Artist Profile: Mo Pitney
NAME: Mo Pitney
DATE OF BIRTH: March 24, 1993
HOMETOWN: Cherry Valley, Illinois
SOUND: Neo-traditional country a la George Strait
BIOGRAPHY: Born in Cherry Valley, Illinois, Mo grew up loving the outdoors, with a passion for fishing and other activities. However, music was always present, with the whole family getting involved to the point where Mo picked up drums at age 6 and guitar at age 12. Inspired by ‘Johnny Cash At San Quentin’, Mo played his first open mic night soon after beginning to learn the guitar, and noticed a guy backstage picking a banjo. It encouraged him to play the banjo for a couple of years, joining his brothers’ bluegrass band by the age of 15 where he returned to acoustic guitar alongside bass and mandolin. Discovering the music of Keith Whitley was also key to his artistic development, bridging the gap between country and bluegrass.
Soon Mo moved to Nashville on the advice of a friend, and signed with Curb Records in May 2014, at the age of just 21. He began working with George Strait’s producer Tony Brown, who really understood who he was as an artist and aimed to make a record that was a true representation of Mo himself. In December 2014, he released his debut single ‘Country’ to radio, a track that summed up much of who he is. It received favourable reviews for its refreshing neo-traditional style, and is currently in the top 40 at radio with plenty of mileage left. In March 2015 Mo released the official music video for the song, directed by Wes Edwards, and made his Grand Ole Opry debut, performing a song called ‘Clean Up On Aisle Five’ that gave him a standing ovation lasting for several minutes. Following appearances at CMA Fest and a thorough radio tour, Mo is currently promoting ‘Country’ and working on finishing his debut album.
ALBUMS: N/A.
KEY TRACKS: Country (2014), Clean Up On Aisle Five (2015), Behind This Guitar (2015), Come Do A Little Life (2013), I Didn’t Wake Up This Morning Cause I Didn’t Go To Sleep Last Night (2012), I Met Merle Haggard Today (2014).
