Koe Wetzel (born July 14, 1992) is an American singer and songwriter. His music has been described variously as a "blend of rock and country", outlaw country, and "fusing country and

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

Life and career

Wetzel was born in

Pittsburg, Texas Pittsburg is a city and the county seat of Camp County, Texas, United States. Best known as the former home of the giant poultry producer Pilgrim's and the home of racing legend Carroll Shelby, Pittsburg is also the birthplace of Cavender's Boot ...

, with one of his names being a reference to outlaw country singer-songwriter

David Allen Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

. His mother was a touring country singer, bringing the young Koe along and his father worked in construction. He would perform on stage for the first time at age six. Later, Wetzel was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a public university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 14,000 students in the fall of 2020. History John Tarleton Agricultural ...

Stephenville, Texas Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. It is on the North Bosque River, which forms nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was ...

, where he decided to pursue a career as a musician instead. Wetzel formed "Koe Wetzel and Konvicts", and self-released an EP and one full-length album. His "rowdy" music and lyrics became popular among college students and young adults, and ''Noise Complaint,'' released in 2016, was considered to be his breakout album. Beginning with ''Noise Complaint'', the full name of the band was dropped, though Wetzel still performs with a bassist, one drummers, and two guitarists. The band signed with Red 11 Music in Austin, TX in early 2018 while being managed by 4-Tay Management out of Stephenville, TX until 2019 when the band signed a management deal with Floating Leaf Entertainment, establishing a joint venture between Wetzel and Jeb Hurt who had previously been the band's agent at Red 11 Music. ''Harold Saul High'' was released in 2019 to mixed reviews, however sales were strong, and the album charted on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

. In 2020, Wetzel released ''Sellout'', named in reference to his signing with major label

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

Musical style

Wetzel's music is usually described as fusing genres, especially rock and country while he has been rumored to personally refer to his blend of music as "Hillbilly Punk-Rock". In his youth, Wetzel was exposed to country, hip-hop, rap, and grunge including the music of

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

. In an interview for ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'', Wetzel described his album ''Harold Saul High'' as "...90s country meets early 2000s punk rock with early ’90s

and hip-hop music in the background." His lyrics often deal with mature subject matter, and are known for containing explicit language. One example is the song "February 28, 2016": a song about drunkenness, and a reference to his arrest for

public intoxication Public intoxication, also known as "drunk and disorderly" and "drunk in public", is a summary offense in some countries rated to public cases or displays of drunkenness. Public intoxication laws vary widely by jurisdiction, but usually require an ...

in Stephenville on that day. In 2019, Wetzel's performance at the Great Texas Balloon Race was the subject of some controversy, after some festival goers were offended at his refusal to make his songs more family friendly. Wetzel responded in a

tongue in cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...

manner, taking credit for breaking attendance records.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Charted songs

References

External links

Koe Wetzel's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetzel, Koe 1992 births Living people Country musicians from Texas American rock singers American rock songwriters People from Pittsburg, Texas American country singer-songwriters American country rock singers American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas