MusicRowPics: Casey Donahew Band

Singer-songwriter Casey Donahew of The Casey Donahew Band visited MusicRow‘s office Wednesday (Oct. 9) to perform songs from his album Standoff.
Donahew, a Burleson, Texas native, grew up roping and riding before launching his music career. The Casey Donahew Band found success without the help of a major label (Donahew and wife Melinda run their own independent outfit) or high-powered management company. The band has been running the Texas circuit for more than a decade, and has built a large following outside the Lone Star state as well. “We sold 3,000 tickets to a show at Billy Bob’s [club in Texas] before we had a show in Nashville,” said Donahew. “We came on when MySpace was a big thing. We got this cool grassroots fire from playing college towns, gained fans, and then took it to the media.”
The group’s 2009 project Moving On sold 32,000 copies and a legion of fans regularly attend shows in and outside of Texas. “It’s a backward way of doing things, but it has given us stability,” said Donahew. “It is our 11th year and every year has been better than the last. Many bands in Texas are playing 80-90 percent Texas shows, while we are about 70/30.”
He performed “Small Town Love,” followed by the band’s recent single “Whiskey Baby” and the tongue-in-cheek tune “Go To Hell.” “This is a ‘You ruined my life,’ anti-love song,” said Donahew, laughing.
For more information, visit caseydonahewband.com.
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