ABOUT AUSTEN WAYNE

I spent a lot of years trying to figure out where I belonged.

I grew up in Minnesota, and these days I call Florida home, but somewhere along the way I realized home was never really a place, it was the feeling I found when I was making music.

Music has always been in my life. I started behind a drum kit as a teenager, played in rock bands, learned piano by ear, eventually making my way into writing and producing hip-hop for years. And although my storytelling muscles got exercised in all of those genres, it always felt like something was missing.

That was until life forced me, in the best way, to reconnect with the style of music that’s always been inside of me: Honest songs rooted in indie folk, with an alternative edge.

To give you a little window into the journey, it wasn’t smooth…

I learned that my early life had a lot more influence on me than I realized, and part of that was becoming really susceptible to what other people wanted me to pursue… instead of what I wanted to go after.

Eventually, I convinced myself that the responsible thing to do was build a career somewhere else.

So I did…

On paper, things looked pretty good. I built a career in corporate marketing, but there was always this haunting feeling that something wasn't right.

Then life started peeling away everything that wasn't really me.

Heartbreak, old wounds I couldn't outrun anymore, mental health challenges, losing my rescue pup Archie when he was only 3, and eventually a layoff that gave me more space than I wanted, yet exactly the space I needed.

Through everything, one piece remained a constant: Archie changed me.

He was the most present soul I've ever known, and losing him forced me to think a lot about what it really means to be here. And when he was going through his final season, I made him a quiet promise:

To stop pretending, stop chasing who I thought I was supposed to be, and just live honestly.

Not long after that, music found me again… or maybe I finally stopped running from it.

I picked up a guitar, started writing songs, and realized this was the place I'd always felt most like myself. It finally clicked that music was my language and that writing songs was the most honest way I knew how to make sense of life.

That's what these songs are: a way to help us all make it through this wild ride.

Some songs are hopeful, some are heavy, and some are just stories from the road I've been on. But every one of them is written with the hope that maybe you'll hear a little bit of your own story in it too.

If a song makes you roll the windows down, sit with something you've been feeling, or reminds you that you're not the only one figuring life out...

...then it's done exactly what I hoped it would.

I'm really glad you're here.

Welcome.