It’s definitely “better late than never” for this Texas artist finding footing in his forties.
At 43, Texas country artist Nate Burnham is hitting his stride with a fresh sound and a growing fanbase. After years of running his own business, this husband and father of four is focused full-time on music, blending heartfelt songwriting with energetic performances. His latest release, a bluegrass-tinged duet with Randall King on “Mirror, Mirror,” reimagines the Texas hit with a new twist. With two albums and more than 35 songs released since 2021, Burnham is making his mark on the Texas Music Scene.
You have taken a song by country artist Randall King and given it a completely different feel – almost bluegrass. Tell about the decision to record “Mirror, Mirror.”
Grace Partridge (who plays fiddle and is also a western swing artist) and I were both listening to Randall King at the time and decided to make a TikTok. We decided to play “Mirror, Mirror” a little upbeat. We started playing around with it and laughing, but we thought it sounded good, so we recorded a version of it and tagged Randall King. He said, “This is great. You should record it and have me sing on it with you.” So, we did!
What a nice surprise! How does it feel to have a duet with Randall King?
When Randall’s voice comes in, it sounds great. It’s really cool to be able to work with Randall, who is one of the biggest acts in Texas now. You are always looking for a break, and something like this doesn’t come around often, so I am very grateful.
You’ve had many songs out on streaming now. Share how you got started in music.
I grew up listening to Pat Green, Cory Morrow and Charlie Robison and all the Texas Red Dirt singers and Oklahoma guys, and I thought that was the coolest thing in the world – to have people write music and it be a window to the world of what’s going on in their life.
When I started playing guitar, I realized it’s cheaper than therapy—being able to put your emotions and feelings into a song. When I started writing songs, I wrote the songs just for me. It was an outlet, but then opportunities happened. I put a song out, and learned people connected to what I was doing. That ultimately pushed me to pursue music.
After I got married, I started doing open-mic nights in Austin. Then in 2012, I cut an album and released it. Wire Road Studios had just opened in Houston, where Beyonce, Pat Green and Seinfeld have all recorded. But right when they opened, I got to be the guinea pig.
Then I moved to Idaho and started a pest control company the same year. I was naïve to think I could do both. Starting a business just starts taking everything over, and so I released the album, but never toured with it. I just made a CD and still have boxes of CDs that I never sold or gave away. The album was called “Crash Course,” because the whole process was a crash course in music and recording; plus, I have a song on the album called “Crash Course with Lonely,” so the title just kind of worked out.
When did you decide it was time to give up the pest control business and do music full time?
My family and I left Idaho to move back to Texas in 2020, and then COVID happened, so I started really pursuing music – recording and playing shows – in January 2021. I’ve released 35 songs and two albums since then.
What is your favorite song you have written?
Someone asked Pat Green this a long time ago, and he said, “My favorite song is my next one.” That always rang true with me. Every song tells a story, so they are each a part of you. The most recent song before “Mirror, Mirror” – “If it Kills Me” – is super special to me.
It’s about: There is a bad storm, but I have been gone so long that I have to get home, and I am going to be there if it kills me. When I wrote it, I was traveling a lot for business and was gone on a 2-week run and living in Idaho. I flew into Salt Lake City and had to drive three hours home that night; it was snowing, like a blizzard. It was really bad and had me thinking – maybe I should wait. But I had been gone for so long that I was like – I am going to drive through this storm and crawl into bed with my wife tonight if it kills me. About halfway through my drive, the whole idea came to me. I started humming and coming up with a melody, and I pulled over at a gas station. I got my guitar and wrote the song, and then I drove home.
What artists inspire you?
I feel like I have all these phases of music – but Dirks Bentley, Dwight Yoakum and Chris LeDoux have always inspired me – Miranda Lambert, too. I met her and her dad before “Kerosene” came out. She had just finished Nashville Star, and I was going to college in Arizona. I was starving for Texas music, and this girl from Texas was coming to play at the bar. I sat in the back and talked to her dad for a while. He was the nicest. I watched her career from that moment on, so I’ve always been a Miranda fan. Her songwriting is phenomenal.
What can people expect when they see you perform live?
People say I am funny, and I didn’t realize that was part of my schtick. I tend to blurt things out and I hope people find it funny, but I like talking to the audience and connecting with people. I love to bring the energy, but I like the highs and lows and sharing the stories of my life. I feel people are connecting just like I was when I would go hear my favorite artists tell the stories behind their songs. I like taking people on the journey with me.
Do you have a favorite venue to play?
There are so many. I recently got to play Gruene Hall for the first time with Hayden Baker. That’s been a bucket list place for obvious reasons. My daughter’s middle name is Gruene. Our favorite dance hall is Coupland Dance Hall. It’s where my wife and I fell in love, and I got to play there last year. I love Southern Junction, too. I live in Rockwall; it’s a great dance hall, and it’s cool to have a hometown show there. Around Texas – those are the three I love the most.
How do you like to spend your time when you are not playing music?
I am a big hunter, a big outdoorsman. As a family, we love to go to state parks and museums. We are always looking for new places to explore. I like archery elk hunting, so I go to the mountains every September to hunt. I also do a lot of duck hunting with my boys in the winter. It’s like songwriting; getting outdoors is cheaper than therapy. My wife will tell you, when I get back from the mountains I am as stress-free as I am all year.
Anything else you want new fans to know about you?
My wife and kids are the best things going on in my life. We have four kids, so it’s a challenge to be an up and comer in the music industry; but somehow, I have been lucky enough that they all support me. One of the challenges of being gone is being away from them. If I’m gone for three or five days, it starts to hurt. I have two boys and two girls, and you just want to get hugs from your girls and wrestle with your boys. It wears on you after a while, but we feel we have something with the music. I am fortunate to have a wife who is willing to let me have a run at it.
You hear people say it’s never too late to start over; I guess I am in the process of trying to answer that question, so wish me luck.
Visit www.nateburnham.com to learn more about Nate and find out where he will be playing next.
