Branded country music’s “new ambassador” and praised by Rolling Stone for his “rough-hewn aesthetics,” Sterling Drake has steadily won over listeners in the four years since his debut single “Roll The Dice”. It’s not hard to see why – his clever, genre-blending, stirring vocals and varied story-telling represent roots music at its very best.
Drake, a self-described “risk-taking traditionalist,” uses his first full-length, The Shape I’m In, to establish himself as a musician whose work transcends time. He pays tribute to both musical forebears such as Willie Nelson, Lead Belly, and Townes Van Zandt, and invites comparison to modern country and folk music’s best young songwriters, including Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, and Willi Carlisle.
