Wilson grew up in Austin, Texas surrounded with music. Early on it was the rock ‘n’ roll off his parent’s turntable-The Band, Dr. John, and Professor Longhair, until his music rapport grew as he grew. His pop education came thanks to older kids on his block, where he accumulated cassettes of Ten and Core and Blue and Pinkerton as they were released. “My parents LITERALLY called it the Devil’s music,” he says. As he became more aware of the history of Austin music, he started watching Austin City Limits, listening to the songwriters that had called Austin home since the 70s. That kind of paced, deliberate songwriting opened avenues to Nick Drake and Elliott Smith.
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“I played my first real show at Steamboat in Austin. It had moved from its original 6th Street location and was doomed to fail, but they gave me a midnight slot on a Monday. I was 19. I saw Elliott Smith there a couple weeks later, a couple months before his death.”