Hello, and welcome to today’s artist spotlight. This spotlight is one I’ve been waiting to drop, Austin Winder, who most of us know on Twitter as Winder. Winder is an artist out of Tennessee who’s been putting out music since 2023. I’m excited for y’all to learn more about who he is, because honestly, who is Winder?
1. What’s your name and where are you from?
My name is Austin Winder. I release music under my last name and I’m from a small town in Tennessee called Soddy Daisy
2. When did you first start playing music, and what drew you to it?
I’ve been writing songs since I was in elementary school. I always wanted to learn how to play an instrument so that I could put music to my words. When I was 13 my grandfather bought me a $35 guitar at a pawn shop and I sat in the garage night after night teaching myself how to play until I could start writing my own music.
3. How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music?
I don’t think I can describe my own music very well. However, a good friend of mine and fellow artist, Sam Long (who makes amazing music) likes to describe my sound as “Hauntingly Beautiful”. As far as comparing my sound to another artist, I’ll let the people that hear it come to their own conclusions on that.
4. Who or what inspired you to start making music?
I can’t really pinpoint a moment in which I was inspired to start writing songs. It’s something I’ve done as far back as I can remember. Like it was encoded in my DNA. There wasn’t an inspiration that was needed. It’s just something I’ve always done.
5. Who are some artists (past or present) that have influenced you the most?
I’m inspired by great artists from all genres. Anyone who has the ability to paint a picture using their words inspires me to make good music. I hear a great song by a great writer and it inspires a sense of competition in me almost. I want to see if I can write something more intricate, more gut wrenching, or more thoughtful.
6. What’s been your favonte show or venue to play so far?
Before I actually started putting music out, I was in-house entertainment for a little bar in Niota, TN. That bar doesn’t exist anymore but I played there every Thursday night for free food and beer and has easily been my favorite place to play.
7. What’s your dream venue to play at?
As crazy as it may seem, I don’t really care too much about where I play as long as the place has some good people who enjoy real music then I’ll always have a good time playing there. I do hope, one day, to play at a bigger and well known venue.
8. Have there been any major turning points in your career so far?
Even though I’ve put out a couple projects, I’m still relatively new and unknown. However, my turning point was people first discovering my music. And if I’m being honest, I owe that to @MCMTDoesntSuck and @RealCntryOutlaw for taking an interest in my music and sharing it when no one knew I existed.
9. What’s something about you or your band that people might not expect?
The only thing that comes to mind here is my time in the military. I was an Infantryman in the US Army. I was stationed in El Paso, TX and got deployed overseas.
10. What do you hope people feel when they hear your music?
Heard. Understood. Seen. So many of the struggles that I write about are deeply personal to me but are things that are also a common experience in one way or another. So I just hope people hear my music and know that they aren’t alone in the pain they are feeling.
11. What does success look like for you in music?
I think I already have it honestly. To make a career out of it would be nice but at this point all I want is to write good songs and give them to the world.
12. How do you balance music with the rest of your life?
That’s the beauty of being unknown I think. There’s not a lot of external pressure to consistently roll out new music. I can take my time and write quality songs and enjoy the process. There’s not really a lot of balancing I have to do.
13. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone just starting out in music?
Just have fun with it. Don’t worry about numbers or what people think. Put in the reps, put out the music, and have fun with it.
14. Do you have any upcoming releases or projects you’re excited about?
Yes. I have a good bit of music that I wrote right before, during, and after my time in Utah. I’m polishing things up and getting ready to start recording them. It’s not far off and can probably be expected to drop in the same window as my last two projects.
15. Where can people find your music and follow your journey?
I really only use twitter for my music but you can find me there @thewindermusic
Thanks for checking out today’s spotlight on Winder. I highly recommend y’all check him out, he’s just so damn good. Hope everyone is doing well. Be good to yourself, stay Western, and stay tuned.
I’ve had some questions from readers, so let me clear this up. If you’ve read some of the other artist spotlights, you’ll notice I format these a little differently sometimes. That’s because I base how I post them off the artist’s answers. I tell every artist I talk to that they can answer however they want (short or long) so really the formatting depends on their responses. Sometimes I need to break it down without taking away from what they’re saying, and other times, like with this one, I just post their answers directly because I feel doing it the other way would take away from their voice. Hope that clears up any confusion.
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