Singer-songwriter Austin Tolliver is not a musician that sticks to one genre or sound. Originally from Louisiana, 31 year-old Tolliver moved to the Nashville area at 27 to pursue his musical dreams full time. For Tolliver, he has a variety of songs that iTunes classifies as falling in the country, alternative, pop and hip hop/rap categories. Ultimately, though, Tolliver noted to Open Chord that he wants to create a sound and presence that is unique and that hasn’t been done before.
The passion and energy heard in Tolliver’s voice when he shares his musical journey is the same type of energy and enthusiasm he wants to display on stage. In Tolliver’s words, he has always been an entertainer.
“Music came into my life at a young age, maybe five, but for me I have always been an entertainer. I can’t think of a time when I was growing up that I wasn’t trying to entertain everyone,” Tolliver said. “That’s the key to everything, making sure people are entertained and I have gotten a lot of practice in, in different forms of entertainment.”
Tolliver’s life so far has not been one that has followed a straight line. From being an athlete and competing professionally in The Arena Football League, an indoor American football league in the United States, to joining the military after his playing days were over, and to now pursuing his dreams as a musician, Tolliver has experienced a lot of change and has been a part of many major events in his 31 years of life.
“I mean I’m telling ya, I’ve been probably in every situation that you could probably think of in life,” Tolliver said. “And I’m telling you, the best things that have ever come out of life for me were when I said ‘I’m going all in.’”
Tolliver’s “all in” moment in the music industry came after his return from the military and during a conversation he had with a friend. “I came back and me and my buddy, who is my manager now, were sitting there one day and he was just saying ‘You won’t do it. You won’t release music. You won’t go play in front of people. I’ve done this for awhile and there’s no way you’ll go do it.’ I said, ‘You’ve known me since high school and you’ll know I’ll go do it,’” Toliver said. “So I just went and did it. I did it and fell in love with it and was like ‘Yep, I’m gonna do this forever.’”
Taking his talents to a live audience was something that Tolliver had a little experience with before he made the move to Nashville. Growing up, Tolliver noted that he competed in talent shows, remembering his fifth grade performance of “I Believe I Can Fly” off the Space Jam Soundtrack. While Tolliver has moved on from his Space Jam covers at elementary schools, he knows that being an entertainer and a performer has been second nature from a young age.
Further describing the process of leaving home and moving to the Nashville area to pursue his dreams full time, Tolliver remembered the process and the feelings it brought along with it.
“It was awesome. People have to understand that our society nowadays is all about freedom of expression, but not about chasing the freedoms that you’re given,” Tolliver said. “There’s opportunity everywhere in this world. You just literally have to go grab it and go do it.”
As Tolliver headed out of his hometown in Shreveport, Louisiana, while he had the characteristics and aura of a performer, he was missing his unique performance name. Tolliver described the process of coming up with the name he is now known as, “The Punk Rock Cowboy.”
“One of my really good friends, who is also my attorney, was like, ‘Yo, you need a cool nickname.’ And I was like, ‘Kid Rock already has the American Badass, so I can’t pick that because that would just fit too perfect,’” Tolliver joked. After some banter back and forth, Tolliver’s friend came up with “The Punk Rock Cowboy.” Originally hearing the name, Tolliver questioned why it would work if he wasn’t going to be doing “punk music.”
“My friend goes, ‘It doesn’t matter. You’re a punk, you can rock, and you look like a cowboy,” Tolliver said. “So I said, ‘Hell, the Punk Rock Cowboy, that’s what it is. I’m going with it!’”
Following his move from Louisiana to Tennessee and after discovering his nickname of “The Punk Rock Cowboy,” Tolliver has experienced his success in the music industry. Along with his success came a lot of “firsts.” Some of these firsts include performing for a live audience at an older age and with his first single release, “It’s Been So Long.” Tolliver described his first show for a live audience.
“Playing for an audience the first time for me was hilarious. I had no idea what I was doing, but you know what, I went out there and put on a show,” Tolliver said. “You just have to get out there and perform and learn what works and what doesn’t work. You have to put yourself in situations to be able to learn and grow. I can assure you that I did from my first show to now. Hell, now at shows you’ll get a twerk or two out of me.”
