October 2025
Hey y’all,
Here’s the Austin B. Sweeney newsletter coming in hot for the month of October. I put these out once a month to keep you updated on upcoming shows, what I’m listening to, general musings, lyric breakdowns, and much more! I hope this newsletter will provide value for you, if for no other reason than it may introduce you to music you haven’t heard before!
Let’s quit wasting time here and jump into it, here’s what I’ve been listening to in the last week:
Song: “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” – ROLE MODEL
Album: “Live at Sugarshack Sessions Vol. 2” – KBong & Johnny Cosmic
Artist: Mt. Joy
My new single, “Longhaulers” is available NOW! New EP due out later this fall. The music video for “Longhaulers” is available as well on my Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook.
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I’ve been ruminating on a thought lately that maybe you’ll resonate with:
“Other people’s thoughts and feelings are not my responsibility.”
Whether that’s in interpersonal relationships, music, band relationships, etc. I can’t hold myself responsible for how others feel. I spend far too much mental energy trying to figure out how my interactions with others comes across. Did I say something dumb? Offensive (probably)? Have they left this interaction feeling better or worse?
These thoughts are unproductive, and in fact may be anti-productive. It’s not my problem. Of course, saying this to myself versus actually doing it are two very different things.
In the music context, this is a troublesome hangup. All of those who discuss and critique “art” often come to the conclusion that an artist’s responsibility is to create what is unique inside them and share it. Those who have succumbed to “audience capture” attempt to create music that they believe their audience will like and spend money on. This, of course, paints them in a corner – once the audience realizes that they are in control of the situation, the artist loses authority.
We’ve all heard the artists that are accused of “selling out.” They stopped making music that sets them apart from the pack. The spark that made them unique. They begin rehashing old ideas that were profitable in the past, but audiences, and especially fans, have an incredibly keen ear for authenticity or lack thereof.
One of my favorite artists, Sturgill Simpson, is the antithesis to selling out. When he released his seminal record, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music”, the country and alt-country world exploded. They hailed him as the savior of country music and one who embodies the outlaw ethos. Sturgill refuted the so-called honor of being designated the savior – which, ironically, is the exact kind of thing that a savior would do.
What did he do with his next project? He made a Soul/R&B Country record, “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth”, which was a concept record doubling as a letter to his newborn son. “Sailor’s Guide,” by the way, is my all-time favorite record.
That album was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy’s that year.
What did he do next? He made a straight-up rock record complete with an accompanying Japanese Anime film released on Netflix.
Then he released two Bluegrass records that were reworkings of old songs. Then, a concept Bluegrass/Western record. Then, he changed his name to Johnny Blue Skies and released a record.
He is currently touring as Johnny Blue Skies and The Dark Clouds – very much a jam band that Sturgill vehemently states is NOT a jam band. It is though, and it’s stellar.
Fans haven’t strayed. They may have balked at his divergent and eclectic musical choices, but man, they’ve gone along for the ride. They respect him even more now than before when he was simply “the savior of country music.” You know why? Because that’s an artist that plays by rules that only he knows, that he’s created for himself.
This brings me back to the point that other people’s thoughts and feelings are not our responsibility. It’s been said many times that there is an Art of Living. A way to exist in the world that brings beauty and harmony and love to those around you. You can’t achieve that by codependently acquiescing to others’ needs and wants of you. It’s impossible.
It reminds me of the saying: “You may be the sweetest, ripest, juiciest peach in the whole orchard, and there’s still going to be someone there who just doesn’t like peaches.”
Here’s another way of putting it:
There’s you. Only you know you.
Then there’s the version of You that exists in the minds of every person you interact with.
Your parents know a version of you. Your spouse knows a version of you. Your friends know a version of you. Your kids. Your boss. Your coworkers. Each person’s version of you then runs through the unique filter of each mind perceiving you. All of their hangups, jealousies, biases, etc…. and once You have been filtered through all of that, they have their perception of you. Therefore, you are a different person in the minds of every single person you interact with, and you have zero control of how they perceive you. Good luck trying to figure out where you stand every second of every day with every person you know. Clear your schedule, because that sounds exhausting.
Your other option is to just be yourself. Which is trite, I suppose, but it’s true.
You do you. Be kind, be helpful, be open, but be yourself. Why deny your friends and family of the opportunity to come into contact with the real you? Authenticity begets authenticity. Real recognizes real.
TL;DR
Fuck it. We ball.
You’ve heard of Merle Haggard’s “I Think I’ll Stay Here and Drink”? Well here’s a video of my pun on that title for all the overthinkers out there: “I Guess I’ll Just Stay Here and Think”.
I’m officially back in AZ for a little while. Here are the shows that are currently booked for October, but there are more to be booked as of this writing. Hope to see y’all out there!
· 10/3 – Old County Inn, 6-9pm (Pine, AZ)
· 10/4 – Old County Inn, 6-9pm (Pine, AZ)
· 10/5 – The Roadrunner, 1-5pm (New River, AZ)
· 10/10 – Creekside Tavern, 5-8pm (Christopher Creek, AZ)
· 10/11 – Oktoberfest (on the Central Stage) – FULL BAND, 6-7:30pm (Tempe, AZ)
· 10/18 – Muks, 6-9pm (Payson, AZ)
· 10/19 – San Tan Flat, 6-9pm (Queen Creek, AZ)
· 10/24 – Muks, 6-9pm (Payson, AZ)
· 10/25 – De La Cruz, 5-8pm (Gold Canyon, AZ)
· 10/26 – Saguaro Lake Ranch w/ Laura Hamlin (ticketed), 5:30-7:30pm (Mesa, AZ)
Stoked to see y’all soon.
Austin
Listen now!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/433eTr5V5LEv1VtP1ejbkt?si=Jlzl5oz8RvulN-ocxrGqyg
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