums of 2022 and Billboard’s All Genre 50 Best Albums of 2022 (So Far).
Schooled on icons like Keith Whitley, George Strait, Alan Jackson and John Anderson, but inspired by modern masters like Dierks Bentley and Gary Allan, King first built an independent, grass-roots following on the strength of his electrifying live shows – each one a harrowing mix of rowdy roughnecking, romantic tenderness and breathtaking emotion – never asking for permission to explore his creative vision. He has since gone on to headline all across the U.S., the U.K. and Europe, where he continues to play nearly 150 shows a year and hone his craft where it matters most.
Named a Country Artist to Watch by everyone from Pandora and Country Now to Music Mayhem Magazine, his sophomore major label album Into the Neon, available now, takes that craft to the next level, as King’s neo-traditional roots meet the blood-pumping rhythms and sharp, arena-sized grooves of Y2K-era country and beyond. Co-produced by King and Jared Conrad, and featuring 18 tracks, punchy sounds exist side-by-side with timeless swagger, further blurring the line between yesteryear and today – even as King renews his forever-country vows.
