Randall King with Clayton Mullen

21+ / www.joesbar.comYou grow wiser with age, you grow wiser while youre working and experiencing life, and I feel like I have a deeper understanding of what my music really is. Were moving into the neon era of country music. The pendulum is swinging, and youre watching it happen... Now I just hope people get their mind blown. --Randall KingIn the few short years since he arrived in Nashville, Randall King has made no bones about his honky-tonk allegiance. In fact, hes worn it like a badge of honor, growing with pride into a leading voice for todays traditional country. But if anyone thought he was stuck in the past, his new album proves otherwise.But with his sophomore major-label album, Into the Neon, his musical mix of timeless-and-trendsetting reaches fresh heights. With this one, hes taking honky tonk somewhere new a place where steel guitar and smoke meet a modern buzz.Theres a side of me that has not been captured yet, King says, flashing a playful grin and his matter-of-fact confidence. One thats still honky tonk and country, but its got an edge to it. Thats where we got to on this one.For a guy known for sticking close to stylistic ground, thats an intriguing statement, but one thats not actually so tough to believe. Raised in Hereford, West Texas, not far from the New Mexico line, King grew up on a steady diet of country greats, from Keith Whitley and George Strait to Alan Jackson and John Anderson. Singing in the back of a 93 Chevy as it criss-crossed county roads and tractor paths alike, it was there that his love of the classics took shape and where he would begin to develop his signature baritone, a rumbling vocal capable of both booming like thunder across the plains or whispering with the midnight wind.Over time, he used that timeless vocal to build a rep all across Texas and beyond, embracing a road-warrior lifestyle and never waiting on permission to explore his creative vision. Working independently, King produced and released the defiant 2016 EP, Another Bullet, boldly going against the mainstream grain to proclaim honky tonk would not go down ... at least, not without a fight. With fans flocking to his electrifying live shows each one a harrowing mix of rowdy roughnecking, romantic tenderness and breathtaking emotion he then followed up with a 2018 self-titled album and hit Music Row with an all-or-nothing honky-tonk mandate. But despite his hand-crafted status as an old-school troubadour (with a new-school fire), it was actually a pair of modern masters who inspired Kings early path, becoming the soundtrack to his coming of age. At 16, he wore out Dierks Bentleys first three records, captivated by the unbridled energy and rootsy flair. King likewise calls Gary Allans Smoke Rings In the Dark pivotal to the dusky emotion of his own sound, and with Into the Neon, 18 fresh songs build on those era-spanning touchstones like never before.