John Fullbright

John Fullbright, a singer and songwriter, entered the world and grew up in Okemah, Oklahoma. Scarcely past high school, he launched into performances on the festival circuit. His musical roots drew from the work of Woody Guthrie, the local hero tied to his birthplace, while his sensibility absorbed the Americana style of restless innovators including Townes Van Zandt, Randy Newman, and Steve Earle. Piano study began at age five; guitar followed later. In his late teens he sharpened his songwriting at Oklahoma City’s storied Blue Door, which led to a live album recorded with the club’s founder, Greg Johnson. The years after that were spent on the road, steadily growing an audience whose contributions helped finance his first studio album, From the Ground Up, issued in 2012 on Blue Dirt Records. Two years later the intimate, reflective Songs arrived on the same imprint.