If you look at the years pre-2020, Texas musician Austin Meade sounds quite different than his style these days. Of course, that isn’t a bad thing – it’s called progression. Evolution.
In the mid to late 2010’s, there was some cool stuff cookin’ in the Texas and Red Dirt scene. Koe Wetzel’s 2016 record Noise Complaint was a smash, and helped popularize a unique rock sound, with his following records producing an even crazier Texas-grunge sub-genre. Koe wasn’t alone, though – Oklahoma’s Southall (then known as Read Southall Band) were brewing up a style of their own with a bluesy, grittier Red Dirt sound. Those are just a couple examples, but coming up with these guys includes a class of acts that can only be described as a melting pot. Parker McCollum and Flatland Cavalry held down the more traditional country end of things, while artists like Kody West and Giovannie and the Hired Guns were maturing and progressing into their style that they are best known for today.
Among that group is Austin Meade. If you were just to stumble upon him at that point in time, the collection of music he had out includes his 2014 Americana/country-driven debut record, Chief of the Sinners. Along with that is the 2016 Heartbreak Coming EP and his soulful 2019 album, Waves. For me personally, Waves was the first record I heard from Meade after catching one of his shows at Stillwater’s Tumbleweed opening for Read Southall Band. Back then, to a casual fan or someone who comes to one of his shows not being very familiar with his music, it could be easy to write Meade off as just another Texas country artist to add to the grab bag.
This couldn’t be any more incorrect.
In 2020, Meade dropped Happier Alone. At least for me, I remember this being one of the early cases of the Texas scene evolving into a more rock-centric sound as we know it today. It was a song with an extremely catchy hook and melody that is an earworm like no other, songwriting that has clearly matured and progressed since his previous release, but most of all, it was just so sonically different. This was a breakout point for Austin Meade. It popped off quickly, and ushered in a whole new group of fans not only because of the release of Happier Alone itself, but this new unique sound. After this, of course, came the version featuring Koe Wetzel (yes, featuring Koe, for those who still haven’t yet figured out that it’s not his song), and a record that became a statement piece for Meade – Black Sheep.
Here’s the thing – with a popular new sound taking over a scene, like the way rock did for Texas, it can become oversaturated. Sure, there’s some stuff that isn’t as good as the others, but my point is that it can all be great too… it’s just easy for some artists to get lost in the pack. Austin is one of the best examples of this currently, as he stood out then and still stand out today. Since Happier Alone kicked the door down for him, he’s dove head first into some of the coolest music you will hear today, at least coming from a Texas artist. The experimentation of different sounds, production tricks, collaborations, new lyrical content that shows growth and new direction with each release… this is how he has stayed ahead of the curve and the reason you see the rapid new fan growth, spots at the country’s biggest rock festivals and some of the most quality work to come from an artist who is still hungry and getting better with no end in sight.
Keep killing it, Austin, and happy 5 years of Happier Alone.
Be apart of the celebration by grabbing tickets to Austin Meade’s Happier Alone Forever Tour with special guests Cole Barnhill and Kody West.
