When one hears the name ‘Adam Wakefield’ many things come to mind; however, one thing in particular takes precedent: his successful run on The Voice season 10. Via the show, the world was introduced to a soulful voice that is difficult to forget and an instrumentalist that is undeniably talented, both tied into one man who pairs the two gifts to create music we can all relate to. After Wakefield left The Voice, he immediately began writing and recording his own music, to continue to give the world a taste of “all the country, all the soul and all the gospel of rock and roll.” He truly does it all, and he does it well.
Wakefield released his first post-Voice single “Blame it On Me” on March 21, 2017, which quickly made its way to a coveted spot on Spotify’s “New Boot’s Playlist.” Shortly after, on June 21, Wakefield’s music video for “Blame It On Me” premiered on People.com. Exactly one month later, his fans finally got to hear the rest of what Wakefield had been working on, and it surely did not disappoint. Wakefield’s self-titled EP holds true to his dedication of blending country music, blues and rock and roll into one genre to create great music that won’t be forgotten for decades to come.
In Wakefield’s EP, we hear bits of each of his favorite genres represented. From the soulful blues undertones in “Love is Blind, to the hints of rock and roll in “Blame it On Me”, Wakefield covers everything that makes his music not only diverse, but unique. “I grew up on the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin... lots of music with soul. Southern rock and mainstream country have pretty much been mutually exclusive over the last decade or two, with the exception of The Cadillac Three, Eric Church and a few others. I feel like those are important roots for me to keep represented in my tunes. Nowadays, you're less likely to see an artist turn up the amplifiers and let it all hang out. Rock and roll has been taking a backseat for a while now, and I think it has a champion in mainstream country music if we can just embrace and welcome it,” says Wakefield about what inspires the core of his music.
What strikes us most about Wakefield’s EP, isn’t the lyrics, though they are incredibly emotional and raw, but the melodies behind them that capture our attention. “Writing good lyrics is always important as a songwriter, but coming up with iconic melodies has always been just an important, at least to me. There are some songs that have become classics solely from the melody. I've tried to learn as many songs as I can to then try and follow my instincts based on all that homework when writing melodies. I always try to always keep my melodies simple and deliberate,” says Wakefield.
Throughout his six track EP, fans are able to get a taste of their favorite styles of country music combined into one, which is exactly what Wakefield wanted to happen. “We recorded about 14 songs and I picked the ones from those that hit me the best. I feel like Country fans have to pick between new and old styles of country music these days, my goal was to take my favorite parts of both and put together a record that showcases my style and has something for fans of all types of music.
Lucky for fans, new music will be coming sooner than we thought. According to Wakefield, his bluegrass band, The Copperheads, which was established before his run on The Voice, will be playing throughout Wakefield’s hometown of Nashville, TN this fall and plans to release its first full length album before long.
When it comes to most soulful albums, the music usually tells a story about who the artist is, what they’ve gone through in life and where they are currently, not only as an artist but also an individual. On Wakefield’s EP, we catch a solid glimpse of the transformation from contestant on The Voice to solo independent recording artist. Needless to say, we’re excited to watch this transformation continue to unfold into a very successful music career.
