By McKinsleigh Smith
Breakout country artist John King is playing in downtown Provo tonight. Hailing from the small mountain town of Demorest, Georgia, he’s made a national name for himself through a smart pairing of raw talent and natural business acumen.
A prolific songwriter and collaborator, he wrote Randy Houser’s chart-topping single “We Went.” He received a 2016 ASCAP Songwriter Award for the song’s success – his first #1 single. He also wrote “Rollin” – the first Hootie and The Blowfish release since 2005. As a working musician, King tours over 150 dates per year with artists like Florida Georgia Line, Travis Tritt, and Scotty McCreery.
As a solo artist, his song “Try Saying Goodbye” was named one of Rolling Stone’s top 10 Country songs in 2019. Tom Roland of Billboard called it “a de facto earworm that continues to connect.” The song has nearly 10 million Spotify streams and preceded the successful release of his 2021 full length album, Always Gonna Be You.
King draws inspiration from his parents, his college days, and megastars like Garth Brooks. As King puts it, “Entertaining a crowd, meeting the fans, hearing their stories, seeing them have the time of their lives – that is what God put me here to do. That’s my passion.”
The Covey Center for the Arts in downtown Provo will welcome John King to its main stage tonight, October 13, at 7:30 PM. Tickets for this show are on sale now. Make sure to follow John King on Instagram and check out his song “Try Saying Goodbye” below!