Singer-songwriter Troy Cartwright builds on the momentum of his self-titled debut album with a new EP and a beautiful music video for “Arkansas,” a C&I exclusive premiere.
On Troy Cartwright’s 12th birthday, the gift of an acoustic guitar opened up a new world for a boy whose music consumption had been mostly limited to contemporary Christian rock and the Forrest Gump soundtrack. Inspired by singer-songwriters like John Prine and Pete Yorn, he was performing original songs at churches and bars alike by the time he left high school.
Now, not long after furthering his musical journey at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, he is sharing bills with Texas country stars such as Randy Rogers, Hayes Carll, and the Turnpike Troubadours. He released a critically acclaimed self-titled debut album last year that made its way into the Texas Music Chart’s Top 25. But Cartwright isn’t resting on his laurels. October’s Don’t Fade EP finds the Dallas native honing his craft, as evidenced by songs like the meditative “Arkansas.”
“It could be a feeling of grief, uncertainty, longing — but what we tried to demonstrate here are the steps of trying to leave behind a memory,” Cartwright says of the song in a press release. “Sometimes you need a trip like this to help you turn the page, but I also wanted to acknowledge the gravity of the situation that’s still pulling me down. Like this video, sometimes those thoughts are little distractions that quickly pass and other times they take over you completely. I think we’ve all spent many a restless night in and out of dreams that seem all too real, grappling with the uncertainty of where to go next. The beauty of if it for me comes in the realization that time marches on, and by reflecting and learning from our past, we eventually get past it and are almost better for it.”
Check out the video, which was directed by Andrew Holzschuh and shot, despite the song title, in Middle Tennessee, just north of Nashville. If you like what you hear, you can buy the EP at this link.
