On the Verge: Brian Collins

On the Verge: Brian Collins

Brian Collins has been making his mark on country music, connecting with fans and reaching chart status with MusicRow and Billboard. Collins has also been named to CMT’s Artist Discovery program, and his video for “Never Really Left” debuted at #7 on their CMT Pure network. The song can also be heard on tastemaker channel Sirius XM The Highway.

“Never Really Left” appears on Collins’ Healing Highway, the 2014 record that boasts at times gospel-leaning harmonies and Zac-Brown-like melodies. At times emotive and others more pop-leaning, Healing Highway is a diverse offering, and “Never Really Left” is catchy without being overdone, the production building perfectly to the hook, which lands with the lyrical and melodic satisfaction of coming home. Warm guitars and expressive vocals saturate the track. “Steady As She Goes,” also on Healing Highway, is another highlight, providing a more mellow contrast to the uptempo single.

“I grew up listening to a lot of different styles. I wasn’t just a fan of country; I loved all genres of music,” the Georgian told Billboard. “Country was one of those things that kept coming back. Where I was from, it was the main thing everyone listened to. Growing up, for me, Garth Brooks and Travis Tritt were the cool country artists. So that tended to be what we all followed. There were other things from my parents that influenced what I liked, such as classic country and rock, as well as R&B.”

Connect with Collins on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.