Steve Azar

Born into the traditions of the American South, roots musician Steve Azar infuses his compositions with the textures of country, blues, folk, and rock, drawing from his Mississippi upbringing to explore themes of romance, endurance, and regional life through expressive singing and fluid, evocative playing that mirrors the strength of his words. Early releases such as the 1996 album Heartbreak Town and the 2002 album Waitin' On Joe leaned most heavily into country, whereas 2009's Slide On Over Here and 2017's Down at the Liquor Store shifted emphasis toward blues and soul, the latter featuring veteran players who had backed B.B. King and Elvis Presley.

Steve Azar entered the world in Greenville, Mississippi, on April 11, 1964. Church music provided his first exposure, and as a child he began composing pieces for services there. At age ten he started guitar lessons with blues performer Sonny Boy Nelson, a frequent patron of the liquor store owned by Azar's father. His parents encouraged his musical goals, and his father secured a Nashville demo session for him at fifteen. While pursuing business studies at Delta State University, Azar and his brother assembled a band that played regional dates until tragedy struck when one member took his own life and another faced a murder charge. Azar then continued alone; relocating to Nashville in 1993, he pursued a recording contract and ultimately signed with independent River North Records, distributed by A&M, which issued Heartbreak Town in 1996. Although "I Never Stopped Loving You" and "Someday" charted on the country singles lists, Azar found the results unsatisfying, and River North's 1997 bankruptcy left him contractually entangled for two years of touring and songwriting until he purchased his release and regained independence.

Mercury Records became his new home in 2001, and the debut single "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)" reached number two on the country charts while climbing to number 35 on the pop side. It anchored the 2002 album Waitin' On Joe, which featured Sonny Landreth on guitar; the title track later appeared as a single accompanied by a video starring actor Morgan Freeman. Mercury issued "Doin' It Right" in 2005, yet insufficient sales prompted his departure the following year. Azar then founded Dang Records and arranged distribution through Midas, beginning with the holiday single "Catfish Christmas" before releasing "You Don't Know a Thing," co-written with Radney Foster, which charted in 2006 aided by a video cameo from golfer John Daly. An enthusiastic golfer himself, Azar regularly participates in charity events and organizes an annual tournament supporting Mississippi children's causes. Distribution complications delayed the album Indianola until 2008, during which time he toured extensively, including 46 shows opening for Bob Seger.

After closing Dang, Azar established Ride Records to oversee marketing and distribution more directly. Ride reissued Indianola and, in 2009, delivered Slide On Over Here, which continued the blues direction of its predecessor. "Sunshine (Everybody Needs a Little)" and "Moo La Moo" both reached the Country Top 40. The 2011 project Delta Soul, Vol. 1 offered four new tracks alongside five re-recorded catalog songs; its updated version of "Doin' It Right" later appeared in the 2012 Kevin Smith comedy Here Comes the Boom.

Down at the Liquor Store, issued in 2017, was captured at Club Ebony inside the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi, with Azar backed by the same veteran musicians who had performed with King and Elvis Presley. He returned to Mississippi themes on the 2020 album My Mississippi Reunion, which included drummer Cedric Burnside and mixed fresh recordings with remastered earlier material, among them "One Mississippi," written for the state's 2019 bicentennial. The song was designated the official state song by legislation signed by Governor Tate Reeves in April 2022. Azar has been appointed an official Music & Culture Ambassador of Mississippi and hosts the podcast In a Mississippi Minute with Steve Azar, devoted to the state's legends and stories.