Drake White

Hailing from Hokes Bluff, Alabama, country singer-songwriter Drake White blended country, blues, funk, rock & roll, and reggae into a sound whose high-voltage, foot-stomping performances carried him from regional stages to Nashville and farther afield. During his youth he performed regularly in the choir of his hometown church; at fourteen a neighbor who favored bluegrass handed him his first guitar, prompting White to start composing and performing his own material. He kept up that habit through his time at Gadsden State Community College and later Auburn University, where he earned a degree in building science while appearing nightly at local clubs. Upon finishing school he took daytime work with a Nashville general contractor, reserving evenings for songwriter rounds. Together with his band the Big Fire he cultivated a taut, explosive stage presence that frequently included spontaneous lyric improvisation mid-performance. Producer Jeremy Stover noticed the act, leading to a contract with MCA Nashville; White quit his day job to focus exclusively on music and issued his first single for the label, “Simple Life,” in early 2013. The following year he moved to Big Machine’s Dot Records imprint, which delivered the 2015 singles “It Feels Good” and “Livin’ the Dream.” Dot issued his debut full-length Spark in August 2016, a release that entered the Top Country Albums chart at number four. Two years afterward he followed with the Pieces EP.