Steve Moakler - Steel Town (2017)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native Steve Moakler, a thoughtful, country-tinged songwriter and singer, moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2006, honing his craft in a town where the best of the best go to do the same thing. Thoughtful and prolific, Moakler, after a series of odd jobs and countless local performances, placed songs with several artists, including Dierks Bentley, Jake Owen, Ben Rector, Matt Wertz, and Kellie Pickler, and released three independent albums, including 2011's Watching Time Run, which Moakler funded through a Kickstarter campaign. He took part in the "Three Amigos" tour with two other up-and-coming Nashville-based songwriters and singers, Ben Rector and Andrew Ripp, and placed performances of his songs in the film October Baby and with various television shows for MTV, Fox, and ABC. His third studio LP, Wide Open, peaked at the number four slot on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and in 2015 he released Steve Moakler: The Mix Tape, and co-wrote Dierks Bentley's hit single "Riser." Steve Moakler: The EP, which featured the single "Steel Town," arrived the following year. ~ Steve Leggett.