Austin Moody

“This is who I want to hear when I first turn on my radio on the way to school or work in the mornings! Nothing like great music to keep you going through the day... this is great music!” The fans say it best and this was the words expressed by a fan of Austin Moody.

East Tennessee has some of the most talented musicians in the south, something evident to anyone who's met or had the pleasure of listening to Austin Moody. Austin, who grew up in Kingsport, attended Rock Springs Elementary School, started taking banjo and guitar lessons at the age of eight, has turned those lessons into a career in Nashville. Austin attended Colonial Heights Middle School and won a local talent contest at the age of eleven. Austin had other interest and spent eight years in the Sullivan County 4-H where he was in the 4-H honors club. He attended Sullivan South High school where he was in the Air Force Jr. ROTC four years and earned the Deputy Squadron Commander in his senior year, the second highest rank to be given. He earned a private pilots license before he even graduated from high school.

This young musician amazes all who listens to his voice or takes the time to read his biography. Austin loves his East Tennessee roots. I spoke to him at his residence in Nashville by phone this week and his first words were an expression of love for East Tennessee and its people. Austin is not only in Nashville working on his music career but also attending The Art institute with a major in audio engineering. He has a desire to be a singer and song writer. At the age of eight, Austin performed on stage for the first time. “He said he was happiest on stage and that was where he was going to be someday,” said a family friend.

Austin has started a dream project where he goes to public schools and encourages kids to study, work hard and follow their dreams. He has been involved in community service projects such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Hope Haven and has performed in nursing homes like the Bryan Center and Elm Croft assisted living. He has also played in community churches.

Austin sings country, gospel and blue grass music. His songs include, Heroes (Up Above) and One Last Time. East Tennessee has a reason to be proud of this musician and thankful that he calls this his home. - Examiner

Beryl Moody sent hundreds of letters to his bride, Nancy, while he was stationed in Europe during World War II.

“My darling wife … we will have to live and hope how soon we can be together again … I could tell you more in one minute if we were together than I could write in a month … here I am again trying to tell you that I’m OK and I hope you’re the same …. oh, yes, we found a garden this morning and we are having green beans and potatoes for supper,” he wrote in some of his letters.

It was these letters that inspired, Beryl’s grandson, Austin Moody, to write a song. The younger Moody says he dedicated “Heroes (Up Above)” to our nation’s veterans.

“I was reading the letters one day, and I was kind of amazed how they talked back then. It was kind of a whole different language and choice of words. All of this touched me in a special way. Writing the song was easy. I wrote it in one night,” Moody said.

Moody will perform “Heroes (Up Above)” during the opening ceremonies of the second annual Vietnam Veterans Homecoming on Saturday, June 25 at the Appalachian Fairgrounds. - Times News

FLORENCE — In an effort to keep things fresh, First Fridays is having a little less rock ’n’ roll and a little more honky-tonk this month.
The monthly event in downtown will have a country theme to it, after having a ecological theme in April.
“We’ve said it’s got a bit of a country twang to it,” said Michelle Eubanks, publicity coordinator for First Fridays. “It’s very much in keeping with the spirit of First Fridays. You want to keep the event new and different so people will have the reason, not just to come back, but to get something unique out of it every single time.”
Eubanks said they still want people to visit the retailers, restaurants and other features of downtown, while attracting a new audience and growing the event.
Featured will be Nashville country musicians Dixie Jade and Austin Moody, while Free to Dance Studio of Florence will demonstrate country line dances.
There also will be a surprise event from the Florence High School band and a local musician who hadn’t been confirmed as of press time Wednesday.
“I think all of those things put together will make the event feel a little bit different,” Eubanks said. “We’ve had music from bands like The Pollies, and the lineups are not in the country genre at all, so this we believe will give it a totally different feel.”
Moody said he grew up playing bluegrass and banjo and performing in a gospel quartet. He started writing country music and moved to Nashville after high school.
“My stuff is as organic as it gets, I’m straight forward, and I don’t use a lot of metaphors,” Moody said. “I just kind of tell you how it is in my songs. Without trying to be country, it’s country. It just oozes out of me.”
Moody said he was just offered a record deal with Quarterback Records and has released a single, “I Wanna,” on iTunes. - Times Daily

JOHNSON CITY, TN (WJHL) -
Poor Richard's Campus and Nashville recording artist Austin Moody are teaming up to raise money for Niswonger Children's Hospital.

On Thursday May 9, Poor Richard's Campus will be hosting two events in collaboration with Nashville recording artist Austin Moody to raise money for the Niswonger Children's Hospital located at the Johnson City Medical Center.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Austin Moody will be at Poor Richards for a meet and greet lunch. During this time fans will be able to mingle with the Kingsport, Tenn. native as well as enjoy some of Poor Richards famous sandwiches and Maxine's Finest Iced Tea. Ten percent of all lunch proceeds will be donated to the Niswonger Children's Hospital.

