When you hear Jeff Whitehead, whether he is rockin’ with his band at a smoky Texas dancehall, or just pickin’ a guitar or piano at home, you’ll notice one thing: he cares a hell of a lot about the song. His 2009 debut album, “Outlaw in My Mind”, introduced Texas music fans to his honest, heartfelt brand of songwriting. On the record, Jeff teamed up with producer and Texas music chart mainstay, Granger Smith, to showcase his lyrical prowess with great country rhythms. If you want to say that “Outlaw in My Mind” got his feet wet, then his sophomore effort, “Resting Easy”, is certainly proof that he has jumped head first into the deep end. When asked about the new EP, Jeff says, “I’ve grown a lot since my first album and I’m really excited to get these new songs out there. I hope people are able to connect with something on the record.” Based on responses from recent live shows, Whitehead has hit the mark.

Growing up in College Station, he never imagined he would be making his way, traveling from town to town, playing music for a living. Though always an intense music fan, his world was consumed by numerous other activities, mainly baseball. Through his teenage years, year round baseball teams and raising and showing livestock with the FFA left him without much time for anything else. In 2004, Jeff began attending Texas A&M University. It was here that music took the place of all his previous endeavors. While supposed to be studying, Jeff instead began studying the great songwriters: Dylan, Townes, Steve Earl and the like. During his sophomore year, Jeff happened across a copy of American Songwriter Magazine and found their renowned Lyric Contest. Though he had never written a song, he figured he would take his shot at it. After writing 5 songs, he mailed in his efforts and waited. A month later, he received a call from the magazine and the voice on the other end was telling him that he had won first place the international contest for his song “Coffee and Dreams” (now featured on the album “Outlaw in My Mind”). Along with having his song published in the next issue of American Songwriter Magazine and receiving a Martin Guitar, Jeff received the most dangerous thing you can give to a songwriter: validation. With this new found energy, he focused everything on the song. It consumed every aspect of his life.

During his last two years of college, Jeff spent his time honing his songwriting skills and playing to college bars. At this point, he didn’t know much about the music business, but he knew one thing: that Austin seemed to be where everything was happening. After recording "Outlaw in My Mind", with blind faith and ambition, Jeff graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Wildlife Biology and moved to Austin the next day.

Now, with hundreds of shows under his belt and an upcoming EP, this year is sure to be an exciting year for Jeff Whitehead and Texas music fans alike. Keep an eye out for this guy; I know he’ll be on my radar.