MERGING THE open-hearted honesty of country and hip-hop, Willie Jones plays with the conventions of both genres to create a sound that’s fresh for 2020.

Prior to the global lockdown Jones wowed fans at the London O2 Arena where he performed to a sell out crowd as part of the C2C Festival.

Don’t let the light-hearted banjo pluckin’ fool you, this song is very real and deep

Willie Jones

The love he recieved is testament to his talent.

Jones has quickly amassed 500,000 monthly listeners at Spotify, with millions of streams for ‘Bachelorettes On Broadway’, ‘Down For It’ and the recent ‘Back Porch’.

His new track ‘Trainwreck’, is out now via 4 SOUND / EMPIRE.

The track shoots out of the starting blocks with Jones’s bluesy vocal quality narrating a story of having loved and lost.

Suddenly the jangly banjo cuts to the thud of a hip-hop beat as he extends the tale of a woman who “crushed my heart like a beer can.”

‘Trainwreck’ again proves that Willie can hone in on the common ground between two genres that have previously felt too different to unite.

Jones commented: “This is my first heartbreak song and listening back to it, I can still remember the pain I was going through. We can all relate to seeing your girl/guy with another man/woman but it sent me down a spiral that affected all different parts of my life.

“Don’t let the light-hearted banjo pluckin’ fool you, this song is very real and deep.”

Willie Jones wrote ‘Trainwreck’ with two collaborators from completely different backgrounds: the multiple Grammy Award winner Mark Batson and Justin Ebach, who recently won the CMA’s Triple Play Award in recognition of writing three #1 hits for Dustin Lynch, Brett Young and Jordan Davis within the space of twelve months.

Even staying at home hasn’t slowed down Jones’s creativity. In recent weeks, he’s launched both ‘Trainwreck’ and ‘Back Porch’ as well as hosting a series of live streams themed around his varied interests, from art to cooking to an upcoming puppet show series.

Hailing from Shreveport, Louisiana, halfway between Dallas and New Orleans, Jones is a star in the making on both sides of the Atlantic.

The southern states in America have long had their historical battles with racism and injustice, a melting pot of French, African, American and French-Canadian cultures, Louisiana is known for its colonial-era French Quarter, raucous Mardi Gras festival and jazz music.

With everything going on in the world at the moment Jones said his country was experiencing a moment of evolving.

He said: “America is going through some growing pains right now.

“There are things that have been swept under the rug for too long and ignored by those who choose to be ignorant. There are those who simply hate the truth because it makes them uncomfortable, that they may lose some of their freedoms by ensuring everyone has a right to equality.

“This “uncomfortable” state of America is not just a domestic issue, it’s now global.

“This generation, my generation, and those who are coming right behind us even more organised and connected via social media, are righting the course, drawing a line in the sand and demanding what we are all promised as citizens of America.

“Through all the craziness, I see light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not a train this time.”

Jones’ early musical interests spanned everything: from gospel, pop and R&B to the country and hip-hop vibes he embraces within his own music.

He wanted to become a country singer since he was a teenager, the turning point coming when he won a school talent show by covering Josh Turner’s ‘Why Don’t We Just Dance’.

With one foot in country’s historic traditions and another boldly stepping into the future, Jones continues to break boundaries.