Later that night Moody will return to Poor Richards to perform an intimate benefit concert. Poor Richards will donate $1 of the cover charge for every person who walks through the doors. Doors open at 9 p.m.

The above information provided by Poor Richard's Campus. - News Channel 11

A country music singer and songwriter from Nashville plans to perform for employees and customers of an area farm equipment dealership.
Austin Moody will sing at the Stoller International locations in Pontiac and Ottawa in September to promote a new song he wrote for Case IH called “Be Ready.” While in the area, Moody also plans to shoot a music video for the new song.
“I had actually been contacted by a few dealers saying hey, thank you for the inspiration – we appreciate you writing a song,” said Moody.
Stoller International was the first dealership Moody actually reached out to about the song and they have decided to do a customer and employee appreciation event surrounding the performances on Sept. 5 and 6. A meet-and-greet is being planned, as well.
Moody has been in Nashville for three years now and believes when something keeps knocking at your door, you need to open that door.
“I’m from a gravel road and a couple of odd jobs and houses in the woods, so Nashville was never really a reality while I was growing up,” he recalled. “You meet people and things work out. Long story short, I started writing songs.”
Moody has written songs for other independent artists and has recently put some songs online, which have drawn quite a bit of attention in the music industry. Moody is currently performing throughout the country and says he is excited about his relationship with Case IH.
The music video recorded at Stoller’s should be available on Moody’s website (http://www.-austinmoody.net/) and on You Tube two to three weeks after the performance.
“It’s kind of a cool thing. We’ve kind of made it where everybody can get in on it,” said Moody.
Everyday hard-working Americans are the inspiration behind Moody’s music. After all, he grew up on a farm and was able to live the rural life for 18 years. According to Moody, country folks seem to “get it.”
Cookouts are being planned at the Stoller International locations in Pontiac and Ottawa during Moody’s visit. For performance details or more information about the upcoming event, call 815-844-6197.

- Pontiac Daily Leader

Customers and employees of Stoller International in Pontiac were treated to a dinner, live concert by an up-and-coming country music star and a chance to be in the singer’s video — shot on site at Stoller’s.
Stollers served about 650 dinners Thursday night to customers and employees and then treated attendees to an hour-long show by Austin Moody, a singer and songwriter out of Nashville, Tenn. While on the premises, videographers from Glass Jar Photography, featuring the husband and wife team of Whitney and Bethany Dean, filmed scenes for the music video for the song “Be Ready.”
Moody said he wrote that song with Case tractors in mind and that when the recording went online he heard from Katrina Stoller.
“She really liked the song,” he said, “so I offered to come and play it for them and then the plans just went from there to this full-blown deal,” he said.
“The Stollers are just amazing. They don’t really know us, but they have treated us like kings,” he stated.
“He is an up-and-comer and we were proud to have this young man. He’s so talented and he’s only 21,” said Lynn Stoller, vice president of Stoller International. His brother, Clark Stoller, serves as president.
Moody will be playing this evening at the Stoller location in Ottawa.
“He’s trying to get started and this is a great night for us as well as him,” Stoller said, adding they’ve been planning this event for two months.
Moody and his band have been traveling across the country playing various gigs and the singer and photographers said the Stoller family rolled out the red carpet for their visit.
“They had a big family breakfast for us and later we came back and had lunch with the employees. They set up a tour of Caterpillar for us, which was awesome,” said Whitney Dean, who sported a Cat hat the rest of the evening.
Following the dinner, Moody and the band climbed up on a stage inside one of the large Stoller sheds and performed for about an hour. Before singing “Be Ready,” Moody shared with the crowd that he was very familiar with farm equipment, as his family is engaged in third-generation farming in Tennessee. At the end of the set, Dean asked the attendees to rise from their seats and crowd the stage — and shout and wave their hands while chanting “Austin Moody.” Everyone in attendance obliged and the scene was shot a couple of times with Moody lipsyncing to the track.
After the filming finished, Moody jumped off stage and handed out free CD s of his three latest songs, while signing publicity photos, hats and shirts for very appreciative fans, many who shook his hand and told him they thoroughly enjoyed his music. Dean said the video would be ready in two to three weeks and that it would appear on Moody’s website, www.austinmoody.net, as well as YouTube.
“The people we played for tonight are the people I want to play for, they’re my kind of people,” Moody said. “It’s been a real blessing being here. To be able to make a living doing what you love — you can’t put a price on that.”

- Pontiac Daily Leader