Saddle Bronc athlete-turned neo-traditional country music sensation Chancey Williams, has gone from competing on horseback to performing on center stage. As one of only two artists (along with Chris LeDoux) to both compete in the rodeo and perform on the main stage at Cheyenne Frontier Days and the only singer/songwriter to be endorsed by CINCH®, Williams is the next authentic cowboy of country music. The northeastern Wyoming native has toured the nation, taking the stage ahead of headliners Toby Keith, Cody Johnson, Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley and Parker McCollum, performing at a sold-out Ryman Auditorium, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, as well as headlining at The National Finals Rodeo and multiple performances at the Grand Ole Opry. 

“For us, it’s been a long journey of playing against what was popular in country music, but we just stayed the course,” Williams told People Magazine of staying true to his roots. “I always tell the band, don’t worry about whatever any other artist is doing. We have blinders on.”

Representing the western lifestyle and cowboy mentality in its truest form, Williams’ sound and subject matter has found its time in Nashville’s country scene, as demonstrated on his latest release, sixth studio album One of These Days. One of These Days released to rave reviews, supported by the likes of People, Billboard, Taste of Country, Whiskey Riff, Holler. 

Saving Country Music wrote, “If we could wave a magic wand and instantly remake mainstream country music into something much better than what it is today, Chancey Williams and his new album One of These Days would not be a bad wish at all.”

“The time has finally come for Chancey Williams,” declared People Magazine. “Cowboys are cool again!” 

Singing and playing music have always been synonymous with breathing for Montgomery County’s own Sundance Head. He grew up in a musical home as the son of legendary blue-eyed soul artist Roy Head. He began playing music at an early age, writing songs and later performing live across Texas. As he paved his own path in the music industry, his journey took him to the national spotlight, not once but twice. In 2007, he was a Top 13 finalist on American Idol; and in 2016, he took home the top prize on season 11 of NBC’s The Voice.

He has experienced the ups and downs of the music industry but will be the first to tell you – every success and struggle has led him to where he is today – where he is meant to be – with the release of his new studio album, “Starting Again.”

Head penned nine of the album’s 11 songs – six on his own and three with co-writers. His vocal delivery perfectly marries country and soul in a way only he knows how.  “I'm really proud of this album. It sounds 100% like my music,” said Head.

“Starting Again” is his second full-length studio album since winning The Voice. While his previous album, “Stained Glass & Neon,” produced several chart-topping hits on the Texas music charts, Head felt the new record needed to take him full circle to the sound, emotion, and storytelling he first leaned on when he launched his career.

He began writing new music for the project in early 2020. When the pandemic halted live performances, he found time to reflect, reset and ultimately start again – which inspired the title of the album. But soon after he began the creative process, he was devasted by the sudden passing of his father. “My dad was my best friend by far; he was everything to me. I idolized him when I was a kid and even more when I grew up and understood the hardship of trying to subsidize a career and keep a family
together,” he said.

His tour was still canceled, and he found himself depressed and unable to write. He needed a nudge – and he got one, thanks to Misty, his wife of 15 years.  “She decided to buy studio time for me to record music I had already written. So, my band, which includes Dustin Edwards and Dave Walters, went to Stormy Cooper Media in Houston. I thought my wife bought a couple of days at the studio, but she bought five. We recorded everything I had the first day,” he said. “Then I went home, and I didn’t have any more songs. I was really bummed out because of everything that was going on. So, I sat down at the table and told myself – you’ve got studio time that’s been paid for, go ahead and write an album to tell people what you’ve been going through and how you feel about things.”  And that is exactly what he did. He wrote the rest of the songs he needed to complete the album in those next few days and immediately took them back to the studio.  “In retrospect, they’re almost all about my dad – just missing him, or what he meant to me. It’s written in different ways where to one person it could be about a love interest or a family member or anything you care about. That was really cool that it came out that way,” he added.

His current single off the album is “Three People (Me, Jim Beam and You), inspired by an argument he overheard between his parents when he was a kid. The album also includes a song Head wrote for his 14-year-old daughter, Percy. (He is also the proud father of two sons – Brazos River, age 8, and Levi, 15, whom he’s written songs for in the past.)  Head calls “Starting Again” the most fantastic project he’s been a part of and hopes his fans will connect with the stories he shares through each lyric. “They’re events I’ve witnessed firsthand and feelings that go down to the deepest depths of my soul as a human being,” he said. “That’s what I think makes this album different.”

“Starting Again” is now available on all digital platforms. Visit sundancehead.com for more information on Sundance Head’s music and tour dates.