One of country’s new crop of modern traditionalists, Warner Music Nashville artist Randall King grew up on the endless plains of West Texas – and his sound is steeped in their timeless beauty, both gritty and graceful at the same time.
A son of a trucker, King grew up in the small West Texas town of Hereford, singing in the back of a ‘93 Chevy Suburban, mimicking the pure-country vocals of stars like Keith Whitley, George Strait, Alan Jackson and John Anderson and over the years became drawn to the electrifying energy of modern stars like Eric Church, Dierks Bentley and Jason Aldean.
Once he came of age, he moved to Lubbock in 2009 with the intent of getting a business degree from Texas Tech. While at college, he heard such local acts as Josh Abbott and decided to start playing music himself. Two years later, he transferred to South Plains College, where he studied music production while also playing music on his own. He formed an Americana group called the Randall King Band, which released an album called Old Dirt Road before splitting. King then decided to go it alone and sing traditional country.
After years of hustling and a road-warrior’s diet of 150 shows each year, King produced and released the defiant 2016 EP, Another Bullet, then followed up with a 2018 self-titled album.
Now produced by traditional torchbearers Bart Butler and Ryan Gore (Jon Pardi), King is bringing an organic, timeless sound to country’s mainstream with his major label debut album Shot Glass. The 11-song collection, seven of which co-written by King, centers around a night out at a bar, with each track representing a different point of view of those in the room.
With over 120+ million career streams to his name, the Pandora and Country Now 2022 Country Artist to Watch is looking to the anywhere-and-everywhere future with music that captures the essence of a Western poet who’s never been afraid to be himself.