Snakefarm Records is pleased to announce the signing of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Austin Meade to the roster. Meade and his music sprung up from the Red Dirt music scene, as he deftly fuses country and rock ‘n’ roll in a DNA-distinct way.
Meade will release his label debut Black Sheep on February 19, 2021.
To herald the announcement, the artist has shared the video for “Happier Alone.” The track is already shaping up to be a hit, surpassing 2 million streams in the U.S. alone.
“I played this song at least 30 times the first day we wrote it,” Meade explains, offering some insight into the track and its accompanying visual “For me, it doesn’t get old and the idea for the video was sitting in my head for a few months. It’s a tip of the hat to my high school hometown: Brenham, Texas. I’ve always wanted to go back and shoot a video with old friends in the places that we loved hanging out when we were younger. So we got a killer crew together and made it happen.”
He continues, “‘Happier Alone’ turned into the exact early 2000’s sound that I’ve always loved, and the video keeps that nostalgic aura alive. ‘You could be happier alone’ is a pretty heavy statement when standing alone as text on a page. But the music and video give you a peek inside our true intentions of keeping life funny and enjoying the small moments — like an old roller rink couple’s skate.”
About the signing, Meade shares, “I’m excited to have an opportunity to work with a team that believes in what we are doing. We could have all made excuses for this year to be a wash. But instead, kept moving and built one hell of a crew. The Black Sheep crew is coming for you.”
BLACK SHEEP TRACK LISTING:
“Dopamine Drop”
“Cave In”
“Creeps”
“Happier Alone”
“Déjà vu”
“I Don’t Feel A Thing”
“Hurt You To Hear This”
“Something New”
“Settle Down”
“Good Side”
“Lying To Myself”
“Black Sheep”
ABOUT AUSTIN MEADE:
Austin Meade’s songs and stories are contradictory yet cohesive. On his Snakefarm Records debut, Black Sheep, his influences —musical and otherwise— are as varied and rich as the small-town Texas soil that nurtured his talent and yielded these 12 stellar songs ranging from multi-layered musicality and storytelling to dark alt-pop to new age and Sabbath-inspired. Thanks to his metal-and classic-rock loving dad, Meade got to see bands like Judas Priest and worshipped Whitesnake. In junior high, he related to the intense emo-rock of Paramore and Fall Out Boy, as well as the power of songwriters like John Mayer. Yet, thanks to plainspoken but deep heartland songwriters like Tom Petty, and cutting his teeth touring in the Texas and Oklahoma Red Dirt scene, Meade’s music overflows with wide-open soulfulness. He was a drummer for years, even teaching to pay the bill. Meade eventually found his true voice when he began playing guitar as a teen in his pastor father’s church. Those experiences lend both a gravitas and rebelliousness to Meade’s songs and self.