Casey Donahew Band | |
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Origin | Burleson, Texas, USA |
Genres | Country music, Texas Country |
Years active | 2002–present |
Labels | Almost Country Entertainment |
Website | Official website |
Members |
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Casey Donahew (born April 21, 1977 in Burleson, Texas) is a Texas country music singer in the band Casey Donahew Band. Starting off playing local bars in 2002 they soon became a favorite on the Texas bar circuit eventually working their way to national level in 2009 when one of the band's self-released albums hit the country Top 30 album chart in Billboard magazine. The band's high energy level, throughout extra long live sets, started to attract Texas' pre-teen bar crowd, when Pam Minick, from Texas' famed club Billy Bob's took notice, and she hired the Casey Donahew Band for a headlining spot and the college-age crowd came with. When the band released the album Lost Days in 2005, selling as many on the Internet as they did at shows. With guitarist Brent Wall, bass player Steve Stone, and drummer Taz, the band released their 2006 album simply titled "The Casey Donahew Band" and then in 2008 releasing the rowdy live album, "Live-Raw-Real, in the Ville". With many of the sales coming from digital download services, they broke the Billboard charts with their album "Moving On". Despite the band's growing national reputation, The Casey Donahew Band still keeps true to the Texas County standards. Keeping their marketing on a low key level, with a website, YouTube page, Facebook page and continuing to play the local Texas bar scene."
Donahew grew up in Burleson, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas, where he was active in the Texas rodeo scene as well as his father's greyhound dog racing career. He started songwriting in high school, but it wasn't until he attended Texas A&M that he started playing guitar for the first time. He later transferred to UT Arlington where he went on to graduate with a finance degree.
Donahew began writing songs in high school, and credits past relationships as inspiration behind much of his early work, stating:
"Once you get your heart broken for the first time, you've got a lot to say, I guess. "
Eventually, he broke into the world of Texas Country, which was gaining popularity with Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen and Randy Rogers. Casey's approach to songwriting is different from typical country music artists, as he often writes about heartbreak with a unique twist on the subject, as well as his experiences in different locations across the state, most notably the Stockyards of Fort Worth.
Donahew began playing professionally in 2002 by booking mostly bar gigs and building a dedicated fanbase among younger crowds. He gained notoriety online and on airwaves throughout Texas, and reached the Top 30 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with the album Moving On, released in 2009.