Southern Sound: Jon Langston Headed For Music City
A Georgia football star turned musician moves to Nashville and runs on sunshine.
Growing up in Loganville, Georgia, Jon Langston thought he would be playing football for the rest of his life, and until his junior year of college at Gardner-Webb University, it seemed that way. After a couple of concussions, the doctors recommended he stop playing as to not risk permanent damage. That’s when Langston decided to pick up the guitar again.
“I had just beginner’s lessons while I was in eighth grade but nothing further,” Langston says. “I had a cheap acoustic guitar I even thought about selling, but when I went to the pawn shop it was closed for the day.”
With his newfound free time off the football field, Langston decided to learn songs and write his own music. He started by playing them for friends and posting them on social media sites like YouTube. When the songs got good feedback, Langston reached out to Josh Manuel at Century Studios in Atlanta. Together, they recorded and released three songs.
“I immediately started getting calls for opening gigs for people like Chase Rice and played at bars and fraternity events, and it really started to take off from there,” Langston says.
The first gig he played was opening for Rice at a fraternity event in Kennesaw, Georgia. “The stage was a flatbed trailer and it was on a farm,” he says. “We had a blast.”
Since then, Langston has moved to Nashville and is working on putting together a full-time band and bringing his sound to areas other than the southeast.
Langston’s voice has a sound all its own, but could be compared to country stars like Brantley Gilbert. His music takes listeners back to a summer night in the South — or a a first love that is hard to forget.
Langston has released seven songs on iTunes, four of them coming off his latest EP Runnin’ On Sunshine.
Outside of music, Langston enjoys doing anything outdoors, whether it be hunting, riding four-wheelers and shooting skeet. He credits his upbringing as a major part of his success.
“My parents definitely have been my biggest supporters,” he says. “The sacrifices they have made for me really have shown and taught me how to love and treat somebody, and I’m so thankful for them.”
Langston has three shows coming up within the next month in Nashville and Georgia. June 24 he will be at the Tin Roof Revival in Nashville and then June 28 he plays The Gin in Tifton, Georgia. After two weeks off, he return to his home state to play at 40 Watt in Athens on July 11.
Photo courtesy of Jon Langston.
