Zane Williams (born 1977) is an American country music singer. He has released seven solo albums and is a member of the Americana band “The Wilder Blue”.
Career Zane Williams is an anomaly in today's country music scene, a modern-day “throwback” who is equal parts barroom entertainer and introspective poet. He was a finalist in three categories at MerleFest's Chris Austin Song Contest, claiming top slots in both the Country and General categories. "Hurry Home" was selected as the $20,000 Maxell Song of the Year in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.John Lennon Song Contest website Page for 2005 winners. In 2006, Zane won Best Folk Award at the 2nd Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) with his song "Hurry Home". Accessed October 5, 2009.July 18, 2006, "MACY GRAY GIVES CASH AWAY: Singer combines with NAMM to encourage aspiring musicians." Found at Entertainment Magazine website and EurWeb website . Both accessed October 5, 2009.
Williams released an album, Hurry Home, in 2006. He signed a publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog Music in 2007. The album's title track was released as a single by Jason Michael Carroll in 2009. Williams has toured extensively throughout the United States including Missouri,Shane Miller, "Award winning artist to visit final Coffeehouse: Zane Williams has found more than fortune in his songwriting," November 11, 2006, The Mirror of Drury University, found at Drury Mirror website . Accessed October 5, 2009. Alabama, and Texas.House of Wally website with recent 2009 tour dates . Accessed October 5, 2009. In January 2010, he released The Right Place; he co-produced the album with Radney Foster. Jessica Phillips writing for Country Weekly rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five: "If you're in the mood for true honky-tonk music, you're in the right place." Ride with Me came out in 2011.
Williams has received radio airplay on country stations across Texas leading to his first entry on the Texas Music Chart with "Ride With Me", from the 2011 album with the same title. He was featured in Troubadour Texas, a television show which discussed his career. In June 2013, he released an album titled Overnight Success. He wrote all 11 songs on the album, and co-produced it with Tom Faulkner. The album debuted on Billboard's Heatseekers South Central chart at No. 4. The video for the title track was on CMT Pure's 12-Pack Countdown for three weeks in a row and reached No. 2. The video was on GAC's daily countdown along with The Nashville Network featuring William's "Overnight Success" music video in a Top 10 Rising Stars list.
2015: Texas Like That In 2015 Williams released a studio album, Texas Like That, with 10 songs he wrote. The tracks range from the romantic ballad "She Is" to the toe-tapping "Just Gettin’ Started" and a fan tribute song "Here’s to You". Two tunes which received attention are “Jayton and Jill” and the "Kansas City Sunrise". Texas Like That was released on April 14, 2015, and debuted on Top Country Albums chart at No. 31 and Heatseeker Albums at No.8, his highest-charting album with 1,500 copies sold in its debut week. Sales figure given here
2016: Bringin' Country Back In 2016, the title track from his next album, Bringin' Country Back, was released on July 8, 2016, as a single. Williams wrote the 11 songs on the album and produced the album himself. The album was released on October 21, 2016. The album debuted at No. 46 on the Top Country Album chart, and No. 22 on the Heatseekers Album, with 800 copies sold in its debut week.
Discography
Albums Title Album details Peak chart positions US Country USHeat USIndie Hurry Home Release date: November 14, 2006 Label: Be Music & Entertainment — — — The Right Place Release date: November 1, 2009 Label: BME — — — Ride with Me Release date: February 25, 2011 Label: BME — — — Overnight Success Release date: June 4, 2013 Label: BME — — — Texas Like That Release date: April 14, 2015 Label: BME 31 8 45 Bringin' Country Back Release date: October 21, 2016 Label: Texas Like That Records 46 22 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Music videos Year Video Director 2013 "Overnight Success" Jeff Venable 2015 "Jayton & Jill" Lindley Atkinson
References
External links Official website IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards