Hello and welcome. I had the honor to do an artist spotlight on Ricky Chilton, who is taking the music scene by storm. Coming off a debut album and EP, which were both released this year, Ricky is making a name for himself with his music. But just who in the hell is Ricky Chilton?
Ricky Chilton is a singer-songwriter who is originally from Georgia but now resides on a 4,000-acre ranch in Miami, TX. When I asked Ricky how he would describe his sound to someone who’s never heard it, he said, “Unreliable narrator country music. Goofball outlaw.” Which I love that answer. Some artists that have influenced Ricky the most are Waylon Jennings, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Paul Thorn, Johnny Paycheck, Ray Lamontagne, John Mayer, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Vulfpeck, Little Debbie, Sweet Baby Ray, and Betty Crocker. Ricky also said, “I listened and played a ton of blues or blues-adjacent stuff when I was younger, a lot of BB King, Hendrix, Otis Redding, Gary Clark Jr., which may be evident in some of my chord progressions.”
When I asked what venue had been his favorite to play, Ricky told me a venue called Doc’s Tavern in Greenville, SC. Which led me to looking the place up, and it seems like a cool smaller venue to catch a show at. However, his dream venue, and one that would be badass to see a show at, is, and I quote, a “CRUISE SHIP that has DOGS and FREE BEER.” Yes. Just yes. That would be badass.
Now I’m just going to completely quote this next question’s answer because I love it. What have been the major turning points in Ricky’s career so far?
“One time I signed a guy’s arm and he got my signature tattooed. So knowing he was gonna go to the grave with my signature tattooed on his forearm was a big turning point for me. I tried to start singing in tune after that. tried.
I also got 3 cases of Monster Energy drinks from Monster so that was pretty cool and allowed me to increase my intake of acesulfame potassium for a brief period which increased efficiency.”
One thing I learned and found out about Ricky through this artist spotlight, when I asked the What’s something about you that people might not expect? question, was that he does all the mixing and production for everything he puts out and has an extensive collection of compressor plugins. He “abuse(s) them often.”
Ricky went on to tell me that when people hear his music, he hopes they feel “Scared and alone ideally! A simmering, seething well of deep pain and agony. Like sunlight hitting a vampire, or permethrin hitting a tick. I hope they feel the need to turn it off as fast as possible and physically leave the area it was playing in.” Which I don’t think until that day any artist had ever answered that question that way. Ricky is out here making his own paths, as he should.
Now, success looks different for every musician. But what does success look like for Mr. Chilton? “Increasing shareholder value and meeting quarter-end KPI’s. Promoting synergy within country music. Being able to lose at poker for as long as I want to. Being able to make records till I die.” I think those are all signs of success, so hell yeah.
I asked him, how does one balance the music with life? Ricky gave me a little insight into his day and even broke it down in time slots. So here is a day in the life of Ricky Chilton:
“3 AM: Wake up
4 AM: Read Sun Tzu or Shel Silverstein
5 AM: Beef Jerky Stick
8 AM: Do sprints, pull ups, and one-handed push ups
8:03 AM: Ham time
10 AM: Practice F major chord on guitar (it hurts)
1 PM: Ham time
2 PM: Talk to my friends and family about deep personal yearnings and my fundamental character issues.
2:01 PM: Ham time
4:30 PM: Plan tour or make music
5 PM: Promote my music via yelling about it in public loudly
6 PM: Ham
7 PM: Avoidance coping and meditative self-gaslighting
9 PM: Check oil drilling rigs
1 AM: Sleepy time
So as you can see it’s pretty balanced already.”
All I have to say is sometimes to be successful in life, you gotta be willing to do what others won’t. I think that’s exactly what Ricky does.
Ricky had a great piece of advice for artists just starting out: “Don’t be afraid to write, release or promote bad songs, and I am not kidding. Finish stuff.” So for any artists starting out, this is another piece of advice you can add to your list of to-dos.
The answer to this next question I’ll be quoting once again, because I think you can get all the information with Ricky’s words on what we can expect next from the man himself:
“My 2nd album HORSEPOWER is coming August 6th, 2025. I’m very excited. Has Alex Hargreaves all over it which added such an amazing dimension. Truly some of the best music I’ve ever been able to make.
Then I am going on a tour through Texas and the southeast in October and early November so come see me and the band!”
So go catch a Ricky Chilton show. You might even see me there. If you’re wanting to keep up with Ricky by following him on socials @rickychiltonmusic or by visiting rickychilton.com
Thank you for reading. Follow us on X and Instagram @_get_western. Be good to yourselves, stay western, and stay tuned.
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