Adam Sanders

Adam Sanders first gained traction in Nashville through songwriting, crafting a pair of 2014 Country Airplay chart-toppers for Dustin Lynch with “Hell of a Night” and for Cole Swindell with “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey.” Those lean, tuneful tracks—muscular without being brawny, traditional without being retro—set the blueprint for his own performing career, which he began almost at once after those successes. He followed with a consistent stream of singles that led to his self-titled EP in 2018, an effort that peaked at number 33 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart. His debut full-length album, What If I’m Right, arrived in 2021, and the EP I Wanna Be Somebody appeared the next year.

Born in Lake City, Florida, Sanders absorbed music from childhood onward, a passion reinforced by family ties; he is the nephew of steel guitarist Scotty Sanders, a studio mainstay in country music from the late ’90s forward. After picking up guitar and vocals as a boy, he performed throughout northern Florida before moving to Nashville in 2009. While holding a construction job, he kept pursuing music and eventually secured a publishing agreement with Big Yellow Dog.

He soon began writing and collaborating with Nashville artists such as Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan. His breakthrough came in 2014 with the same two Billboard Country Airplay number-one hits, Cole Swindell’s “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey” and Dustin Lynch’s “Hell of a Night.” That success prompted his shift to recording; Big Yellow Dog issued his single “Nothin’ to Do But Drink” before the close of 2014. In 2015 his material appeared in the television series Nashville and The Ranch, and he released the singles “Somewhere That You Don’t Go” and “Thunder.” Two more singles, “About To” and “I’ve Been Meaning to Call,” surfaced in 2016, followed by “Sippin’ on the Good Times” in 2017.

Sanders opened 2018 with “Over Did It,” the lead single from his self-titled EP issued later that year. Additional singles “We Live It” and “Miss Me Me” followed during 2018, while 2019 brought the trio “Life I’m Livin’,” “I Don’t Just Sing About It,” and “Damn Strait.” He launched 2020 with “Ruled the World,” whose video included appearances by country artists including Tracy Lawrence and Aaron Tippin. What If I’m Right, his first full album, emerged the next year and featured the robust title track along with “Daddy, Jesus and Earnhardt,” a tribute to NASCAR figure Dale Earnhardt. Early in 2022 he unveiled the propulsive single “I Wanna Be Somebody,” which anchored the EP of the same name released that April.