Angel White Is “Carving Space For The Invisible”
The rising artist’s debut album has taken him from his Texas roots to the open arms of overseas, with a mission to rewrite country’s story along the way.
Angel White (Supplied)
Angel White may be an artist you’re yet to hear, but your favourite country crooners have had their eye on him for quite sometime. Call him your favourite artist’s favourite artist, if you will.
Sitting in the comfort of his current home which lays half-packed and boxed, White is on the cusp of transitioning into a new house around the same timeframe that he’s transitioning from head-down grit to chin-up appreciation. He’s still grounded though, staying humble at all that’s been going on.
“Right now my place is a bit of a mess because I'm just going through all my clothes to see what I want to take. But I'm pretty excited,” He smiles, “It'll be a slow process. I'm in no hurry.”
A nice little cabin awaits him, just outside of Austin and a mere 3 hour drive from the sleepy town of Cleburne, Texas where White grew up.
“At this point, I've been all over the world. So now I'm like, I need to be at home for a little bit.”
Been all over the world he has. Since the release of his debut GHOST OF THE WEST: THE ALBUM in March, White has ricocheted across America and Europe, stepping onto some of the biggest stages of his career. One of these included a late-afternoon slot on the esteemed stage of Stagecoach festival, alongside a bill of performers including Lana Del Rey, Jelly Roll, and Luke Combs. “Insane,” he says of the experience. “First time playing, first time going. Just wild.”
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A year on the road has also seen him tapped by the likes of Zach Bryan, Kaitlin Butts, and Shane Smith and the Saints for opening slots, while he was also given the reigns to entertain the masses at Post Malone’s Travellin’ Tailgate, ahead of the double-billed Post Malone & Jelly Roll shows a few months back.
It’s an impressive run for someone who has only just released their debut album, albeit after working hard in the background for quite some time.
White has tinkered around the edges of a musical life for some time - growing up influenced by his dad’s broad tastes in music, to the rite of passage of playing in a high school band (and a punk band at that), to picking up a guitar at 21. But while the call of country music wasn’t always in the forefront, it’s always been a deeply-rooted part of White’s life - coming from five generations of Texan cowboys. And it only
But his influences stretch far beyond the Lone Star State. That eclectic upbringing is why his record feels just as comfortable with the grit of Waylon Jennings as it does with the introspection of Dijon or the atmospheric pull of Mk.gee.
“I think it would be a disservice to myself to be like, ‘I’m only going to do this all the time,’” he says. “I’ve pulled from every single genre.” It’s this willingness to explore outside the expected that gives Ghost of the West its texture, and is perhaps why the album resonates so strongly with audiences unfamiliar with, or even skeptical of, country music.
There’s something for everyone, from the Lenny Kravitz-esque funk of LONG WAY UP, the indie- folk leaning of 2733 to the soulful tear-jerker of a final ballad WILD PAINTED HORSES. But in the end, it all comes back to country, from the wide open spaces of a childhood in the stirrups.
And it only took 12 days to bring the album together.
“Well, we'll say, we'll say 16 days.” White re-calculates with a grin.
“The album was done for quite some time,” He says, casting his mind back to February 2022, “And then I went back in and recorded four more tracks that got added. And we dropped what was considered the EP, and then tied it all together (as an album) when March came around.”
A whopping 2 years of waiting has finally paid off for the rapidly rising singer.
“I'm glad it's out,” He admits, like a much-needed exhale, “And I think it is like great timing right now that it came out because, again, like shows have been great. We've been playing the music pretty much up until the album dropped. So I think, you know, people got to experience the album even before it was out.”
When White took Ghost of the West overseas earlier this year, he didn’t know what to expect. “I had no idea or expectation… will people know stuff? Will they even like it?” he recalls. “But it seemed like the response was even better than American shows. It was shocking in the best way.”
That warmth from a part of the world not traditionally associated with country music surprised him, and perhaps confirmed the album’s reach beyond genre boundaries. It’s the same spirit that landed him on major lineups, and, perhaps even more touching, a performance at Cook County Jail in Chicago, where he performed for incarcerated men as part of a music outreach initiative.
“That was, you know, way beyond a big stage or thousands of people,” he says of Cook County, where both Johnny Cash and BB King have played for the residents in the past.
“It was a completely different world that I think we got to see. Like it was just a real win, I think, in the heart.”
The letters he received afterward stayed with him, especially those from people who admitted they hadn’t wanted to see him at first but left feeling moved. “That’s like real-time perspective change,” he says, “which I know we were just going in (with) no, like expectation, really.”
“But, you know, by the like third song, we were all just like having fun with it, … it was like just truly life giving.
“Some of the some of the letters, you know, they just kind of spoke about like “when I get out, you know, I'm going to do this. And when I get out, I'm going to do that.” And to to read those words from people, you know, who have been incarcerated for X amount of time is… is also like super inspiring for myself. Because if you know if you can make a change on that level, I think keeping that mindset really does as well for for my heart, my brain.”
White has self-professed GHOST OF THE WEST as “an ode to the Spanish cowboy, the Black cowboy, the Native cowboy,” a nod to the too-often overlooked pioneers of the genre. His mission, as he puts it, is about “carving space for the invisible.”
“I wasn’t seeing… really any,” he says of diverse representation in the country space when he was starting out. “So, I think to be just a representative in some form or fashion was my -was the biggest goal. And, you know, I think that's being done.”
While Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter has reignited global conversations about the Black roots of country music, Angel points out that the revival didn’t start there. “It also has existed for a long time,” he says.
“I think there's a lot more doors open now or a lot of people seeing someone do it. And it's like, “Yeah, I can do that as well”. I kind of just like let people know that it's ok.”
But White draws a clear distinction between being a role model and telling others what to do.
“I personally would just never tell somebody what to do. Because I don't think that there's this formula, especially now. Like there's so many avenues and ways things can get out to people.” he says, when asked about advice for people who might be feeling lost or wanting to pursue music.
One of GHOST OF THE WEST’s standout tracks is SOMEDAY, where White delivers the line: “you may be lost, but you’ll find your way someday” - A simple lyric but with the full weight of White’s grit behind it, and it’s the kind of advice he favours, allowing the individual to trust their own destiny.
“Just do it. Make it. Put it out… finish something first, and then you can make your decision.” Is his way to go forth in the music world.
For now, White is focused on settling into his new cabin, prepping for upcoming tour dates with Marcus King, and, hopefully one day, adding an Australian leg to his travels.
“I will be in Australia,” he promises, although there is no show set in stone just yet. With the album less than 6 months old and a career that’s only just begun to kick it’s spurs, Australia is a tour leg he hopes to play eventually.
Although, as a kid raised on cantering horseback, it’s hard to imagine Angel White staying still for too long. Touring across continents, bending genre lines, bridging past and present in his storytelling, has kept him in a whirlwind of motion. But in his music, as in his life, there’s a rare balance: the restless urge to explore paired with the deep roots of home, of the grandparents that raised him on country living.
Whether on a festival stage, in a European club, or inside the walls of Cook County Jail, Angel White’s mission remains the same: to make music that connects, includes, and lasts.
Angel White is ABC Country’s Artist of the Month
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