Colton Graves, the rising country artist out of Folsom, California, is helping people have a good time and stay in high spirits with the release of his debut EP, Smile For Me. Graves, who released the project through Extreme Music out of Los Angeles, is using the loss of a loved one as motivation for bringing joy to people worldwide.
Folsom, California, the location that played host to the recording of the famed Johnny Cash album, At Folsom Prison, has been home to Colton Graves his entire life. Graves grew up listening to country music with his family, and also his best friend, Bryce, who passed away a few years ago. “He was the man, and working through that has been very hard,” Graves recalls. “I figured I would try hard in music for the both of us since he was always there when I was writing my music.”
The struggles that Colton has gone through up to this point in his life, however, are serving as his motivation to spread a message of joy. With his new four-song EP, Smile For Me, Graves is looking to make music that people can easily relax and have a good time to while listening. Produced by Aaron Kaplan of Extreme music, the EP correlates in sound with famous country stars like Chase Rice and Jake Owen, and it shows why Colton Graves is an artist on the rise in the country music scene.
Stream the title track off of Colton Graves’ new project, Smile For Me, here.