Briston Maroney

Briston Maroney crafts songs from a Nashville base that fuse heartfelt folk traditions with melodic lines reminiscent of 1990s indie rock. After issuing several standalone tracks, he drew widespread notice toward the close of the 2010s thanks to two EPs, then stepped onto a major label with the 2021 album Sunflower. Over the following two years he issued live and expanded editions of that record alongside fresh singles such as “Paradise” and “Body,” setting the stage for his second full-length effort, Ultrapure, which surfaced in 2023.

Born in Kennesaw, Georgia in 1998 and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Maroney started composing during his teenage years while absorbing classic rock, folk, and indie influences that ranged from John Prine and Jim Croce to John Mayer, the White Stripes, and Kings of Leon. Still a teenager, he passed an American Idol audition and advanced to the Top 30 before elimination. Following high school he relocated to Los Angeles to refine his style, eventually settling in Nashville. There he attracted early listeners in 2017 with numbers including “Hangin’ Around,” “Virginia,” and “It’s Not My Fault,” tracks that paved the way for his 2018 Carnival EP. The release generated critical interest and widened his audience, yet Maroney entered rehab in 2019 and spent time living with his mother in Florida while reassessing his path. He returned to Nashville and, in May 2019, released the Indiana EP, which contained the song “Caroline.”

Atlantic issued Maroney’s debut full-length Sunflower in early 2021, with John Congleton handling production. A Nashville hometown performance later appeared as Sunflower: Live at Third Man Records, and a deluxe edition of the album arrived in April 2022 featuring Manchester Orchestra and Genevieve Stokes. The busy songwriter continued releasing tracks such as “Paradise,” “Oregon,” and “Body,” the last of which appeared on Ultrapure; that September 2023 album reached number 15 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart. A standalone single, “I Told You So,” produced by Andrew Sarlo, followed in January 2024.