Parker McCollum

Early life

Parker McCollum was born in 1992 and raised in Conroe, Texas near Houston. Early in his life he listened to classic country musicians such as Willie Nelson, Buck Owens and Porter Wagoner, and his family introduced him to Texas country musicians such as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Pat Green and Chris Knight. Working summers on a cattle ranch with his grandfather, McCollum was further exposed to artists such as Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, and Steve Earle.

In elementary school McCollum learned violin and played in the school orchestra, and he started learning guitar at age thirteen. At thirteen he also began writing his own music, mixing genres such as Texas country music, Americana, and indie rock. According to McCollum, he was greatly influenced by his older brother Tyler's lyrics and songwriting. After performing at a number of local open mics with his guitar, he started learning harmonica at age fifteen. By sixteen he was securing gigs at local venues, and he continued to work on his material through high school. After graduation he moved to Austin, Texas, where he began attending college.

Singles and A Red Town View (2013-14)

McCollum continued to perform as a singer-songwriter while living in Austin, and he also went on his first tour with the Texas band Six Market Blvd. The tour inspired the lyrics for his first single, "Highway," which was released on June 5, 2013, and later included on his debut EP A Red Town View. Released on November 19, 2013, the EP was produced by Corby Schaub, who is also known as the former guitarist for Ryan Bingham.

Studio sessions, "Meet You in the Middle" (2014-15)

McCollum's debut album The Limestone Kid was recorded at Cedar Creek Recording in Austin, and includes styles such as Americana, Texas country, and folk-rock. McCollum handles vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, and his Austin-based backing band includes Kurt Grien on lead guitar, Jason Newberry on bass, Will Hoback on drums, and Charlie Magnone on keyboards and piano. Multi-instrumentalist Corby Schaub produced the album. Lloyd Maines contributed pedal steel guitar.

McCollum wrote or co-wrote nine of the eleven tracks, and two of the songs were written by McCollum's family members. Many of the lyrics are about his experiences growing up in Limestone County, Texas, and the album's title is a reference to the nickname he earned working summers at a Limestone County ranch. The first single on the album, McCollum's original track "Meet You in the Middle," was released to Texas radio prior to the album.

The Limestone Kid, touring (2015)

The full-length debut album The Limestone Kid was released on February 24, 2015. The Austin Chronicle gave it 3.5/5 stars, writing that "it's too early to declare The Limestone Kid debut of the year, but it's already one to beat," and comparing McCollum's music to that of Charlie Robison. Texas Music Pickers wrote that "[McCollum's] stories are not all happy, or sad, or even have resolution; they’re just straight-forward accounts of life. It’s like Todd Snider meets Whiskeytown."

McCollum and his backing band announced a tour of Texas in support of the album, with February and March dates set for venues in Houston, Austin, and Fort Worth. The band performed at the RedGorilla Music Fest, and is set to perform in April at the Texas Crawfish and Music Festival in Spring, Texas. He recently won the T-Birds Songwriter Award, and in 2015 he is scheduled to perform at Larry Joe Taylor's Texas Music Festival, Other pending shows include the KOKE FM Free Music Series with Hayes Carll, opening for Band of Heathens at the Granada in Dallas, and venues throughout Texas such as Gruene Hall.

Probably Wrong: Session One EP (2017)

McCollum released an EP titled "Probably Wrong: Session One" on July 7, 2017. It is his first release to appear on the Billboard charts, debuting at No. 6 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 14 on Independent Albums chart, and No. 15 on Country Album Sales chart with 2,000 copies sold in the US in its first week.

Musical style and influences

Parker McCollum's music incorporates genres as diverse as blues, roots rock, soul and folk rock, though his albums have primarily been described as country and Americana. His music has received rotation on Americana radio stations in particular, and he has referenced Americana singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham as a significant influence. Other stylistic influences include alternative country musician Ryan Adams and blues and folk artist Townes Van Zant, among others.