Braxton Keith with special guest Chandler Pearson

Braxton Keith

Braxton Keith calls San Antonio home, but the 20something songwriter hasn't spent much time there in recent years. As one of the newest exports of Texas' country music scene, he leaves town nearly every weekend, driving his band — and his own tour bus — toward the next show. "That bus is actually the only vehicle I own," he says. "I drive it everywhere I go."

Whether he's onstage or behind the wheel, Braxton doesn't just play country music. He lives it. Inspired by the traditional twang of storytellers like Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard, he writes songs that blend modern sounds with the best elements of old-school country. It's a balance of the contemporary and the classic, glued together by a proud Texas native who's learned to create autobiographical music about universal experiences. "These are songs about love, heartbreak, and drinking, which are things everybody knows about," he explains. "I'm not the only person to write songs about those things. But I'm the only person to do it my way."

Born and raised in the West Texas town of Midland, Braxton grew up playing piano. His parents were dentists. His brothers were athletes. Nobody else in the family wrote songs, but that didn't stop Braxton from penning his first tunes as a teenager. He began playing guitar during that time, too, laying the foundation for the country sound he'd eventually pursue as a hard-touring road warrior. "When I starting writing my own songs, I wasn't trying to be in the music industry," he explains. "At least not yet. I was just doing it because I loved it."

After moving to San Angelo for college, Braxton discovered that a wider audience existed for his brand of raw, rootsy honky-tonk. His earliest fans were the roommates and friends who happened to catch him strumming his acoustic guitar behind the closed door of his dorm room. Informal performances around campus expanded that fanbase even further, as did his debut gig at Rockin Rodeo in Midland. "Make Up Your Mind," his debut single, was released in 2019 and gathered more than 1 million streams on Spotify alone, broadcasting Braxton's music to country fans who lived far beyond Texas' borders. Neon Dreams, his debut EP, arrived one year later. Produced by P.T. Houston, the EP marked the beginning of Braxton's connection to Nashville, where he would later partner with producer Alex Torrez to record career-defining songs like "A Little Bit Closer" and "Settle for a Beer."

"I'm trying to bring back the traditional values of old-school country music, with a modern twist," says Braxton. "There are so many places you can go with that, whether it's an '80s country vibe with 'Let Me Love You More,' or the classic sound of pedal steel in a song like 'Give Me a Sunrise,' or a song with fiddles and electric guitars like 'Honky Tonk City.'"

Already a must-see headlining act in Texas, Braxton Keith has begun steering his tour bus across the rest of the American South, playing new songs for even newer fans. Like his favorite music, he prefers to build his career the old-school way: by getting onstage and playing great songs night after night, year after year. It's a long road, perhaps, but Braxton doesn't mind the drive. He's here for the long haul. Besides, he'll be writing new songs every step of the way.