Music fans were introduced to Austin Jenckes in 2013 as a top ten finalist on season 5 of The Voice. And now, the Duvall, Washington native is making his name as one of Nashville’s emerging artists to watch with his new single, Ride Away.

We caught up with the former Blake Shelton mentee to ask some questions about having his new single out to the world, the success of Same Beer Different Day, what’s coming next, and more.

If you haven’t heard Jenckes over the last few years, this is a good time to start. And after you listen to the singles, we highly recommend checking out some of his performances from The Voice on Spotify.

Note: I also feel a soft spot in my music loving heart for Austin as three of his songs (I’ll Be, She Talks To Angels, Simple Man) from the show are some of my all-time karaoke favourites.

Ready? Here we go!

Austin Jenckes Q&A

Q) How does it feel to have Ride Away out to the world now to hear?

Austin) It’s still a bit surreal actually. I’ve listened to it over a hundred times in the process of writing and recording and mixing and mastering. Now that it’s out it makes me feel good to know I’m not the only one listening to it.

Q) You’ve had the chance to release two singles in the last few months now, does this feel like the start of some momentum and really introducing yourself to country music fans?

Austin) Definitely. At least on the level of meeting new people and talking about the new songs. There’s been a lot of new conversations about the music and it’s made this year feel very positive so far.

Q) Same Beer Different Day crossed the 1 million play mark on Spotify, was there a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction when you saw that happen?

Austin) Honestly, I think I was just as stoked when it hit 100,000… One stream is a lot better than no streams haha. So I’m very grateful, Spotify is such an amazing platform.

Q) What does it feel like when you see names like Bob Seger and Chris Stapleton mentioned when people describe you and your music?

Austin) It feels exciting and intimidating at the same time. I’m such a fan of them both as artists and as songwriters as well as singers. It’s flattering and it makes me wanna make the best music that I can.

Q) What can you tell us about what comes next? EP? Album? More shows?

Austin) I just recorded ten new songs. We will be releasing music throughout the year with an album/ep coming out in the summer/fall. At this point in time, live shows are my number one focus, I just signed with WME and we have a handful of festivals booked. The process of making this album has been special for me. It’s a great feeling to have songs and shows and that fresh feeling of creating something new to share with people every day.

Q) Last question because good music should be shared… what artist do you think people should be listening to more than they already might be?

Austin) John Moreland

Check him out at www.johnmoreland.net

Thanks to Austin for playing along, we’re looking forward to that new album and the chance to catch up again soon!

BONUS: Ride Away (Acoustic)

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Joshua Murray

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