We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Meredith & Compton . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Meredith & Compton below.

Hi Meredith & Compton , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

In 2022 Compton and I got married and simultaneously launched our band Common Man. We weren’t sure what would really come from the band. but we both had previous music careers and knew we wanted to have a career in the arts as a team. We both had part time jobs, and would take gigs when we could while writing and rehearsing music. The next step in the process ended up being going on tour, but we had no connections, mangers, booking agents etc to utilize. Spring of 2023 we ended up teaming up with another local artist and booked our own tour across Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas. This meant leaving our jobs for a month, playing shows in various homes and small venues, staying overnight with distant relatives or strangers, and just generally flying by the seat of our pants. Was it pretty daunting and frustrating along the way? Yes. Did we learn a lot of what NOT to do on tour? Absolutely. But ultimately, we kicked some serious booty, and are about to head out on our second tour, with way more support and connections than we had for the first one. The music biz is a lot of hard work, but more accessible than you may realize if you’re willing to take some risks.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Common Man is a band from Huntsville Alabama comprised of husband and wife team Meredith Johnson and Compton McMurry. We’ve been releasing music for almost a year now, and have been a band since we got married spring of 2022. Our main goals in music are to support ourselves as touring musicians, and write/record our songs. Our songs are a reflection on our life and marriage, as well as elements of faith and observations about the world. One of our most recent projects is a new song/music video called “Vermont; which can be found for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music, and the music video on YouTube.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Going to events in person! Wether it’s live shows/concerts, open mics, or release parties. Buying a ticket or merch is and most effective way to show your support physically and financially. Streaming the songs is great, and please do that, but live shows are where you get the most from music. You will not only be connecting with music in an intimate and memorable way, but also be supporting local and touring artists in a more tangible way.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

There are so many people who are ready and waiting to help you build your music career, you just have to find them! There is so much networking and cold calling that will pay off if you start having the mindset that every connection is planting a seed for your future. Every person in the industry that you meet up with just to have a coffee and talk about your career/their career will share something that you can learn from. Even if it’s what not to do. Chances are, there are networking events you could drive to, local professionals willing to meet up, or even shows you can go to and meet other artists. Your city might also be taking music initiatives you don’t even know about yet, you just have to look and ask questions.

Contact Info:

• Website: commonmanband.com
• Instagram: @CommonManBand
• Youtube: Common Man

Image Credits
Harris Beauchamp