Country music and the Lonestar state have a long history of tributes, from Little Texas’ “God Blessed Texas” to Blake Shelton’s “Austin” and many more. Now, Warner Music Nashville singer/songwriter and Dallas native Troy Cartwright is tipping his hat to his home state with his major label debut studio EP Halfway To Houston, available everywhere now (LISTEN HERE). The five-song collection was produced by Brandon Hood, with Cartwright co-writing each track. Cartwright will celebrate the EP release tonight at The Basement with a headlining show. Few tickets remain – tickets can be purchased HERE.
Halfway To Houston was announced last month along with the release of the standout track “Breaking Every Heart In Texas” (LISTEN HERE). Rolling Stone credited Cartwright’s delivery of the song, stating his “achingly soulful voice [is] the main attraction in this promising release.” The Texas native also released the official music video, directed by Jimmy Fisco and shot outside Waco, TX (WATCH HERE). The video is currently nominated for CMT Music’s 12 Pack Countdown – fans can vote on the video HERE.
Cartwright first started giving previews of Halfway To Houston with the first track release, “Hammer,” last October. He then released his live EP, Memory Machine Sessions (LISTEN HERE), a six-song collection that was captured during a full-band set and includes the live version of “Shine On Me.” The deeply personal song reflects on Cartwright’s artist journey since he first dreamed of being on stage at a young age (WATCH MUSIC VIDEO HERE). The new EP adds to Cartwright’s growing collection that includes major label debut song “Hung Up On You,” which Billboard raved “has so many hooks that it can leave the listener hung up for hours,” “My First Beer,” which Sounds Like Nashville described as “pouring vivid, unforgettable memories into a groove-country standout,” “Round and Round,” a MusicRow Disc of the Day winner, and “Love Like We Used To,” all of which have contributed to his 40+ million global career streams.
Wrapping up a string of tour dates with Kolby Cooper next weekend, Cartwright will bring the new EP into his live show this fall as he hits Tins Roofs across the country on the Nashville Hits the Roof tour. He will then join LANCO on their Honkytonk Hippies tour in December. For a full list of tour dates, click HERE.
Halfway To Houston Track Listing:
- Halfway To Houston (Troy Cartwright, Brandon Hood, Billy Montana)
- Breaking Every Heart In Texas (Brett Tyler, Wynn Varble, Jeff Outlaw, Troy Cartwright)
- God Is Good (Troy Cartwright, Brandon Hood, Billy Montana)
- Hammer (Troy Cartwright, Brandon Hood, Billy Montana)
- Shine On Me (Nolan Sipe, Ben Caver, Troy Cartwright)