Biography
Sarah Buxton's perceptive and artful compositions secured her footing in Nashville's songwriting community right away. Keith Urban transformed "Stupid Boy," her incisive account of men's unintended wounding of women's hearts, into a breakthrough success for Buxton during 2007; the track confirmed her stature as a commercially viable and potent writer and simultaneously cleared a path for her own recording efforts. Although the self-titled album she issued in 2010 failed to dominate sales rankings, she reached the summit by joining David Nail on the 2011 release "Let It Rain," then reappeared in 2013 supplying backing vocals on Florida Georgia Line's "Dayum, Baby." At that stage Buxton had already shifted her focus to behind-the-scenes work, crafting material for the Music City drama Nashville with sustained success across most of the 2010s. She resumed live performances in 2019 and opened the following decade by issuing two EPs, one of which was Moonriser in 2022.
Born in Kansas, Sarah Buxton started singing and performing music during childhood and kept that passion alive through her high-school years. After graduating she relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, and enrolled at Belmont University. While still a student she led the regionally active Southern rock outfit Stoik Oak. John Rich, formerly of Lonestar and then enjoying renewed visibility via the duo Big & Rich, urged her toward a solo path; she therefore joined the Song Planet publishing roster in 2000 and continued supplying studio backup vocals.
After accumulating initial song credits, Buxton secured a contract with Lyric Street Records in 2004 and delivered the single "Innocence" in summer 2006, which climbed to number 31 on Billboard's Country chart. In 2007 Keith Urban carried "Stupid Boy"—co-written by Buxton with Deanna Bryant and Dave Berg—to number three on Billboard Hot Country Songs; the performance later earned him a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. That achievement accelerated her own recording trajectory. Lyric Street issued the digital EP Almost My Record in July 2007, whose follow-up single reached number 26 on the Country chart.
Buxton devoted the period from 2008 through 2011 primarily to her recording output, contributing guest spots on other artists' projects and rolling out successive singles. She joined Dierks Bentley on "Sweet & Wild," added to his 2008 compilation Every Mile a Memory, then offered "Space" in 2008 and "Outside My Window" in 2009. The latter climbed to number 23, her strongest solo showing at the time, and preceded the February 2010 launch of her self-titled debut album. Two months after that release Lyric Street closed its doors, leaving her without a label. In the immediate aftermath she formed the short-lived duo Buxton Hughes with Jedd Hughes, a vocalist featured on her album. She recovered in 2011 by teaming with David Nail on "Let It Rain," which ascended to the top of Billboard's country chart. The same year she released "I Need a Hero (Music Inspired by the Motion Picture Footloose)," yet neither the track nor the film remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon original registered strongly.
While rebuilding her performing profile, Buxton placed compositions with Urban, the Band Perry, Big & Rich, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Lane, and Florida Georgia Line. Urban advanced "Put You in a Song" to number two on Billboard's Hot Country Songs in 2010; the Band Perry took "Don't Let Me Be Lonely" to number two on Billboard's Country Airplay in 2013; and FGL guided "Sun Daze" to number one on Country Airplay in 2014, also acknowledging Buxton's backing vocals on 2013's "Dayum, Baby."
In 2012 Buxton started contributing songs to Nashville, the ABC prime-time series. "Nothing in This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again," co-written with Kate York for season one, earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2013. The series ran until 2018, during which Buxton maintained her writing role for the program. Following its conclusion she reactivated her performing career, issuing the singles "Only the Truth" and "Say My Name" in 2019 and the EP Signs of Life the next year. A second EP, Moonriser, arrived in March 2022.
Born in Kansas, Sarah Buxton started singing and performing music during childhood and kept that passion alive through her high-school years. After graduating she relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, and enrolled at Belmont University. While still a student she led the regionally active Southern rock outfit Stoik Oak. John Rich, formerly of Lonestar and then enjoying renewed visibility via the duo Big & Rich, urged her toward a solo path; she therefore joined the Song Planet publishing roster in 2000 and continued supplying studio backup vocals.
After accumulating initial song credits, Buxton secured a contract with Lyric Street Records in 2004 and delivered the single "Innocence" in summer 2006, which climbed to number 31 on Billboard's Country chart. In 2007 Keith Urban carried "Stupid Boy"—co-written by Buxton with Deanna Bryant and Dave Berg—to number three on Billboard Hot Country Songs; the performance later earned him a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. That achievement accelerated her own recording trajectory. Lyric Street issued the digital EP Almost My Record in July 2007, whose follow-up single reached number 26 on the Country chart.
Buxton devoted the period from 2008 through 2011 primarily to her recording output, contributing guest spots on other artists' projects and rolling out successive singles. She joined Dierks Bentley on "Sweet & Wild," added to his 2008 compilation Every Mile a Memory, then offered "Space" in 2008 and "Outside My Window" in 2009. The latter climbed to number 23, her strongest solo showing at the time, and preceded the February 2010 launch of her self-titled debut album. Two months after that release Lyric Street closed its doors, leaving her without a label. In the immediate aftermath she formed the short-lived duo Buxton Hughes with Jedd Hughes, a vocalist featured on her album. She recovered in 2011 by teaming with David Nail on "Let It Rain," which ascended to the top of Billboard's country chart. The same year she released "I Need a Hero (Music Inspired by the Motion Picture Footloose)," yet neither the track nor the film remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon original registered strongly.
While rebuilding her performing profile, Buxton placed compositions with Urban, the Band Perry, Big & Rich, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Lane, and Florida Georgia Line. Urban advanced "Put You in a Song" to number two on Billboard's Hot Country Songs in 2010; the Band Perry took "Don't Let Me Be Lonely" to number two on Billboard's Country Airplay in 2013; and FGL guided "Sun Daze" to number one on Country Airplay in 2014, also acknowledging Buxton's backing vocals on 2013's "Dayum, Baby."
In 2012 Buxton started contributing songs to Nashville, the ABC prime-time series. "Nothing in This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again," co-written with Kate York for season one, earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2013. The series ran until 2018, during which Buxton maintained her writing role for the program. Following its conclusion she reactivated her performing career, issuing the singles "Only the Truth" and "Say My Name" in 2019 and the EP Signs of Life the next year. A second EP, Moonriser, arrived in March 2022.
Albums
Singles
