Meet Clark Manson: Small Town Roots With Big City Dreams

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Clark Manson may be from a two-stoplight small town in Ohio, but he definitely has big city dreams. Having already opened for acts such as Cole Swindell, Jon Pardi, Chase Rice and Dustin Lynch, it seems that his career is certainly headed in the right direction, and fast. He credits his down to earth and humble attitude to having grown up in the small town of Covington, Ohio. During a recent interview with us, Manson said, “being from such a small town and being surrounded by family and a supportive, tight-knit community has had a big impact on me.” His hometown and large family hold a very special place in his life and says his favorite place to write is “probably on my back porch, at home in Ohio.”

Manson is proud of his Ohio roots. In fact, his entire band consists of fellow Ohioans. “We have a special natural camaraderie with each other,” which he feels sets them apart. “You can tell we are having fun and it’s not just a job with us,” he says. Manson says he wants people to leave his shows “feeling like they have just seen something unique and different, something they have never seen before.”

Manson has always been a music lover, a fan of everything from George Straight and Garth Brooks to AC/DC and Kiss. He attended a George Straight concert when he was six and taught himself how to play the guitar at the age of ten. Guns N’ Roses’ “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” was the first song he learned to play.

Music remained a hobby for Manson until fate intervened during a party in a dorm room while attending college at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. “We were a little too loud and the R.A. came to break up the party,” he says, “but instead of writing us up she told me I had to play a free show at a campus bar.” It wasn’t long before Manson was performing regularly on the local college campus scene and quickly built a solid fan base. An active songwriter, he moved to Nashville in 2013 and self released his first album Running With The Night. In 2014 he released an EP titled I’m On It and in 2015 signed publishing and management deals with Ole Media Management which released the single “Track 9.”

Though he wrote almost all of his previously recorded songs, his latest release, “3 Wishes,” happens to be one that he did not pen himself. Written by friend and fellow songwriter, Josh Melton, Manson says as soon as he heard it “I knew I had to cut it.”

Manson tells us that he is happy with the positive response he’s receiving on the July 2016 release of “3 Wishes” and plans to release a video for the song in the coming months. “The song has already been featured on Spotify’s “New Boots” playlist. He is currently in the studio working on a new album which is expected in the Spring of 2017 and says the vibe is “2003 Kenny Chesney.” With a career that seems to be on the fast track to success, Manson tells us that he doesn’t get too far ahead of himself, “I just keep my head down and plow through, the rest will take care of itself.”

For more information on Clark Manson check out his website and follow him on Instagram and Twitter. “3 Wishes” is available for download on iTunes.

 

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