Live Music: Garner Sloan

Austin-based artist Garner Sloan was born in Abilene and grew up in Coleman, Texas. He did not have the stereotypical “I grew up playing music” childhood. It wasn’t until the summer of 2008 that he picked up his first guitar. Self-taught, he mastered the guitar by playing along with his favorite music. Having natural talent, he was able to easily progress into other instruments. Soon he would be playing harmonica, guitar and kick drum; essentially becoming a “one man band.”
His earliest intention was not to write music. Playing music was just a hobby. It was something he did in secret, hidden in his room with no intended audience. Garner soon became obsessed with playing, his fingers bleeding and sometimes rendering a shot of some whiskey to ease the pain. As he progressed and began to accomplish mimicry of his favorite artists with ease, he desired to take his talent further and began to write.

Garner cites Townes Van Zandt as his main inspiration when it comes to writing music. His other influences include: Guy Clark, Blaze Foley, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, Son House, Woody Guthrie, Terry Allen, Johnny Cash, Hayes Carll and a couple hundred more. Having such influences, Garner transcends musical genres as an Americana artist, playing a mixture of folk, country and blues with a tad bit of rock and roll.