SiriusXM’s Top of the Country contest runs May 17 through June 6. Canadian listeners can vote for their favourite semi-finalist once per day at siriusxm.ca/topcountry.
Country singer Shawn Austin doesn’t fit the stereotype.
You won’t see him wearing cowboy boots or a wide-brimmed hat. His first ride wasn’t a truck – it was a retired police car, in fact. Oh, and he’s West Vancouver, born and raised.
But what makes Austin believable is that he’s just so darn humble, speaks with a slight drawl and, like a true country artist, he never forgets his roots.
“Yeah, I am a West Van boy,” he says. “It’s always been home.”
Austin gets asked this a lot: How does a city kid get into country? He cites his blue collar upbringing.
“My dad was a cop. My mom was a business owner. I wasn’t a farm boy or anything like that. I think (I have) the values and everything of country – of family first and keeping your friends close.”
Austin also grew up on a baseball field which does play into the country cliché. While the dream was to go pro, unfortunately, injuries caught up with Austin and at 20 years old he called it a career.
“Sports was everything for me more than anything when I was in high school,” recalls the former North Shore Twins baseball catcher. “I miss it all the time.”
There’s always country music to console a broken heart. Austin gravitated towards the genre after getting his first guitar in 2002 – a Martin.
“My dad bought it for me. And we kind of realized it was like buying a Ferrari for a new driver,” he says, with a laugh. They traded that next-level axe in for a Simon & Patrick, which has been Austin’s trusty sidekick ever since, even though he doesn’t play it that much anymore.
Along with doing the coffee house circuit, Austin has a standing gig every Wednesday at West Van, where you can still catch him play while his star continues to rise. Austin is currently one of nine semi-finalists in a SiriusXM and CCMA national music competition in search of Canada’s next big country star.
“I’ve played at The Village Taphouse in Park Royal – I’ve played there every Wednesday night for like six or seven years,” he say. “That’s my watering hole. I’ve written songs because of that place.”
You can’t help but hear John Mayer when listening to “Paradise Found” – the first single Austin put out after signing with Canadian country singer Dallas Smith’s record label last spring.
“I get that a lot,” says Austin. “I’ve emulated John for so many years. I’ve been a big fan of his as a writer, as a singer, as a player.”
As Austin explains, country artists today have so many influences. He cites Sam Hunt and the R&B sound that’s infused in his music and Thomas Rhett’s pop accents.
“I feel like you’ve got eight different genres of country within country now,” says Austin. “So it’s nice to find your vein within it.”
His music contains a mix of influences but maybe a little heavier on Mayer and Brett Eldredge. Austin’s EP, set to be released at the end of the summer, will have a little more of a rock feel to it. He’s hoping the rest of the songs will be received as well as “Paradise Found,” a track intended to introduce Austin to audiences.
“We got really lucky with having it do as well as it did and break the Top 10,” Austin emphasizes.
He remembers the first time he heard “Paradise Found” played on the radio.
“I remember this way too deeply … because it was pretty cool,” recalls Austin.
It was a Friday afternoon and the mid-summer sun on the North Shore was delivering the feeling that anything was possible. His song came on country radio station JRFM and Austin detoured down to Ambleside, parked his car in front of the ocean and listened to his voice being broadcast to the world.
Austin would soon be charting with country heavyweights Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan.
“My name is beside guys that I’ve looked up to forever. Dallas (Smith) was right there too,” he says.
As a finalist in the Top of the Country music competition, Austin is vying for a chance to play at Canada’s biggest country music festivals, attend a SOCAN songwriting camp in Nashville, plus the grand prize of $25,000 and a SOCAN songwriting camp on Pender Island.
He’s already made it to Nashville, where he was consumed by the rich country history. Austin hit up some of the famous landmarks and prototypical honky-tonks, including Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.
“That’s a different city,” says Austin. “It’s laid-back. You can’t beat the nightlife. You don’t even have to be a country fan – if you just like music you’ll like Nashville.”
Austin is one of three Western Canada finalists in the contest. Canadians can vote for their favourite semi-finalist once per day at siriusxm.ca/topcountry between May 17 and June 6.
While he waits to hear the results of the contest, Austin is choosing his gigs carefully. As an emerging artist, he says, timing is everything when it comes to building a fan base and you have to make sure you are hitting the right market.
“It just takes time,” explains Austin. “You want that foundation to be strong before you let everything out to the public.”
Austin did make a number of appearances on Smith’s Side Effects Tour and joined American country singer Chris Lane for a couple dates in March. He also has some other events planned for this year, with the possibility of playing some of the bigger festivals, he says.
One thing is for certain, you can’t take the country out of this boy.
“When you get a taste of it – you just put your foot on the gas a little bit more,” says Austin. “The ball’s moving in the right direction, so we’ll see how far we can take it.”
