Bold Journey Magazine interview (10.16.25)

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Austin Sweeney. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Austin, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
It’s pretty basic. I get up around 5-5:30am and go to the gym. I developed that habit back in high school and it persists. I’ve found that on the days where I don’t start my day with something difficult that gets the blood pumping, I feel like I’m in a deficit for the rest of the day. The gym is where I collect and order my thoughts and it’s a great way to kickstart my day. Everything becomes 10x easier when the hard part has been accomplished first thing in the morning.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Austin Sweeney and I’m an Americana musician who currently splits time between the coastal rains of the Pacific Northwest and the hot, hot desert of Arizona. I live in a fifth-wheel RV, dubbed “The Bandwagon”, with my wife, an old dog, and a fat cat. I’ve been making music for 15 years, but only as of November 2024 did it become my full-time job. I’ve done country-wide tours and am currently preparing to release a new EP, “Wagon”, on November 14th. I’ve described my sound as “Sturgill Simpson meets The Black Crowes at a party that Van Morrison threw for Eddie Vedder.”

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
My analytical mind. I wouldn’t say the whole thing needs to be released, but I still find myself overanalyzing every little thing and I could stand to lose that part. There’s a concept that those who tend to find themselves constantly “up in their head” during the day need to do something that gets them “back in their body”. Exercise, hiking, sports, cold showers, whatever. It doesn’t really matter which activity you choose, what matters is that the activity recenters you in your body. You can analyze your life all the way up until you die, but once you arrive at your deathbed, that’s when the overthinkers have the realization that they “never really lived”. Life must be felt, embodied and experienced. Nothing wrong with enjoying the landscape of your thoughts, but it needs to be balanced with an attention to the body and to visceral experiences.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
It’s not your fault… but it is your responsibility. Play the hand you were dealt, don’t just despair over the cards and how they may not be as winning a hand as someone else’s. The best stories are not about the man who was born on third and thinks he hit a triple. The best stories involve the guy whose back is up against the wall with no clear way out, but through cunning, courage and a little elbow grease figures out how to win, despite the odds.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Good question. Yes and no. Primarily yes, because I don’t know how to be anyone other than myself. I’ve never been the guy to adopt trends, dress in the current fashion (ask my wife about my Crocs), or listen to music that I don’t enjoy that seems to be the current sound. I just do things the way that I like doing them. On the flip side, I don’t project everything about me to the world. I have been through a lot in my life that have legitimately brought me to the brink of devastation, but that’s not what I want to be defined as. I have unfortunate people-pleasing tendencies that sometimes make me acquiesce to the group dynamics. However, there is not a person in this world that, when I’m in their presence, makes me abandon my beliefs, convictions, or way-of-being. I may not always be my 100% self in every situation, but I’ll never act differently than who I actually am. I may just put the brakes on certain aspects of my being. This is to say that the public version of me is the real me, but isn’t always as dynamic as I may be with close friends or family.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Music trends. I’m not trying to be self-aggrandizing here, but anytime there’s been a hot music trend that people can’t get enough of in the mainstream, I’m always the first person pointing out the boring consistencies of the trend that begin to emerge, much to the chagrin of my friends and family. I’m the annoying music snob. There’s probably a more genteel way to put it, but everyone knows what a music snob is. Whether it’s the Bro Country trend, the Pop Country trend, Contemporary Christian Music trend, the Sad Boy Country trend, etc. I saw and classified each one before anyone in my life or online seemed to be defining it. It’s unfortunate to see the math that goes into music styles as it generally detracts from my enjoyment of it, but that’s the reality of knowing how to write music. I can see what the trends are doing. What the lyrics are doing. What the dynamics of the genres are. Even if I like a certain genre or style, as soon as I try to write a song that adopts the style, I start to see how cliched my own writing becomes. I’m often given grief for ruining it for others, which is never my goal. I just can’t help myself when I see cliches and paint-by-numbers music. It’s the antithesis of creativity and art. It bothers me and I wish it didn’t. But it does. I absolutely love talking new music with people, so don’t take this as a warning not to share music with me. I’ve gotten much better at keeping my mouth shut if I can tell that someone really digs a sound that I don’t care for. I’ve come to the realization that even if I don’t consider it interesting or creative, that doesn’t mean that someone else doesn’t. My opinion may have validity, but so does someone else’s. It’s not my job to point out how the magician got the rabbit out of the hat. Even if I know that the man onstage isn’t performing ACTUAL magic, who am I to ruin that for someone else?

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