The stage of Cheatham Street Warehouse has held many rising country artists, and Mason Lively is no exception.
The 20-year-old country singer headlined at Cheatham Street Warehouse for his first time on March 24. Lively is from Victoria, and has been plucking out chords and singing songs since he was 15. He said that it has been a dream of his to perform on the same stage that many other country legends have had their start.
“When you walk into the building you can just feel that so much music has happened in this room,” Lively said. “It was always a dream of mine that one day I would have a band and play on this stage one day.”
When he was 16, Lively would go to songwriting classes held at Cheatham Street Warehouse on Wednesdays. Now, he performs them on the stage. Lively writes his own songs and said he is inspired by many different things.
“It normally starts out with me and an acoustic guitar,” Lively said. “(Song writing) is a hard thing to nail down, so you just kinda go with the flow. It’s incredible to be able to create something.”
Lively began writing his own songs at 15 and pursued a musical career with the support of his friends and family.
“Once I started playing guitar and singing, it was just something that snuck up on me and that I found out to be pretty decent at,” Lively said. “So I wanted to chase it all the way.”
Inspired by his small town upbringing, Lively’s main musical influence has always been country.
“Country, Alternative Country, and Americano have just always spoken to me the most,” Lively said. “Country will always be my foundation. But we like to be diverse with it to make sure that every music fan get’s what they want from our show.”
Hayden Martin, nutrition sophomore, heard the musical diversity Lively promised.
“I really like rock, country, and hip-hop,” Martin said. “Their music has a bunch of soul, rock, and country in it so I think it’s very cool and different.”
Martin said she has been listening to the Mason Lively band for about a month now and already has a favorite song.
“My favorite song is definitely Heavy Toll,” Martin said. “So when that song came on I was totally singing all the words, I love it.”
Kayli Anthony, nursing sophomore, heard about the concert from a friend and said she enjoys the cool vibe of the Mason Lively Band’s music. As a country music lover, she said that she had a great time.
“My favorite part of the night was when everyone got up and danced and was super involved,” Anthony said. “I danced with my best friend. It was a super fun atmosphere.”
Kyle Alexander, childhood friend of Mason, has followed Lively’s musical journey from the beginning.
“It’s great because I’ve seen him come from smaller beginnings,” Alexander said.”And now he’s playing more, he has a manager, a band, and an album coming out. He’s getting it big and I’m really happy for him.”
Lively’s first full album Stronger Ties will be available to purchase on April 6. Until then, bobcats can listen to his songs on Spotify or Soundcloud.