Clayton Gardner

When his sensual, richly timbered voice erupts, you would think that Clayton Gardner was born with a microphone in his hand, but his long term love affair with sports took precedence all his life until his sophomore year in college. That’s when he made the fateful decision to pick up a guitar and in turn a new love affair began. His tenure under the influence of country music greats including Keith Whitley, Vince Gill and George Strait has ultimately cultivated a genuine singer/ songwriter with a voice that pours out smoothly like a warm jug of southern maple syrup. Self-described as 90’s country with a contemporary twist, Gardner attributes his collection of feel-good and buoyant anthems to his happy-go-lucky nature that has quite obviously hit home with country music fans. Never one to dwell in negative depths, Gardner leads with his addictive smile and love of country music. "I was a country music fan first. I understand what it takes to be on that stage and the respect you must have for the fans who carry it." Clayton Gardner immediately made his presence known with the release if his freshman five-song EP HERE TO STAY on May 1, 2012 where it debuted at #19 on the iTunes Top 100 Country Albums chart. A growing number of fans quickly gave rise to a buzz among the radio world and it wasn’t long before Clayton headed out on a radio tour where he was embraced by programmers across the Midwest resulting in two Top 20 singles on the Texas Music Chart with "I Won’t Settle Down" and "Happy Ending." Clayton took that success, combined it with his relentless hard work and in turn found himself playing with acts like Aaron Watson, Rick Trevino, Pat Green, Charlie Robison, Jack Ingram, Kevin Fowler, Brandon Rhyder, Josh Abbott and Casey Donahew. He feverishly grasped these opportunities to gain new fans in the upper echelon of the touring circuit, which in turn has propelled him to new levels of success. Still a voracious music fan, you will mostly likely see Gardner next to you in a crowd as much as you will see him on stage. And never more so than now as Gardner gears up for the release of his sophomore seven-song EP release LUCKY 7 in the fall. Produced by GRAMMY nominated Mack Damon, LUCKY 7 aims to please in a compact power shot that gets right down to the point and gets you right up on your feet. The collection features gems like Gardner’s personal favorite "Old Fashioned Love Song," a sweet echo of times past when the world was not in such a hurry, and the EP’s first single "Something About You" that will hit radio on June 10th. The musical prowess of John Carroll on guitar (Chris Cagle, Joe Nichols, Cory Morrow), Joe Cortez on drums (Johnny Cooper, Blue Edmonson), James Hurtless on bass and vocal harmonies (Brandon Rhyder, Josh Abbott), Marty Muse on steel guitar (Robert Earl Keen) and Jimmy Herman on fiddle (Carrie Underwood) raises the stakes and all bets are high. Surrounded by a throng of major players in the game, Gardner is quick to declare his official commencement into a music career that is primed for the big leagues, yet his humble demeanor remains intact and comes through loud and clear. "The highlight of my career is my career. Just being able to have the opportunity to do what I love."