Austin Michael Isn’t Just A Texoma Cowboy

Courtesy Photo

This article first appeared in Texoma Farm & Home, in its first issue, February/March 2024.  Go online to (click here) https://texomafarmandhome.com/ to read the complete issue.

By Mary Jane Farmer

It can take a long time to be an overnight success. Musician Austin Michael (Robinson), at age 21, is in his 6^th year, and says, “This is not a marathon, this is a sprint.” The Van Alstyne native is now living and working in Nashville, with some of its most successful professionals in his corner.

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

His childhood dreams had always been along the rodeo line. He received a guitar before he was a teenager and taught himself to play. But music, for him, was still just a diversion, a way to unwind at the end of his busy days. That is, until a family friend sent a cell-phone video of him singing “Fly Away” to the TV competition series, “American Idol.” He didn’t even know about that, until he got word that he’d been accepted.

Of it, Austin Michael said, “I enjoyed it. I didn’t walk into it with the same mind set as others did. I thought through it all that I very blessed to be here. Not… ‘this is my future…’ But when I got back home and it aired, I realized from the many calls and messages that it had touched people. It kinda made me go, ‘Well, if they believe in me, and if they want me to do it, well I can.’”

After his stint with American Idol, Austin Michael’s Van Alstyne family home burned down. The family moved to Westminster and lived with his

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

grandparents for a while. Then, they found land that could accommodate the livestock the family maintains that was in Pottsboro.

“We had a ranch with 50 acres and horses and cows and a few ponds. It was a good four years, but there were issues that went with the good fortune – plumbing, electric.” Again, back to the grandparents’ house in Westminster, where the family still resides.

Nashville had to fit into the picture. His first trip out there happened after he got a text from his dad’s friend, golf pro John Daly. “Listen here, where are you? You need to get to Nashville yesterday.” Austin Michael said he packed up and headed out. There, he slept in his car outside motels and used their bathrooms to clean up. Through Daly’s understandable influences, Austin Michael received the chance for one co-writing session, and that then turned into 3 sessions or “writes” as he said they are called. After the third one, he was invited to stay one more day. He said he spent the rest of that day wandering the streets, trying to figure it all out.

“I didn’t understand the industry. I thought it was like it used to be,” he said. “I decided I wouldn’t be going back here.”

But, Austin Michael, being the Christian that he is, gave credit “100% to God for every step along the way. No question in my mind, I believe everything happens for a reason.”

He said he texted Daly again, asking, “Is there anybody you want me to meet while I’m here? He (Daly) had 3 others and I met with all of them.” One was nice enough to let Austin Michael crash on his couch. His roommate, who worked with L3 Management, stayed there, too. He walked in.

“’Who are you?’ I asked.

“’I live here,’ the roommate answered.

“’Oh, nice to meet you,’ I said.

“’Why are you here?’ he asked.

“’I’m another country artist trying to make it,’ I replied.

“’Well, if you want to be serious, come with me tomorrow,’ he suggested.”

Austin Michael did, and it went uphill from there.

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Before he’d left Nashville on that trip, Austin Michael had an offer from a management company, a publishing company, and a label opportunity.

Austin Michael was all set to go back to Nashville, and this time, management told him, “You aren’t sleeping in your car.” “They had me set up. And from then on I was booked solid.”

After that, Austin Michael would travel to Nashville about every other month or so until it seemed more sensible to make a geographical move. First, he moved to an Alabama town, staying with a buddy of his there. It was a 2-hour drive to Nashville, and he made that 2-way trek every day. And then it happened — Austin Michael moved to Nashville in August of last year.

“It simplified and it complicated my life,” he said. “I am so family-oriented, it’s hard to be away from family. But, it has allowed me to be more accessible. I play a lot of writers’ rounds and meet people. I’m always writing and always recording and always meeting people.”

One thing is for certain, he said. “I have done a lot of growing up here, but not going to let the town change me. It’s a slippery slope and I know I have to adapt to my surroundings.

“I still wear my cowboy hat, it keeps the hair out of my face while working. And, in this concrete jungle, it seems genuine knowing it’s about where I came from.”

When he answered the inevitable question all musicians get — Who is your idol? — It was a simple answer for Austin Michael. “Cody Johnson has always been my idol. I love his authenticity, respect, attitude, his moral compass. It all comes across in very obvious ways.”

Courtesy photo

Nowadays, Austin is releasing singles about every 4-6 weeks, but moved it up to 3 releases in January. It’s not genuine choreographed videos he and his team are producing, they call them ‘visualizers.’

“Most people don’t understand, a video costs about $50 grand to produce. My management team has one guy who is pretty good with a camera. We just finished a recording and a visualizer for ‘Whiskey In The Dirt.’”

That and other visualizers, along with the first video made those many years ago, “Country Cred,” are available on YouTube.

And another question songwriters get — “Where do you get your ideas for new songs?” Austin Michael said it can come from recurring issues, conversations. “There’s really no way to go about it. Sometimes during relaxing times, maybe wake up in the middle of the night, or somebody sparks an idea, and some kind of emotions hit me.”

So, where is it all going for this young talented man?

“I could go either way. I could sit back and complain as to why I’m not a superstar. But, I am a firm believer that God opens doors. People pray for strength and God gives them ways to overcome weaknesses. I know I am not going to be an overnight sensation.

“I have a lot to learn. I’m extremely grateful for every step of the way.

“Give us a few years. We’ll have a number one.”

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Category: Van Alstyne News