Page 122 - July ONLINE VERSION

(LOLO). Jerry is the one who asked, “Hey, wanna
FARM TO STAGE:
WILL BURTON
Read the latest from the locally-grown musician
as he discusses life and kindness.
By Tammy Yosich with the assistance of April Riddle
Off stage at the Tap Bar and Grill in Jackson, TN we
steal a few minutes with singer/songwriter Will Bur-
ton. Burton’s well known in West Tennessee. In 2019,
however, Burton was recognized statewide by the
Tennessee Music Awards wtih the title, “Songwriter
of the Year.” Burton is gaining favor and a fan base
from Knoxville to Nashville, and Jackson to Mem-
phis with songs like his first hit single, “Running Out
of Road.”
Originally from Trenton, Burton now lives in an
even smaller community, Greenfield, TN. As a
fifth-generation farmer, Burton’s dad is pretty under-
standing and doesn’t complain when he takes time
for his music. Burton understands farm work comes
first and books gigs light during planting and harvest
season.
ZGP: Where did music start for you?
WB: Well, I’ve always been obsessed with music.
When I was ten-eleven years old, I heard for the
first time the record, “Temple of the Dog.” I grew up
around good music, but that album with Chris Cor-
nell and Pearl Jam really did it for me. But I didn’t
start playing guitar and singing until I was nineteen.
ZGP: Was your family musical?
WB: My mother sang a little bit when she was young-
er. I have a lot of cousins who are really good singers,
but none of them play professionally.
ZGP: When did you first get on stage? It’s
one thing to sing in the shower but in front
of people is an entirely different experi-
ence.
WB: I bought a guitar with funds leftover from col-
lege and taught myself how to play and sing a little
bit. I started playing in 2011, doing some odd stuff,
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Granddaddy’s Song:
but it wasn’t until 2017 that I got out there. I’ve been
rolling ever since.
ZGP: You are a singer, songwriter, and
farmer. How does that work?
WB: It’s hard sometimes; you gotta balance things
out. Most of the time, my dad and I farm together,
and he’s pretty good at not griping at me when I have
shows. However, during harvest and planting sea-
son coming up, I must book my gigs a little lighter; I
don’t stop booking gigs. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s
worth it. I enjoy doing both farming and music.
ZGP: You grew up in Trenton?
WB: Yes, I grew up in Trenton and have moved to
Greenfield.
ZGP: So, you moved to an even small
town?
WB: I like living in Greenfield. I like small towns,
and I don’t think I could live in Jackson. I have folks
tell me I should move to Nashville, but Jackson is too
big of a city.
ZGP: There is a lot of infrastructure going
on in Jackson right now. It is growing for
sure.
WB: I remember in the 1990’s everything was in
downtown Jackson other than the Mall and going
to Sears for Christmas pictures; that was a big deal
when we came to Jackson.
ZGP: You opened for Colt Ford recently;
how did that come about?
WB: That was honestly a luck thing. Jerry Corley, the
guy who owns Hub City Brewing, is a friend of mine.
I’ve played Hub City a couple of times and played
a Christmas show with Lauren Pritchard Cobb
ZGP Magazine
open for Colt Ford?” I’ve had the pleasure of playing
with John Langston, Struggle Jennings a few years
ago and was in the middle of an Afro-Man show,
too.
ZGP: How do you cope with the vulner-
ability that is inherent in performing
music? I mean, you are putting a part of
yourself out there and hope it is well re- was definitely one of the better influences in my
ceived, right?
WB: You mean, how do I deal with anxiety? I sug-
gest you get over it. I think most of us musicians
have that anxiety, especially when releasing original
music. Singing covers can bring about nerves at
first, but after a while, it’s like whatever. Performing
original music live brings about anxiety, but I mean,
you just got to push past it. No one will ever know
what you can do if you are too afraid to get out
there – dive into the fear and experience the fruits of
vulnerability.
ZGP: As a rising artist, how do you re-
main humble as you grow into a famous
musician?
WB: Well, if I ever reach such a place, I have a hum-
ble background to keep me grounded. I came from
the farm, and while we didn’t have much, we didn’t
miss any meals either. We had the necessities of life.
It can be a hard life living on the farm, but it is all
I’ve known for thirty years. We were undoubtedly
provided strong examples of hard work and, perhaps
most importantly, the long-lasting, long-reaching
value of the Golden Rule.
Honestly, word of mouth travels faster than any
music you drive. If you are an unkind person, your
journey will be short-lived musically. People will re-
member how you treat them: a member of the audi-
ence, an owner of a venue, or a person on the street.
Jackson, Tennessee, might be growing and one day
give Memphis a run for its musical money. But make
no mistake, Jackson still maintains that small-town
gossip mill. You know, one negative interaction can
easily erase hundreds of positive ones. Ninety-nine
percent of the musicians I know here are great art-
ists; they are just trying to gig, work, and live.
ZGP Magazine www.zoegracepublishing.com
the inspiration behind the tune. Watching him
Bill Irvin, Burton’s maternal grandfather, is
prepare to pass in the hospital was brutal and
writing a song about better days helped. Will
describes his grandpa as a WWII veteran, fac-
tory worker, farmer & devout member of the
Church of Christ. Burton goes on to say “ he
life, taught me to drive and cast a fishing pole.
Losing him was hard. You know country boys
and their granddaddies are always pretty tight.
We were tight. He was like superman to me,
especially when I was a kid.”
ZGP: You mentioned Chris Cornell earli-
er, but a lot of your tunes sound country.
Are you a country guy?
WB: Oh yeah, definitely yeah. I grew up on the
sounds of George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Keith
Whitley, who is one of my favorites. I got to meet and
become friends with Whitley’s son with Lorri Mor-
gan, Jesse Keith Whitley. Interestingly, my father’s
music from the ‘60s and ‘70s bled over into my mu-
sical upbringing. The marriage between my father’s
music Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special and mine has
provided me with a healthy mixture of influential
musical textures. So, at our live shows, it might drift
more toward rock and roll, but because I have that
influence, we can certainly pull it off. But really, we
go all over the place musically, whatever feels right
and the audience’s vibe.
ZGP: Let’s talk about the song “Ridin’ for
a Fall.” Is this a song you wrote? How did
the lyrics come about?
WB: You know, I can’t specifically remember how
it came about, but I had just got dumped by a girl,
most likely. Probably on a two-day bender, trying to
get that emotional stuff off your mind and write what
you are feeling at the time. I do not recommend this
method for songwriting, but it is how some people
deal with stuff. That’s where good country songs
come from – being dumped, sad as hell, and drink-
ing.
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