All Country News Artist Spotlight With Blake Wood.
Born in Kentucky and raised in Wake Forest, NC, emerging artist Blake Wood draws from personal experiences to craft his own country forward stories.
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Leaning into music in his formidable years, Blake drew inspiration for performing music from his idols in the 80’s and 90’s country genre. A traditionalist at heart, Blake perfectly combines the sound of today and the storytelling and emotion of yesterday in his songs.
"It is almost impossible to pick my favorite song from childhood," Blake tells All Country News. "I'd have to say 'Work In Progress' from the Alan Jackson DRIVE album. How it affects the music I make now would be to take the song writing and structure from the songs I grew up on and put a 'Today's' twist on it. I love traditional 80's and 90's country music but I also love the feeling and vibe of today's songs."
As a songwriter, Blake writes from the heart, drawing on experiences like tearing up backroads, fishing for large-mouth bass, and driving old trucks. His upbringing in a highly musical family laid the foundation for his journey into the music industry. However, moving to Music City took some guts. "I felt drawn to Nashville because I just knew it was the place I needed to be as a songwriter and artist to grow. I knew that if I wanted to expand my circle and group of creative songwriters and friends, this was the place. The hardest part about the early days living here was just finding people that you click with musically and share a vision with. Finding your friends, co-writers and musical buds was the hardest thing to adjust to right up front. Not sure if that's the hardest for everyone, but it was something I focused on to get comfortable in Nashville and feel at home."
Blake writes what he lives. Some writers and singers must pretend to know about certain lifestyles to pull them off well. Blake can draw on what he knows from experience like tearing up backroads and off-roading, wetting a line fishing for large mouth bass, and driving old trucks. Blake still drives his 2001 GMC Sierra 1500 with almost 300,000 miles on it.
His latest song "Country Down" encompasses just that. The song serves as an anthem that pays homage to the charm and simplicity of rural America. The track reflects on the disconnect between the hustle and bustle of city life and the profound sense of belonging in a small town.
"My favorite thing about 'Country Down' is the whole idea that people who grew up like me know what we know and the people we grew up with. The bubble your small town or hometown has for you, I guess you'd say. The small town vibe that the song gives off really speaks to me and when we were writing it I knew other people who grew up kinda like I did would be able to relate to it."
Blake signed his first publishing deal as a songwriter in early 2023 and quickly secured his first record deal with Deluge Records Nashville. "My main goal is just to keep putting out music that I'm passionate about and I love - if I can keep doing that and people love it and can relate to it, I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing. Stardom or fame or whatever people think we're all chasing isn't really something I focus on. I just want my music to be an anthem for small town America and a soundtrack for the people who grew up like me."
As he continues to make his mark in the industry, Blake's authentic approach and relatable narratives are sure to resonate with fans of all backgrounds.