The 2019 Country Thunder Festivals are underway with the first one has happened in Florida. Country Thunder Arizona is this coming weekend and one of the rising stars that will be appearing is Austin Burke.
Burke began is a career at the age of three by singing the National Anthem for the Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Suns baseball teams.
Burke has a new single called “Slower.” Burke took time out to have a conversation with Unrated Magazine and here is what we learned about his musical journey.
Mary Andrews: I understand you are originally from Phoenix. Have you performed at Country Thunder before?
Austin Burke: Yes I did when I was ten years old. It’s funny because my set was before Lonestar’s set. This year I will be performing before Lonestar again on Saturday.
I’ve read that you got a very early start as a singer. Is it true you were three years old?
Yes, I sang The National Anthem for the Suns, the coyotes, and then I was asked to sing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, then I was asked to go on the Rosie O’Donnell show. Things really started to take off. My childhood was spent going from one show to another and the next new station to another. When I was ten years old, I told my dad I didn’t want to do it anymore. I just wanted to be a kid. I wanted to spend time with other kids. I wanted to play baseball. I pretty much retired at ten and I just played baseball. I played baseball until I was a freshman in college in Santa Barbara. I decided that I wanted to go back to what I really loved as a kid. That’s singing. So I packed my bags at 19 and moved to Nashville.
That’s quite a story! Anyone in the family musically inclined?
No, not really, I’m the only one. I pretty much learned to sing by watching old VHS videos. My dad filmed the rawhide rodeo because he thought I would really enjoy the horses. I ended up watching the National Anthem over and over. I loved that guy who was singing the National Anthem. From there I fell in love with country music and Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks is my biggest hero. I listened to every Garth album there was. I learned to sing listening to him.
Did you ever get to meet Garth?
I did. I was singing in San Diego actually for a spring training game. He did some baseball in San Diego back in the day. I sang the anthem that day. A picture of us was taken of him dressed in his baseball uniform and me dressed like a little Garth. When I moved to Nashville five or six years ago. I’m 25 now and I was 19 when I moved there. He came into the restaurant I was working at. He sat down and I gave him the Caesar salad he ordered and I put the picture of us when I was five in front of him. He stood up and said “Peoria, Arizona in 1998. I was like, ‘Wow.” He’s the best.
So tell me about working at the restaurant.
I worked at this restaurant called The Palm in Nashville. It’s a very popular restaurant for music folks. They would come in and I would bring out their food. I worked there for four years, In time, I got to know some of the people that had a huge impact on my career. Those were people like Storme Warren from SiriusXM’s The Highway and John Marks who is the curator for Spotify. Even meeting people like Vince Gill has really helped my career. I owe it all to that restaurant. It helped to meet them all in that one spot. I was a food runner there. I would bring out the food to every table which was good because I would see everyone at every table.
Do you write the songs as well as sing them?
Yes, I write all of my music. I’ve always loved writing music. I learned how to write when I moved to San Diego. I was a freshman in high school. My family moved there when we were hit pretty hard by the recession in 2008. My family lost everything. It was a really hard time. I learned to write songs. I was pretty sad and I didn’t know how to talk about it. I went to a rough school and I was bullied pretty bad. That’s when I learned how to write my feelings down. It was my way of expressing myself with a guitar.
When I moved to Nashville, I got with some great songwriters and I was able to pour my feelings out by writing some songs.
It’s cool that you are going to be able to open for Lonestar at this Country Thunder.
I know. It’s like I’m doing it all over again. I was so young that it’s really hard for me to remember it. I call this my first main stage show ever because I don’t really remember the other ones. This is very exciting for me. It’s exciting to be back home. My family is all there. My friends are all there. We moved back to Phoenix a couple of years ago. My grandma and grandpa, great grandpa, mom dad, and everybody are in Phoenix. Everybody will be there on Saturday.
Are you signed to a record label now? You have several songs on YouTube.
I’m not on a record label yet. I just signed a publishing deal with Thomas Rhett’s publishing company called “Home Team” last week. I’ll be joining forces with him and his dad. Writing songs with those guys will be a lot of fun. Regarding the album, we are trying to write more songs and get more music together. We’ll pick the best ones to get an album together. We are in the creative process now. I’ll be touring this year and hopefully, get something out by the end of the year.
Whom would you credit as your biggest musical influence other than Garth Brooks?
I would have to say Garth’s hero, Billy Joel, would be one. I really love the performers. I study performers like Tom Brady studies defense. I study old videos of Elvis and how he performs. Even Jon Bon Jovi can perform really well. I got the chance to go see Jason Aldean in concert. He’s such a great performer. It wasn’t just him. It was his band and the whole experience. Those are all things I take the time and really study and learn from. If these guys are winning entertainer of the year, they have got to be doing something right.
Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform?
I would have to say, Elvis. I don’t think there has ever been anybody like him. He was banned from the waist down when he was first on TV.
What has been the best advice you have ever received and by whom?
I was told not to look side to side. Don’t look at other artists and what they are doing and what they are accomplishing. You can get upset about that and wish it on yourself. It takes a lot of patience and hard work to make it. You can’t rush this whole process. We are in the fun business. We are just trying to create fun for people. I do my best every day to connect with my fans. I want to get to know them on a personal basis. I think if I know them, I’ll know what they like. Garth taught me to know the fans. He’s just the best at that. I learned patience from two of my co-writers. Will Randall and Sherrie Austin. Sherrie was an artist back in the day. There was a specific time when I was working at the restaurant and things seem very tough and I didn’t know if I would ever get out of the restaurant. She said ‘be patient. You are on the five-year plan. Stick to the plan. It is all going to work out.’ Lucky enough it did and I got out of working in the restaurant. I get to tour the country and meet all kinds of cool people and do all kinds of cool things.
What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
The job at The Palm could be the worst job I ever had because of how strenuous and hard it was. But it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me. I think sometimes when you are in a situation and it is bad, you don’t always understand why you are in it. It almost takes some time after you get out of it for you realize it was a blessing and it was there for a reason. It was not an easy job. I hated every second of it, but looking back it was God’s plan for me all along. I’m so grateful for that job.
What would be your dream project?
I think my dream at this moment would be to do something with Thomas Rhett. I look up to him so much. To be able to work with him would be such a blessing. He’s a great artist and musician and his music is awesome. Beyond that, he’s a great man, a great dad, and a great husband. Those are all things that are not discussed a lot in the music industry. People don’t always care about that but I care about it. I want to have a family someday. To learn about that from someone like Tom is great. The fact that he puts his family first is very inspiring and is definitely something I can learn from.
If you were interviewing yourself, what would you ask yourself?
That’s a great question. I would ask myself where do you see yourself in the next ten years? The answer to that is my dream is to win ‘entertainer of the year.’ That is the ultimate award. I am an entertainer and to be honored with that would be so cool. I’m enjoying all the little things right now. I just got to play the Grand Ole Opry a couple of weeks ago and that was a huge bucket list moment. Every little step along the way is so exciting for me.
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