More About Bryan Martin

If life would have gone the way he wanted and the gun would have gone off the way he planned, a then 19-year-old Bryan Martin would be on his way to a much different place than he is right now. But instead, the 35-year-old breakout country artist is here, turning his stories of past struggles into the ultimate tale of survival.

And he ain’t going nowhere.

Martin’s story begins in the small town of Logansport, Louisiana, in a small church where the kid with the big heart first began to sing. He grew up singing hymns and spirituals created to heal the broken, but his true essence came out when the four-year-old would tear into the fun-loving lyrics of the Billy Ray Cyrus classic “Achy Breaky Heart.”

He kept singing covers from the likes of legendary country music artists such as George Strait until the sport of bull riding caught Martin’s eye. The curious teenager at the time pursued the sport with a passion while also working in the Louisiana hay fields, eventually making enough money to buy his first car – a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer.

But sometimes, Martin would retreat to the woods across the street from the double-wide trailer he called his house, and he would sit underneath the trees and bask in the peace that he could never find at the home he was raised in. And in those quiet moments, he would often notice a measurable amount of pain pouring from his heart.

“I still find myself wanting to go back to that spot.”

Soon, Martin found himself giving in to temptations such as drugs and alcohol, resulting in the decision to drop out of high school and clean up his life in the military. But soon, he was sent home – and the feeling of failure led Martin to ultimately attempt suicide.

“I took 30 Percocet and misfired a 357 when I was 19 years old. My first song came from a suicide note.” 

The very next day, Martin met his wife, took a job on a rig, and eventually became a father to four forgiving kids who knew that their dad battled his share of demons each day, but continued to work hard to make the best out of a somewhat painful life.

And when Martin thought life seemed to be at its worst, he was wrong. A near-fatal accident caused Martin to sustain a brain injury that led him to make a complete change in his personal and professional life.

“I made a promise that I was going to take all these broken promises and this guitar that I’d been hiding behind for so long and I was going to make it go to work for once and make it pay itself off. I had done all the suffering I was going to do.”

Indeed, the suffering of fifteen years forever fused into Martin’s unfaltering work ethic eventually resulted in the release of Bryan’s debut album, If It Was Easy, which detailed his struggle with opiate addiction and mental health while also telling the story of growing up in an oil field family. It was this album that set Martin off on a trek to become one of the genre’s grittiest storytellers.

“I just think that if I go hide my scars and I go putting a mask on myself or who I am, I’m doing exactly what I never wanted to do. I wear the scars, and I’m learning to wear it better. The reason why I don’t hide anything is because there’s too many people that need to know that there is no difference between me and them.”

But whether Martin likes it or not, he is proving he’s unlike anyone else in country music right now. From his Grand Ole Opry debut in August to the release of his latest album Poets & Old Souls that included hits such as “Wolves Cry” and the uplifting “We Ride.” Martin is healing a big with every note he sings.

“That’s what songs do…they heal.”

Add that to touring across the country with the likes of Warren Zeiders, Jason Aldean and Brantley Gilbert, signing with WME’s Kevin Neal for booking representation and surpassing 300 million cumulative worldwide streams, Martin is making quite an impression.

“These songs come from the struggle and all these things that I’ve been through. I know that me surviving a lot of these things couldn’t have been me. I just thank God for it.”

More About Michael Ray

MULTI-PLATINUM ARTIST | FOUR NO. 1 SINGLES

CURRENT SINGLE: HOLY WATER

• Ray recently released The Warehouse Sessions, featuring live performances of songs from his recent project Higher Education.
• The Warehouse Sessions includes his fourth 1 single, Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain” and current single “Holy Water,” from Higher Education, along with his Platinum-  certified No. 1 single “Think A Little Less” from his 2015 self-titled major label debut.
• Ray vhas also released a cover of Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On” from his upcoming The Bootleggers Sessions
  
• Ray’s latest single “Holy Water,” an engrossing story song that follows a Florida preacher and his lucrative midnight side hustle, is currently climbing the charts at Country radio.
• Ray, who grew up going to a tiny old country church and hearing stories of his grandparents running moonshine up the East Coast, knew immediately he had to record the song when he heard it.
• Ray is currently on the road with Lee Brice for the Label Me Proud Tour through September.
• Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry over 65 times.
• As a traditional country fan and cultured in ‘90s Country, Ray is heavily influenced by qualities found in both, noting heroes such as Gary Stewart, Earl Thomas Conley, Tim McGraw and Steve Wariner.
• Ray grew up playing traditional country in a family band – “The Country Cousins” – with his dad and grandpa Amos, the latter of whom inspired his sophomore album.
• Ray has garnered four No. 1 songs: “Get to You,” “Think A Little Less,” “One That Got Away” and “Whiskey And Rain”
• Two of Ray’s No. 1 singles, “Think A Little Less” and “Whiskey And Rain” have earned RIAA Platinum status
• The Florida-Native has four RIAA Gold-Certified Songs: “Get to You,” “Kiss You in the Morning,” “One That Got Away” and “Her World Or Mine”

Twitter/Instagram @michaelraymusic | Facebook: @MusicMichaelRay | MichaelRayMusic.com

More About Matt Stell

RECORDS Nashville MULTI-PLATINUM artist Matt Stell has quickly made his mark on Country music as one of only eight new artists in the past six years to have consecutive #1s with two back-to-back chart-toppers: 2X PLATINUM “Prayed For You” and PLATINUM “Everywhere But On.” New releases “Breakin’ in Boots” and “One Of Us (feat. Chase Matthew)” follows his 2023 EP One Of Us. Amassing over half a BILLION on-demand streams, he’s the first-ever artist to receive a virtual plaque from the RIAA for multi-week breakout “Prayed For You,” and is an ASCAP Pop and Country most-performed song awards winner. Stacking high-profile TV looks with Good Morning America, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic digital series, he’s also performed the national anthem for major NASCAR and NFL events. Playing his headlining THE MAN MADE TOUR 2022 to capacity crowds, he’s supported Miranda Lambert, Old Dominion, and Chris Young. With Billboard touting his “versatile” style, additional collaborations include being featured on “When You Know” (Cheat Codes), “Over You is You” (Tenille Arts), and “Hometown Boys” (Dierks Bentley and HARDY). Launching Give A Damn Foundation in 2020, his charitable efforts have supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Doctors Without Borders, and the Humane Society, among others.