Talk about a full circle moment.
The up-and-coming country music artist Hudson Westbrook stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast (brought to you by our friends at Rock the Country festival) to talk about growing up in Texas, being inspired by the music of his home state and artists like Parker McCollum, moving to Nashville to chase his country music dreams, releasing his debut self-titled album last year, playing Rock the Country, and much more.
And speaking of festivals, at one point we got the chance to ask Hudson about how things went when he played the Larry Joe Taylor (LJT) Festival in Stephenville, Texas – his hometown. The Texas native said that it was one of the most memorable experiences of his young career, mainly because he had been at that very festival a couple of years prior fulfilling a far different job:
“That was cool because three years ago, I was cleaning out porta-potties there and we were washing them out. We’d basically go around with the septic tanks and suck it out with the tube on our shoulder. Oh, it was disgusting.
But definitely made me grateful to go back home and play a show for the people that knew me in high school. They were texting me like, ‘Hey, good set dude.’ It was good to see all those dudes.”
From the porta-johns to the big stage.
When he said that during the interview, I pointed out that his situation sounded like something straight out of a movie. That’s right out of the musician-trying-to-make-it movie trope, is it not? Cleaning the bathrooms (or in this case even worse, the portable toilets) at a venue, only to play it a couple of years later? You can’t write a story better than that.
And Westbrook added that he wasn’t sure if would be able to play in front of crowds before his music career kicked off, but he did know that there was something within him that yearned to be on stage:
“I always had a bone in my body that was like, ‘I want to play on stage.’ And I think it was because of the ease that I got listening to country music and the joy that I got. I just thought it was so cool. Cause when you are in the crowd, you are like, ‘How are they doing this right now?’
When you get to be that for someone (else), that’s when you really understand. At the moment, I was like, ‘That’d be cool, but I don’t know if I could do it.'”
@whiskeyriff Humble beginnings. 💩 // Take a listen to the latest podcast with @Hudson Westbrook brought to you by @Rock the Country available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube 🦅 #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #hudsonwestbrook #rockthecountry #portapotty #larryjoetaylorfest ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
Hudson didn’t know if he could do it… then he went and did it.
Like I said, that’s a pretty cool 180-turnaround to experience, especially with Westbrook still in the early stage of his career. That being said, the “House Again” singer already has a lot going for him (including a new album on the way), and you can hear about all of that and more in the latest episode of the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast.
Download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.
We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.
Cheers, y’all.
