CHARLIE WORSHAM

HOMETOWN: Grenada, Miss.
INFLUENCES: Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, ZZ Top
ALBUM: As yet untitled LP, out 2013
WEBSITE: charlieworsham.com

Born and raised in Mississippi hill country, Charlie Worsham was a child prodigy, playing banjo with bluegrass legend Jimmy Martin at the Ryman Auditorium at the age of 10. Two years later, he performed at the Grand Ole Opry with Mike Snider. Studying at Boston’s Berklee College of Music further honed his musical chops. After three years with Nashville-based country-rock band Kingbilly, he left in 2009 to pursue a solo career. In short order he was opening on tours for Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert. Last year, he landed a recording contract with Warner Bros., and already his first single, “Could It Be,” cracked the Top 40. As he readies the release of his debut album, he’s driven by a magnetic pull toward music. “I feel like I didn’t have much choice,” he says about his career path. “The songs, the playing—they were the only things that ever kept my attention.”