King Calaway

Driven by their spirited harmonies, King Calaway’s music encompasses country heart, pop hooks, and the grit of rock and the blues. Their first sessions in Nashville fused country imagery with the clean-cut sound of boy bands and the melodic shine of adult contemporary, as heard on 2019′s eponymous debut EP. Following that year’s debut album River, they leaned more heavily into country inspirations for 2021′s Midnight EP and a more band-oriented sound on their Zac Brown-produced 2023 album Tennessee’s Waiting.
Caleb Miller, Chris Deaton, Simon Dumas, Jordan Harvey, Chad Michael Jervis, and Austin Luther first tested their chemistry in 2018. Prior to joining forces, each of the six toiled away in the music industry, some as session musicians, some as American Idol hopefuls, some in America, some in Britain. Brought together by a music producer and record executive, King Calaway was shepherded by producer Ross Copperman on the group’s first EP. Featuring songs co-written by Copperman, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Devin Dawson, as well as a cover of the Eagles’ “Love the One You’re With,” the EP was released in January 2019 and received a boost from the popular Bobby Bones Show. Later that October, their full-length debut, Rivers, expanded upon the EP. Issued on BBR/Stoney Creek Records, Rivers reached number 48 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and cracked the Top Ten of the Heatseekers chart. They followed it up with a cover of “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” that hit the Billboard Adult Contemporary Top 20. Meanwhile, King Calaway opened shows for the likes of Garth Brooks and Rascal Flatts.
Harvey left the group in mid-2020, and the remaining quintet emphasized country influences on their second EP, Midnight. Arriving on BBR in August 2021, it included a collaboration with labelmate Lainey Wilson (“Good Time to Me”). Not long after its release, Austin Luther left the band.
Down to the quartet of Miller, Deaton, Dumas and Jervis, the group released “When I Get Home,” produced and co-written by Zac Brown, in June 2022. That song, and the 2023 singles “The Other Half” and “Tennessee’s Waiting,” represented an increasing shift toward a full-band sound, emphasized by Brown, who was now acting as King Calaway’s producer. In August 2023, they delivered their Brown-produced sophomore full-length, Tennessee’s Waiting, which featured guests like Hailey Whitters, Marcus King, and Brown himself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Marcy Donelson