Will Backerman
Website / TikTok / Instagram / Spotify / Facebook
Hailing from Bahama, North Carolina, Will Backerman is a 19-year-old folk musician and songwriter currently studying at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Backerman picked up the guitar just nine months ago, teaching himself largely through Bob Dylan songs, an early inspiration whose influence still runs through his writing. He began writing songs of his own shortly after, finding material in the world immediately around him: late nights, Chapel Hill walks, Bojangles runs, love, home, faith, and whatever else happens to cross his path.
His songwriting moves between the witty and observational tradition of writers like John Prine and something more earnest and unflinching, taking on the full range of human emotion alongside the cultural questions of the world he has grown up in.
In the past six months, Backerman has written and shared more than 70 songs online, building an audience of more than 220,000 across platforms before the release of his debut single. He released “Pawn Shop Ring” on September 10, with his debut EP set to follow later this year.
Between classes, Backerman keeps writing, playing, and building a catalog that feels at once rooted in the folk tradition and unmistakably his own. While he may be at the beginning of his career, his songs already suggest that a much bigger story is still waiting to be written.
Wes Coatney
Wes Coatney is a folk artist from Boone, NC. His songwriting style is heavily inspired by the Appalachian music tradition in which he grew up. Through the years, he has performed on fiddle, banjo, and piano, but he currently enjoys writing and performing on guitar.
