Artist Info
Label: Independent
Latest Release: Long Mile From Home (2018)
Genre: Americana/Folk
Hometown: Gainesville, GA
Influences: Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams, Sturgill Simpson, The Eagles, Tom Petty, Band of Horses
BIO
Austin Coleman was born and raised in a small mountain town in western North Carolina. His Appalachian roots are ever-present in his timeless songwriting, exemplifying an authentic folk feel with a dash of gritty roots rock.
Throughout college, Austin was the lead singer and guitarist for Jonah’s Rebellion, an alternative rock band that pulled heavily from influences such as The Black Keys and Kings of Leon. He grew accustomed to the loudness and aggressiveness inherent in playing in a heavier group and often found himself grateful to be just one face out of several. When he embarked on a solo career, there were big adjustments to be made, and Austin countered the inherent vulnerability of performing solo by focusing on amplifying his lyrical content, finding ways to make his music more engaging through the power of storytelling.
In 2013, Coleman decided on Atlanta as his home base. Making the move with little more than a suitcase and his grandad’s guitar, he quickly began working on his debut album, Tusquittee Rain, which was released in early 2016. The album was lauded by Georgia’s songwriting community, drawing comparisons to Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams and Amos Lee in local press. There was little false hype and lots of hard-nosed work that year, as Austin canvased North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Instead of focusing on social media hype, Coleman was building his brand through persistence, letting his songs speak for themselves.
Coleman’s latest album, Long Mile From Home, was tracked by Kevin Sellors at The Vault Recording in Marietta, Georgia. The two took a decidedly old-time approach to capturing the material, using vintage instruments and running tracks through old tape machines, to help create the nostalgic feel which Coleman was seeking. – The result was a collection of songs that repurposed familiar stories and sounds in new and unusual ways. “My goal isn’t to make listeners feel what I felt when I wrote the song, but to feel something lying dormant within them” Coleman asserts, expanding on his philosophy that creativity cannot be forced, only found. “When the music and words come into my head suddenly and simultaneously, I tend to write my best songs.”
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