When thinking back to the first time he saw his own music out there to the public, Tolliver recounted his excitement for the moment. “It was very exciting to have released “It’s Been So Long” to the public. I listened to it over and over again, but after two days I knew it was time for the next one. This is my job and it’s my job to get all my listeners, future listeners and haters more music to do their thing to,” Tolliver said.
Tolliver’s music is now out to the public on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, with his most successful single so far being his release of “American Dream,” a song he crafted featuring European music sensation Kate Earl. The song has over 121,000 streams, and this number increases every day.
When describing his first interactions with Earl, Tolliver’s football background was evident when he said that his “NFL Rookie” moment was recording “American Dream” with Earl as he realized that she was the real deal and this was a big moment. Put simply, Tolliver was humbled.
“I had my NFL moment when I was recording ‘American Dream’ with Kate. I thought I was the shit, right? Like ‘Yo, this is my studio, I’m gonna kill this, and you just come in here and do your thing, whatever,’” Tolliver said. “She came into the studio and recorded ‘American Dream’ in one take, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the ground with a microphone at knee height and just sang it and got up and left. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I’ve seen some crazy feats of athleticism and I’ve seen Super Bowl games and I’ve been a part of a lot of big time things, but that amazed me. People don’t understand how hard it is to walk into a studio and get every single note in the correct pitch, have all of your timing correct, while sitting down and singing like Adele. I mean c’mon.”
Working with talents like Earl, however, has been a part of Tolliver’s success in the industry and looking to the future, Tolliver is very excited for what is to come. During writing sessions, Tolliver notes that it’s all about telling stories, and for him, the songs on his upcoming project are the most special to him so far. He was able to share some information on the work in progress.
“I’m so damn proud of this project and what my team and I have done to put it together. It’s got my best songs on it and a few that I’m telling you are going to blow up huge. It’s the best sound, it’s fun, and it’s music that is going to change the game,” Tolliver said. “I’m doing a sound that nobody has done before and I’m trying to take the sound that I have now and beat ‘Old Town Road’ records and also to be able to compete with guys like Upchurch who have millions of fans. I want to be put in that same category and there’s a song called ‘Tennessee Drip’ that I have that is gonna be insane, and there’s a song called ‘Somebody New’ that I think is just gonna blow the doors off of people.”
While Tolliver is excited for what is to come and for all of the opportunities that are opening up for him, he knows that carving your way in the music industry is no easy task and no overnight production. He offered advice for up and coming musicians, as well as remembered what helps him stay true to achieving his dreams.
“The music industry is just so fun and so competitive that people have to understand that if you’re not gonna do something and be ‘all in’ with it, don’t expect ‘all in’ results. I wish that all artists that are coming up would realize that you don’t get record deals overnight and nothing comes to you easy,” Tolliver said. “Just work as hard as you can and the work that you put in will always put out positive results.”
Tolliver also mentioned the importance of having a solid team put in place, as well as a budget that allows you to work with better producers, get a better quality studio and a better sound, because all of that matters.
At the end of the day, Tolliver cares about his fans and those who listen to his music. He wants to be the best that he can for the people who take the time to sit down and listen to what he has to say in his lyrics and what he has to show in his performances.
“I obviously want my music to reach everyone all over the world. I want to be heard and I want to jam with all y’all every day. With that being said, I mean music needs to reach the people who need it, when they need it, and how they need it in the moment they are in. I want my music to make them feel how it makes them feel. It’s their moment with that song,” Tolliver said. “I hope it leads them to create moments with people around them. I want to be a voice to people. Whether we are getting you pumped for some Friday night lights, vibing out in your car or truck with your friends while you’re hitting those backroads or you love someone, lost someone, or you just want to turn up and party, I’m here to take that ride with y’all.”
Tolliver’s next performances will be on his tour when he stops in Mesa, Arizona for the Mesa Music Festival, headlines the Copper Blues Live in Phoenix, Arizona and takes a trip to California to perform at Trip Santa Monica.
