Austin Gilliam

Fans recognize Austin Gilliam as a guitar player. Maybe it’s his six-foot-five viking-esque stature. Or his nine-inch signature pin-up-girl tattoo. Or maybe it’s just that he’s a really, really good guitar player. But fans of the americana/red dirt/alternative country scene know the media recognized more than three years ago: Austin Gilliam is a heckuva guitar player — but he’s a guitar player with a killer set of pipes. Austin cut his teeth in the Americana scene playing lead guitar and singing harmony vocals with the Scott Wiggins Band. His guitar and vocal work on the band’s sophomore album, “Burn” (Adam Odor, Keith Davis) was critically acclaimed and the CD netted two of the Top 25 singles in 2009. After departing the Wiggins Band, Austin played most notably with Drew Kennedy, Wes Nickson, and Javi Garcia and the Cold, Cold Ground before joining Matt King and the Cutters. The Cutters kicked off its emerging, national-touring presence with a stop in Nashville, where the band recorded “The Cutters” (Vance Powell) EP. With a true passion for music, Austin is known to fill his schedule and often play as many as nine gigs a week — sometimes with as many as 10 different bands. “I’ve taken influence from each project I’ve had the pleasure of being involved with and combined them the best way I know how. I continue to do that to this day,” Austin says. While he is best known as a guitar player, his album credits and critical acclaim heavily reflect his vocal talent. Now Austin, with his band, The Politicians, looks forward to sharing his voice, his songs, and of course, his guitar playing, with you.