Adam Carroll (born 1975) is an

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

singer-songwriter who was born in

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

, and has spent most of his career in the

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

area. Carroll has nine solo albums to his credit, all indie releases, beginning with 2000's ''South of Town''. His songwriting, which focuses on life in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, is influenced by the work of Texas greats such as

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff ...

and

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

. He was honored in 2016 with the release ''Highway Prayer: A Tribute to Adam Carroll'', which features recordings of his songs by some of Austin's leading Americana music artists, including

Slaid Cleaves Richard Slaid Cleaves (born June 9, 1964) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has been performing extensively and recording albums in the Americana genre since the early 1990s. Raised in South Berwick, Maine, he has lived in the Austin, ...

James McMurtry James McMurtry (born March 18, 1962, in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American rock and folk rock/ americana singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader, and occasional actor ('' Daisy Miller'', '' Lonesome Dove'', and narrator of ''Ghost Town: 24 Hour ...

Terri Hendrix Terri Ann Hendrix is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and independent artist who has been writing and performing an eclectic mix of Americana genre, encompassing folk, pop, country, blues, and jazz, since 1990. Since 1988 H ...

and

Tim Easton Timothy E. Easton (born April 25, 1966) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter playing rock and roll, folk and Americana music. His latest release, ''You Don't Really Know Me'' was released on August 27, 2021. Biography Easton was raise ...

Biography

Carroll was born in 1975 in Tyler, Texas. His father is an attorney and his mother, a musician and choir director. He studied classical guitar and creative writing briefly at Tyler Junior College. He left college in his early 20s, around 1995, and began performing in the Austin-Dallas-San Antonio area, initially in coffeehouses and later at pubs and clubs throughout the region. In 1998, he released his debut ''South of Town'' which was followed by ''Lookin' Out the Screen Door'' in 2000 and ''Adam Carroll Live'' in 2002. All three were produced by

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning producer

Lloyd Maines Lloyd Wayne Maines (born June 28, 1951) is an American country music record producer, musician and songwriter. He was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame as one of the first three members, the other two being Willie Nelson and Stev ...

. While on the road, Carroll opened for some of East Texas's top musicians, who took notice of his song writing and began performing his work.

Hayes Carll Joshua Hayes Carll (born January 9, 1976), known professionally as Hayes Carll, is an American singer-songwriter. A native of Houston, Texas, his style of country, folk, and roots-oriented songwriting is noted for his plain-spoken poetry and se ...

was the first to record a cover of one of Carroll's songs, "Take Me Away", on his 2005 album ''Little Rock''. The song, co-written by fellow singer-songwriter John Evans, appeared on the soundtrack of the 2010 film ''Country Strong''. Other covers followed, including

with "Race Car Joe" on ''Unsung'' in 2006 and

Band of Heathens The Band of Heathens is an American rock and roll band from Austin, Texas. The band was originally formed by Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist in 2005. History The three original principal songwriters - Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Qui ...

with "Maple of Tears" (co-written with band members Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist) on their studio debut ''Band of Heathens'' in 2008. In 2005, Carroll recorded his third studio album, ''Far Away Blues'', which was followed three years later by ''Old Town Rock 'n Roll''. He released another live album in 2010, ''Live at Flipnotics'', recorded at an iconic Austin coffeehouse that has since closed. In 2014, Carroll put out his fifth studio release, ''Let It Choose You''. In April 2019, Carroll released his first solo album in five years, ''I Walked In Them Shoes''. Then in August 2019, he and his wife singer songwriter Chris Carroll made their recording debut as a duo on ''Good Farmer''. Chris plays mandolin and guitar on the album, while Adam plays rhythm guitar, lead guitar and harmonica. Both of the 2019 releases were produced by Lloyd Maines.

''Highway Prayer: A Tribute to Adam Carroll''

In 2016, fourteen Texas artists contributed interpretations of Carroll's songs to the album ''Highway Prayer: A Tribute to Adam Carroll'', which was released by Eight 30 Records in late October. Participating in the homage were

on "Screen Door",

on "Girl with the Dirty Hair",

on "South of Town",

on "Oklahoma Gypsy Shuffler",

and

Aaron Lee Tasjan Aaron Lee Tasjan (born August 24, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Tasjan is reported to have his own distinct version of "indie folk grit." Garret Woodward of the Smoky Mountain News says, "Tasjan's wor ...

on "Black Flag Blues", and

on "Red Bandana Blues". Carroll himself recorded the album's 15th song, the closing track "My Only Good Shirt". The tribute reached the

Americana Music Association The Americana Music Association is a not-for-profit trade organization advocating for American Roots Music globally, and supporting professionals within the field. Purpose The Americana Music Association was founded in order to advocate and p ...

charts and caught the attention of the regional and national music press. '' No Depression'' described the release as one of "the year's three or four best folk albums." Referring to Carroll's talent as a songwriter, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' remarked, "It speaks volumes that McMurtry and Hayes Carll and many more all contribute to (this) new homage to Adam Carroll." And

Elmore Magazine ''Elmore'' is an American music magazine founded in 2005 by Suzanne Cadgène and Arnie Goodman. The magazine covers genres including roots, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock'n'roll, country, folk and Americana. After ten years as a print publication, ...

summed up the attraction of the album's selections: "Carroll's remarkable knack for creating stunning, visceral portraits of everyday Americans."

Discography

*''South of Town'' (1998) *''Looking Out The Screen Door'' (2000) *''Adam Carroll Live'' (2002) *''Far Away Blues'' (2005) *''Old Town Rock n Roll'' (2008) *''Live at Flipnotics'' (2010) *''Let It Choose You'' (2014) *''I Walked In Them Shoes'' (2019)

Collaborations

*''Hard Times'' with Michael O'Connor (2010) *''Good Farmer'' with Chris Carroll (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Adam American folk guitarists American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters Living people Writers from Austin, Texas Singers from Austin, Texas Singer-songwriters from Texas 1975 births Guitarists from Texas 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers