Scoot Teasley, a rising artist from Toccoa, Georgia, is reshaping the landscape of country music by seamlessly blending his classic country roots with modern hip-hop and R&B influences. Growing up surrounded by the rhythms of church pews and his early days behind the drum kit, Scoot developed a lifelong passion for music that now fuels his innovative sound.
Inspired by artists like Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers, Scoot has carved a unique niche, merging traditional country storytelling with contemporary soundscapes. His breakout single, ‘This Truck Still Misses You,’ garnered significant attention, landing on Spotify’s Fresh Finds Country and New Music Friday Country playlists.
Building on this momentum, Scoot released his acclaimed EP ‘Country Back’ which further showcases his ability to bridge genres while staying true to his roots. His distinctive style and growing popularity earned him a coveted spot on Nashville Briefing’s 2024 25 Artists to Watch list but it is newly released song, ‘Gone to Dust’ that brought him to our attention and we were thrilled to catch up with Scoot to talk all about it and much, much more.
Thanks for your time today, Scoot, we know how busy you must be in song release week and what a terrific song ‘Gone to Dust’ is as well!
Thank you for your time too, I appreciate it. I wrote that song last year during CMA Fest. It was really cool because it was the first time I had got to go to CMA Fest and I ended up writing the best song of my life and played CMA Fest on the same day! (laughing)
The song has this big expansive production and this big drum sound. What were your sonic influences in terms of putting the track together?
There’s a lot of organ and a lot of heavy synth on that track which I think comes from my church background. The organ is my favourite instrument – I love big chords and bug synths and the organ gives that.
I grew up playing drums so I love anytime we can get a big drum sound on a track!
You mentioned church and growing up playing drums. Did you come from a musical family back in Georgia and when did the music bug first bite?
My parents are both tone deaf! (laughing) My grandmother was the choir director at church and the town I grew up in is richly integrated with the history of music, particularly Blues, so I think I got my talents from her and the church and things like the children’s choir. That helped a lot.
What do the folks back home think about what you are doing in Nashville?
They love it! They think I’m the most popular person ever! (laughing) It’s cool when I go back home.
Do you still play drums today?
Sometimes. Not as much as I’d like to but I still do get a chance to get behind a kit every now and then!
Drummers used to be recognisable figures, particularly more in Rock music with drummers like Cozy Powell and John Bonham being almost as famous as their bands’ lead singers. In these days where music is produced more on machines do you think the art of drumming is a dying art and which drummers did you admire?
I don’t think so, live shows will always need a drummer and there are still a lot of great drummers out there. I grew watching Travis Barker a lot and also Stixx Taylor too, there were probably my two biggest influences. Two different styles and genres but I loved them both.
Your ‘Country Back’ EP has been out for almost a year now. It’s a great introduction to who you are. Do you have a favourite track from the EP that you are most proud of?
Honestly, I love the whole EP but if I had to pick a favourite it would probably be ‘Hat on the Dash’ although I do also love ‘Country Back’ as well. That one reminds me of my hometown.
Yeah – that song seems to find you in quite a nostalgic mood wanting to turn the clock back to simpler times. What was the inspiration behind that track?
That song came from one singular thing. My hometown was so small when I was growing up. We never had anything like a Chick Fil-A or any of the major fast food restaurants. One day I went back home and there was a Chick Fil-A, a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Starbucks and I was amazed! That was the idea behind the song.
Some people welcome outlets like that opening up and others stick with their local places, I guess it just depends on the person but it prompted me to have the idea for the song.
I think my favourite song on the EP is ‘This Truck Still Misses You.’ I could hear that song on a Keith Urban or Lady A album. Which artists have had the biggest influence on you?
If you go back a bit you’ll find me listening to early Luke Combs and a lot of Kameron Marlowe. I love Dylan Marlowe too. Classic artists? I really love Rascal Flatts. There’s a lot of different styles that have gone into the music I am making right now.
The first song you have on Spotify dates back to 2022 with ‘Let Me Move On.’ How have a you changed as an artist and a writer since then?
Oh man, so much has changed. That song was my first co-write in Nashville and only the third time I’d been to town. The experience I have in a co-write now is a lot different to what it was then because I feel like I am more content with myself and more confident in knowing what I can do in the room now.
I think you can hear the growing confidence I have in myself if you listen to my music as each release goes by. I’ve grown a lot.
When you first got to Nashville did you have imposter syndrome because everyone there is so talented?
For sure! It’s like going to play in the big leagues, right? Sometimes you might be the best in your hometown and be the only person who can do what you do in your hometown. Then you move up a level and it’s a whole different world and game.
Every one in Nashville is so good – not even just good – really, really good! It was quite overwhelming at first but you work hard and put in the hours and you get the hang of it too. I found co-writing tricky at first although I did have an advantage because whilst I had been writing songs by myself at home I had also been writing songs on zoom with my friend Ben, so I had a comfort with opening up to someone else beforehand. That helped the process once I got to Nashville.
As you begin to put together a bigger body of work across 2025 have you got your eye on any particular songwriters in Nashville that you would love to work with?
That’s a hard question!! (laughing) I have a lot of people that I write with already that I love. If we’re talking dream write it would have to be Kameron Marlowe – he’s a great writer. He also has a lot of solo writes too, which is so impressive.
You mentioned ‘stepping up to the big leagues’ so tell me about your song ‘The Chop’ and the Braves!
That song was so cool and I was pleased that I got to have that opportunity. I’m a big Braves fan, first of all, as are my parents too. We’ve spent a lot of time at The Battery and at Turner Field too over the years. So, it was really cool that I got to go the play off game and they played my song after the Braves won it – which, for a small town boy from Georgia to hear that in the stadium was incredible. It was surreal.
I know you’ve just played in Athens, Georgia with Travis Denning who runs some sort of Nashville-based Georgia mafia group! Are you in on that yet or is that something you are looking to get into!
He was so cool to me and it was incredible to be able to play in Athens. You know, I’m trying to work my way into that group, squeeze in there somehow! (laughing)
Can you tell us about the plans for 2025 in terms of more new music shows and tours?
I hadn’t released a song in almost a year until ‘Gone To Dust’ came out because I spent the whole of last year just writing. I have so many new songs that I cannot wait to put out that I feel are better than the ones already out there. As shows go, there will be some shows in Florida coming up soon that I am excited about and we are looking to get more booked in as the year progresses.
I’m aiming to out out a new song every 8-12 weeks so there is much more coming from me this year.
Check out Scoot Teasley’s excellent new song ‘Gone to Dust’ and keep an eye on his future release for new music coming down the line from him in 2025
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source entertainment-focus.com ’