Vocalist and songwriter David Adam Byrnes makes music that strikes an easy balance between country traditionalism and a more contemporary sound that makes room for subtle pop and rock influences. Inspired by artists who flew the flag for traditional country sounds in the '80s and '90s, Byrnes wrote of everyday life and Southern living with music to match on his first album, 2011's Premium Country. Later in the decade, Byrnes added more songs about beer and good times to his repertoire, such as "Beer Bucket List" and "Already High," though his music still showed a love for classic honky tonk sounds. David Adam Byrnes was born and raised in Sherwood, Arkansas. The Byrnes family was working class and proud of it, and young David Adam often found himself helping his folks with the household chores while his friends were playing, which taught him the value and reward of honest labor. When he was three years old, Byrnes' parents took him to see a George Strait concert, and from that moment on, he was sold on country music. Before he could actually play guitar, Byrnes would pretend to play shows in his living room for the family, wearing boots, a cowboy hat, and the biggest belt buckle he could find. When he was five, he picked up a guitar and soon joined an actual band with his friends called the Telephone Pioneers. Early on, they regularly played at retirement homes in the area, and moved up to playing local honky tonks; the night before Byrnes graduated from high school, they opened a show for Hank Williams, Jr. When Byrnes was 19 years old, he left Arkansas and moved to Nashville, determined to make music his career. After a few years of scuffling, he started to find an audience, and landed a spot as an opening act on a tour with Mark Chesnutt, who along with Strait and Keith Whitley, was one of his key influences. In 2010, Byrnes struck a deal with the independent Better Angels label, which released his first single, "Sweet Distraction," in July of that year, with a full-length album, Premium Country, following in May 2011. More writing and live work followed, and he moved to Silverado Records, which released a six-song EP, Tell Me I Won't, in August 2015. As word about Byrnes spread, he began landing more prestigious gigs, and shared stages with stars such as Eric Church, Aaron Watson, Chris Stapleton, and Cody Johnson. In 2018, Byrnes dropped three fun-loving singles that fared well on streaming services and helped him win a larger audience -- "Tequila, Salt and Time," "Already High," and "Beer Bucket List." ~ Mark Deming