The son of the "Too Cold At Home" singer grew up surrounded by '90s
country. He’s leaning heavily into his traditional influences with the new
single. It was written by songwriting heavyweights Jeff Stevens and Marv
Green.
“It's reminiscent of the more somber honkytonk music that you expect to be
playing in a bar,” says Chesnutt. “You go to a bar, put a quarter in the
jukebox, and this song sounds like what would play. When I found it, I fell in
love with it. You really can’t get any more country than that.”
Chesnutt’s personal creative journey has been circuitous. By the time he was a
teenager, he started to develop his own diverse taste apart from his dad’s and
dug into the Texas Red Dirt scene. Cross Canadian Ragweed is among his most
significant influences, closely followed by Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers,
Stoney LaRue, and Wade Bowen. But Cody Canada's Cross Canadian Ragweed made the
most significant impact.
"It was a little more rock and roll, and they had long hair, and they just
were like rock stars," explains Chesnutt. "But it was really dirty,
kind of like raw gritty sound, kind of like Lynyrd Skynyrd, but cooler. That's
what I started listening to and really fell in love with."
As Chesnutt got older, he started trying to write similar songs. But his
artistic point of view confused those in his inner circle. His dad is a
nationally known country artist, and Texas Red Dirt is niche with limited
reach.
"Everybody was like, 'What's this?'" he says. "But that's
what I loved and wanted my sound to be like."
He finished a tour of duty in the Marine Corps, then intensely focused on his
music. Chesnutt knew his songs wouldn't work in mainstream country because
people heard his last name and expected a '90s country sound. He unsuccessfully
tried to write '90s country music, but one of his friends penned a song called
"Even Texas Couldn't Hold Her" that he thought would resonate with
'90s country fans. He recorded it, and the result toed the line of the music he
wanted to make and what people expected to hear from him. After that song was
well-received, the young singer felt more comfortable recording and promoting
his own music.
He recorded an entire album in his hotel room and self-released it, still
trying to steer clear of the Nashville sound. He released a couple of more
songs, assembled a band, and started touring.
His manager, Tony Conway, connected him with Clearwater Records,
for which he couldn't be more thankful. Chesnutt called his manager and new
record label home, a turning point in his life. Now he’s recording music that
touches a lifetime of experiences and influences. Given his time as a soldier,
a father, son, and country music fan, he's leaning into a wealth of sounds and
stories to which any country music fan can relate.
"I hope people will listen and hear a good song, and then hopefully,
they'll look for more music from me," he says. "If they do, it will
make this whole journey worthwhile. It's been a long one, and it's been a fun
one. But it's been a lot of work, and I think it's about time more people hear
what I'm trying to do."
Look for more new music from Casey Chesnutt on Clearwater Records / ONErpm in
2025.
For more information, visit caseychesnuttofficial.com.
| SOCIALS: FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK |
