Austin Burke could write the book on being a millennial. Growing up in the 1990's in Phoenix, Arizona, Austin was a huge country music fan and began singing as soon as he could walk. At the tender age of of 3 he sang the national anthem for both the Phoenix Suns and Diamondbacks and at a chance meeting with his hero Garth Brooks at a Padre's spring training game his destiny was set. He soon won a coveted spot singing "Friends In Low Places" on the Rosy O'Donell show, not once but twice and when Rosy asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up he said a "singing baseball player". Such are the early experiences that dreams are made of.
But like so many Americans his family was hit hard by the great recession of 2008. His dad's real estate company went under and Austin's life was turned completely upside down. He had been on course to play baseball in college in Arizona but when his family moved to the west coast to try and make a new start Austin was thrown into a whole new world of eye-popping, fast lane, ethnically diverse San Diego culture. Suddenly surrounded by surfers, hippies and hip-hop music Austin made the most of his new life. When the culture shock wore off, he continued playing baseball and began combining the country music he was raised on with the new sounds in the air in southern California. But after a year of playing college ball he was side-lined with a rib injury and it was during his recuperation that he realized that his happiest days were those singing country music back in Arizona. So as soon as he was well he made a bee-line for Nashville to do the thing he was always meant to do.
Austin is currently making words rhyme and serving his time waiting on tables (and waiting on the tables to turn.) He's singing at writer's nights and tearing up the honky-tonks, paying his dues and livin' the dream in Tennessee. To quote his grandmother and the title of one of his own songs, Austin says it's his job these days to just "Suit Up Show Up Shut Up And Get The Job Done".