Formula Indie Sessions – Interview with Stateline Saints
Stateline Saints blend Southern grit, outlaw soul, and backroads rock into a sound that’s raw, real, and rooted in truth. Born on the borderlands of blues and rebellion, they write songs for the broken, the bold, and the ones who ain’t afraid to bleed. With stories soaked in whiskey, smoke, and Mississippi mud, Stateline Saints are here to stir your spirit and shake your soul.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest memories of music start with my mom. She was from Memphis, so Elvis was practically a religion in our house. She’d play his records constantly—“Suspicious Minds,” “In the Ghetto,” all of it. But she also loved The Kendalls’ ‘Heaven’s Just a Sin Away’ and had a soft spot for The Beach Boys. Between that mix of rock ’n’ roll, heartbreak country, and California harmony, she unknowingly planted the seeds for everything I’d later fall in love with. My passion for music really came from her—she taught me how a song could fill a room and change the way you feel in an instant.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Honestly, it all started the first time I heard KISS. I remember being blown away—not just by the music, but by the chaos surrounding it. You had fans losing their minds, parents clutching their pearls, and this electric energy that just divided people right down the middle. That’s when it hit me: these guys were doing something powerful enough to make people feel—whether they loved it or hated it, they couldn’t ignore it. I knew right then I wanted to do something like that too. I wanted to make people talk, make them react, make them feel something real.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Most of these songs have been sitting with me for a long time—years, really. I kept them close but never pulled the trigger. After a while, I got burned out on the whole ‘band thing’—the egos, the style clashes, the drinking, the drugs, the drama that seems to follow musicians like a shadow. I just didn’t have the patience for it anymore. Then life hit hard. I lost my father a little over a year ago, and not long after that, I got fired from a dead-end job. It was like the universe shook me by the shoulders and said, ‘What are you waiting for?’ That’s when I realized I needed to do this again—not for fame, not for validation, but because these songs needed to be heard. They were part of my story, and recording them was how I found my way back to myself.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
It’s a mix of old and new—Southern to the bone but not stuck in the past. Think the soul and guitar grit of The Allman Brothers, the modern swagger of Blackberry Smoke, and a little of that wild Cadillac Three energy thrown in for good measure. It’s what I like to call the bastard sons of the South—raw, real, and unapologetically loud. It’s country roots tangled up with rock rebellion, and it sounds exactly like where I come from.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
When I was pretty young, I took a course in music business, and it opened my eyes in ways I’ll never forget. I learned how so many artists got screwed out of their publishing rights—guys like The Temptations getting robbed of royalties by Berry Gordy, or how Murray Wilson sold The Beach Boys’ publishing out from under his own sons. That stuck with me. From that point on, I swore I’d never be a victim of that kind of shady business. There are a lot of sharks out there, smiling while they circle. So my advice to any new musician is simple: learn the business. Know your rights, own your music, and never give away everything just for the chance to be heard. You can be talented, but if you’re not smart, somebody else will own your dream.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
These days, it’s Logic Pro all the way. I’m old enough to remember recording on ADAT tape, so trust me—I fought against the new tech every step of the way. Samples, drum machines, Auto-Tune, Pro Tools… I hated all of it at first. To me, it felt like it was sucking the soul out of real music. But eventually I realized something important: I didn’t need a dozen people with their hands in my cookie jar to make a record. Logic Pro gave me freedom. I’ve always been a lyricist first, but now I could build the world around my words—craft the sound I heard in my head—without dealing with the drama of a full band. It was like learning to drive my own ship after years of being a passenger.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
There’s a kid out of northern Alabama named Dalton Jones, and I’m telling you—that kid has it. He’s a married father of three, working his tail off trying to build a better life for his wife and kids while chasing his music dream. That’s real. That’s what music should be about. It’s not some rich boy playing at being a musician for attention or to rebel against his Ivy League parents. Dalton’s music is dirty, it’s rough around the edges, and it’s honest. You can feel the work, the struggle, and the heart in it—and that’s what makes it powerful.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I’ve been the king, the jester, and the guy chained up in the dungeon. I’ve known love and loss, battled addiction, and lived with grief, guilt, and self-loathing. I’ve wrestled with demons and shaken hands with angels. All of it leaves a mark. If you can’t channel those scars—the highs, the heartbreak, the hell and the healing—into your music, then you’re doing something wrong. Every lyric, every note should carry a piece of where you’ve been. For me, that’s not just songwriting—it’s survival.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I want people to listen and say, ‘Man, I know what he was feeling.’ Whether it’s a song about my folks that makes them pick up the phone and call theirs, or a rowdy, toe-tappin’ tune about me and my buddies that takes them back to their own good times—I just want them to feel it. Music’s supposed to hit you where words alone can’t. If a song of mine reminds somebody of love, loss, laughter, or a moment they thought they’d forgotten, then it’s done its job. That’s what I’m chasing every time I write.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That life is fleeting. Too many people waste time, or worse—spend it listening to the wrong voices. There’s always someone ready to tell you what you can’t do or why you shouldn’t try. Don’t listen to them. If there’s a song burning in your chest, write it. If there’s a dream tugging at your sleeve, chase it. Time itself is everlasting, but nothing outlasts time. So make your mark while you can, and make it honest.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Man, I would’ve loved to play one of those old Volunteer Jams that Charlie Daniels used to put on back in Tennessee. Those weren’t just concerts—they were family reunions for the soul of Southern music. Every artist came to play, jam, and leave it all out there on stage. Another dream spot would’ve been The Fillmore West—the energy, the history, the ghosts of everyone who ever poured their heart into a song on that stage. That’s the kind of place where music isn’t just performed—it lives.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
From the past, it’d have to be Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd. That man could write a song that made you feel exactly what he was feeling. There was no smoke and mirrors—just truth. He had this uncanny way of saying something simple that hit like scripture, and that’s rare. As for the present, I’d go with HARDY. The guy’s a songwriting machine and a creative risk-taker. I love how he blends genres—country, rock, even metal—without losing his identity. He reminds me that there’s still room for bold ideas in country music.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
You can find Stateline Saints anywhere you stream or scroll.
Website: https://StatelineSaints.com
Spotify / Apple Music: Just search Stateline Saints
Socials: @StatelineSaints on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
All Links in One Place: https://linktr.ee/StatelineSaints
Radio home: https://kickinkountry101.com — where I host Mornings with Doc and spin the best in real country and indie Southern sounds.
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Honestly, I just want my music to go further than where I started it. I’ve already lived the dream of writing, recording, and putting it out there—but the next step for me would be hearing someone else breathe new life into one of my songs. If another artist picked up one of my tracks and made it their own, that’d be the ultimate full-circle moment. That’s the dream—to create something that keeps living and connecting long after it’s left my hands.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
That it’s honest—every single line. These songs are my life, and I always want that to come through. That’s what I love about bands like Blackberry Smoke—it’s real. No filters, no pretense, just truth wrapped in melody. I only write about what I know. If it didn’t happen to me, or I didn’t feel it deep down, it doesn’t make it into a song. I think people can hear the difference when something’s genuine, and that’s all I ever want my music to be—real, honest, and lived in.
