Clayton Anderson
Listen to Clayton Anderson’s music – or listen to him tell a story about fishing with his grandpa or how his blue collar dad never missed one of his baseball games – and one thing becomes immediately clear. Anderson is a product of his upbringing: a hard-working, salt of the earth, country singer-songwriter from the heartland. His songs and his story are woven from the cloth of his hometown as well as the durable red, white, and blue of America.
His is a story that kicked off in the midwest: Anderson grew up fishing, boating, and playing his guitar on the lakes of Southern Indiana. Inspired by his home state music heroes – John Mellencamp, John Hiatt, and Michael Jackson, – Anderson set off on a music career, building a grassroots following playing the frat circuit at Indiana University.
In 2008, he took home the win for Kenny Chesney’s Next Big Star battle of the bands. In Anderson’s world, when you want something, you get after it, so after his big win, he moved to Nashville and threw himself into building a country music career. A series of albums followed, starting with Torn Jeans & Tailgates (2011), followed by Right Where I Belong (2014), Only to Borrow (2016), and a lineup of singles. He performed alongside the Zac Brown Band at the Indy 500 and opened for Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Jimmy Buffett, Thomas Rhett, Lee Brice, and Carly Pearce.
As the pandemic brought the music industry to its knees, Anderson was determined to stay creative and find ways to keep bringing people together safely. First, he performed with the Bud Light Dive Bar Tour: Home Edition, alongside Jake Owen, Dierks Bentley, OneRepublic, and more. Then he teamed with sponsors for Lake Tour concerts that allowed fans to have summer fun while staying socially-distanced.
In 2022, Anderson has shown no signs of stopping, releasing and landing high-profile placements for a string of singles including “Nothin’ But Net” (produced by Grammy winner Dave Audé and as heard on ESPN for Men’s College Basketball Season), “Get After It” (Ford’s Spring Truck Month Campaign and ESPN Men's Baseball Season, including daily promos for the College World Series), and “Show Me Your Fish” (Major League Fishing’s REDCREST 2022); hitting the road for another summer tour (including lake tour dates); and releasing Made In The USA, his most introspective album yet.
For the happy-go-lucky singer, the new album finds him digging deep, putting his dreams, fears, and hard-working pride on full display. It’s also a fine demonstration of his adept songwriting; Anderson penned 8 out of the 12 tracks on the record. It kicks off with Anderson getting reflective on “All For Nothing” (co-written with Jeremy Buck) a powerful song about choices, sacrifices, and how the journey one travels gets them to the next place in their life even if those choices didn’t work out.
Next up is the stomping “Show Me Your Fish” (co-written by Grammy winner Dave Audé and Christian “Davis” Stalnecker), a song that was chosen as the theme for Major League Fishing’s REDCREST 2022 (Pro Bass Fishing’s World Championship and Inaugural Expo) and scored Anderson an invitation from leading rod brand Ugly Stik to perform a show at the tournament.
The album moves fluidly from Anderson’s signature fun vibe through songs that showcase that he’s as vulnerable and contemplative as he is easygoing. Co-written with Jimmy Ritchey, Robert Counts, and Brian Pruitt, “Let Me Go” recounts the stunning shock of sudden heartbreak. Delivered over a quickly flowing melody, the song has been known to get tears flowing whenever Anderson has performed it during radio interviews.
“Indiana,” also penned with Audé and Stalnecker, cuts to the heart of Anderson’s upbringing at the crossroads of the U.S.A. with a dose of sheer nostalgia. In it, he ranges through cold beers and cornfields, juke boxes and dive bars in a song that will ring true for hoosiers while making every listener feel right at home.
The perfect remedy for two years of social distancing, “This Round’s On Me” (Christian "Davis" Stalnecker) celebrates coming together to have some fun. From its raucous opening shout, the tune is a joyous celebration of making sure nobody leaves the bar without having a good time.
Channeling Springsteen and Mellencamp, “Made In The USA” (Brandon Hood, Parker Welling, Aaron Parker) tells the stars-in-our-eyes story of two homegrown kids with the whole world stretched out in front of them. Next, Anderson doubles down on down-home values with “Get After It,” an anthem for those who work hard to play hard. Co-written with Nash Overstreet and Shane Stevens, the riff-heavy country rocker was chosen by the hardest working of truck brands – Ford – for a national ad campaign.
Some years ago, Anderson met a singer-songwriter he truly admired, Thomas Rhett, while the latter was in the studio recording a demo. The pair became friends, and in a full circle turn of events, Anderson got to record one of his buddy’s songs. Written by Rhett along with Barry Dean and Jimmy Robbins, “As You Are” imagines love and life on beach time. The fun in the sun continues with the lighthearted “No Habla” (co-written with Taylor Goyette). With shades of Jimmy Buffett, the comedic tune finds our heartbroken narrator abandoned by his girlfriend, knowing not a word of Spanish in a land of margaritas, sun, and señoritas.
A genuine piece of blue collar country rock, “Only Us” (Andrew Jannakos, Alex Pennington Smith, and Malachi Mills) celebrates drinking, relaxing, and falling in love — all with a laid-back summertime vibe. Meanwhile, “Is It Too Late” (co-written with Audé and Stalnecker) finds Anderson moving beneath the surface once more, examining life, love, faith, and the roads not traveled due to chasing dreams.
The record’s closing track, “Records on the Wall” (also co-written with Audé and Stalnecker) rounds the entire record off perfectly and serves as a fitting summary of Anderson’s thoughts about a life full of sacrifices, hard work, friends, and most of all — the music:
“See I’ve made choices
That I’d chose to forget
But given the chance I’d do again…”
It neatly ties up the story of the Indiana boy who never wanted to leave his hometown but whose passion for music took him out on the road. With Made In The USA, Anderson returns to his roots — serving up a big slice of heartland and home that will feel familiar to listeners no matter where in this big country they reside.
SHORT BIO:
Clayton Anderson is a hard-working, salt of the earth country singer-songwriter from the heartland who grew up fishing, boating, and playing his guitar on the lakes of Southern Indiana. He built a grassroots fan following before winning Kenny Chesney's Next Big Star battle of the bands in 2008. Next came a series of albums: Torn Jeans & Tailgates (2011), Right Where I Belong (2014), Only to Borrow (2016), and a lineup of singles. He performed alongside the Zac Brown Band at the Indy 500 and opened for Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Lee Brice, and Carly Pearce. During the covid shutdown, Anderson performed with the Bud Light Dive Bar Tour: Home Edition before teaming with sponsors for socially-distanced Lake Tour concerts.
In 2022, Anderson has released a string of singles including “Nothin’ But Net," “Get After It,” and “Show Me Your Fish;" hit the road for a summer tour; and will release Made In The USA — his most introspective album yet this Fall.