Meet Trenton Tanner

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Trenton Tanner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Trenton below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Trenton with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I was a football player growing up and from a very early age I had a very hard work ethic. I pushed to be a leader and strived to be the best I could be. I have taken all those years of being a hard worker in sports and put it towards my music and it has done me very well so far!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I started my musical journey in the small town of Cassville Missouri around 5 years ago. I actually started singing basically because of a bet. I had friends tell me I was a great singer but never looked into it. Well that being said, I was in a very rough spot in life not knowing where I was going, or what I wanted to do, and just felt as though I was in a black hole battling through alcohol addiction and struggling with depression and anxiety.

I gave up going to college to play football out of high school and a few years later I had lost the fire in me. I lost who I was. So I was just looking for something I just didn’t know what it was. But My friend bet me to sing one song and post it on Facebook and so I did and it blew up. It had 10 thousand views or so.

So I sang a few more and they were getting 50 to 100 thousand views. And so I had a few people reach out to me asking if I wrote songs or played instruments and at the time I did not. But I decided maybe I would try it and just see how it went. Writing to me came naturally and it just felt so free to put a pen on paper.

So I began writing and found a few friends who played guitar and we began just small “jam sessions”. Well, about 4 years ago, I decided that I wanted to take being a singer/songwriter to the next level and pick up a guitar. Which was the best decision I’ve ever made. I started creating music to put with the words I needed to say. To me, it didn’t matter who or what was in front of me, I just knew in my heart I wanted to say what was weighing on me. From then, I started playing gigs a year later and haven’t stopped.

I have been fortunate in my few years of playing, to be able to play on Broadway in Nashville, I’ve opened for artists such as Ryan Upchurch, The Black Moods, Whisky Outlaws, Point South, and more. I’ve recorded a few songs in Nashville and have been able to meet great producers and great people along the way. Three years ago, I recorded my first album with a few friends, which in my opinion a guy from a small town of about 3 thousand people it’s had great success. Since then, I’ve recorded multiple singles such as “Cowboy”, “Maybe By Now”, and “Just You And I”.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Strong work ethic, patience, and just being a good human being was definitely 3 qualities I have that have really helped me in my journey. I have made more fans and friends who follow my music just by being kind and showing them that I am a class act of a person. If I could give any advice to someone starting out, I would say be true to yourself but always learn from others. Don’t be afraid to take constructive criticism from others.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
Honestly I think the biggest obstacle is just trying to be noticed by music city. I live in Oklahoma and living so far away it is very hard to be noticed and taken seriously.

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Image Credits
Photo Credit goes to Billy Wade and Daniel kerns.

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