In an era of constant advancement and relentless new technologies and approaches, it’s perhaps not been a surprise to see a lot of younger artists rebelling against the progressive, post-modern sounds of the present and returning instead to the more rough-edged and raw styles of the past.
And it’s hard to get any more raw or more honest than the music of OKC-based folk singer-songwriter Carter J. Wright.
At just 18 years old, Wright has already begun carving out a space for himself within the acoustic folk and red dirt country sound, sidestepping the trendy production flourishes and popular gimmicks to focus on the time-honored craft of straightforward folk songwriting.
But while he’s largely been able to keep the expectations of the modern world out of his songs, he still has to navigate the expectations of being a 21st century artist and the preconceptions of being a teenager in a space often dominated by experience.
Carter J. Wright: There's so many aspects to it that people don't see. It's like you got to do social media, you got to be a musician, you got to be a booker, you got to be a personality, you got to be all of these different hats, when all I initially started out to be was just this, you know, musician.
First off, I'm 18 years old. No one takes me serious, you know. And the select few that do, I appreciate them, you know, with my whole life. It means the world to me.
But then it's if it's just someone on the internet, they think I'm just some 18 year old who just picked up a guitar, you know? I've been playing since I was seven years old. So seeing it from my point of view, it's like “okay, why don't you understand me?”
Brett Fieldcamp: From even those earliest days of first discovering music and learning his way around a fretboard and a lyric sheet, Wright says that he was drawn to the music and the energy of the past, often ignoring the more current pop and country artists in favor of the classic rockers and songwriting titans of decades ago, influences that would drive his previous band, Five Mile Hollow, and that would help him to recognize the power of stripped-down, relatable folk music.
But even as the folk scene of today has become more diluted and difficult to pin down, Wright’s trajectory became clearer when he discovered some of the past’s greatest names in defiant, outsider country music.
Carter J. Wright: People don't really see folk as much of a genre anymore. It's kind of pushed into a bunch of different genres, and if you don't fit it into those other genres, then you're kind of an individual and you're on your own. And so that's why I have to market myself as Red Dirt Country or whatever.
But I started off with Chuck Berry, and then I went to the Beatles, and then from the Beatles I went to the Eagles. Then, you know, I kind of stayed in classic rock, and I only played electric for years. And then, whenever I was about at the age of 12, I discovered Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley, and I was like, "this is what I'm doing."
Brett Fieldcamp: Growing up throughout the OKC metro, Wright split his time between the city and the unique surrounding sprawl of suburban neighborhoods and rural isolation, endearing him to the same natural landscapes of the great country songs, but also to the same chaos and community that influenced his heroes.
Carter J. Wright: I grew up in the suburbs for sure, and I'll tell anyone that, it's true. But I lived most of my life in the country. As soon as I got off of school, we'd go to some property.
I mean, I just remember some of my best memories were literally running across hay bales and stuff like that. So I've always resonated with that, pastures, animals. So being able to connect that lyrically, you know, to people like Townes or whatever. He uses such descriptive lyrics. It's almost psychedelic in a way.
I feel like I can definitely connect that to my background, and I resonated with Townes a lot. I don't know. I just also can, at a very baseline, appreciate poetry, you know?
Brett Fieldcamp: That commitment to honest songwriting and unencumbered musical storytelling is likely to be the force to keep pushing Wright forward, and even as his own approaches have evolved - from his debut album recorded on a rooftop in the Oklahoma air to his newest single recorded in a professional Nashville studio – his own visions remain clear as ever in his mind.
Carter J. Wright: I definitely have a preconceived notion of how my music is going to evolve. I will always have a mental picture… image of what it will be and how it will be, and I think that's a good thing because I can always surprise myself.
And you know, I get really excited when something changes. You know, be it good or bad, I'll be upset about it in the moment, but excited later because I can understand the intention. Because you know, I believe that there's a reason for everything.
Brett Fieldcamp: Carter J. Wright’s newest single, “Cowboys & Snakebites,” drops everywhere on November 20th, and you can keep up with him by following @carterjwrightsmusic on Instagram.
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