Justin Payne: From Nashville to North Dakota

Musician Justin Payne will be visiting Bismarck on June 30 for a performance at the Laughing Sun Brewery.

With a mix of country twang and alternative rock, Justin Alan Payne will bring his unique style to the Laughing Sun Brewery on June 30. Payne is an alt country/alt rock musician hailing from Nashville, Tenn. From Ohio to Texas to Illinois, this rocker has been around. 

Born in Newark, Ohio, Payne grew up playing classical music, starting the violin when he was about four years old and continued to play through high school. He went to college for violin performance and studied music arrangement and composition. Through the experience, Payne realized that life was not for him.

“In my early 20s, I didn't really like that or that life. I was subbing in orchestras in the Midwest, and the whole wear a tux, get the mileage kind of life just wasn't really for me,” Payne said. “You play a lot of the same repertoire or stuff like that.”

After this realization, Payne took another inspiration from his life. Throughout his childhood, his grandparents, who were a big part of his life, were into old time country. Payne’s number one inspiration is Neil Young for his lyricism and how he defies convention. Some other inspirations are Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Cate Le Bon. He also takes inspiration from Beethoven for writing music. 

“I got really into Beethoven, and he did this thing historically where he was always carrying around like little notepads,” Payne said. “I think that practice of always listening and like being present and collecting what like lights you up in those moments, like what you hear musically and having the discipline to like try to document that like in the moment.” 

While touring, it is hard not to think of the things that brought you to where you are now. For Payne, that may be his grandparents or even his musical influences. On the road, there are opportunities to create more memories. Sometimes, it’s even the crowd that can bring memorable moments that can last an entire career and push Payne to keep going. 

“I was like the first guy by himself. Packed house. They hung on every word, didn't even know me, right. Like I didn't hardly have any music out to like go find and get to know me before I came,” Payne said. “And so it was just one of those magic moments where it clicks and like you got the right audience and you hit him with the right energy and the right words and the right songs. And it's hardly ever like that, right. But that reminds me that, A, it can be. [And] B, maybe you got something going on here, man.”

Experiences like these drive Payne to keep going. With this drive, he is looking into the future to see what comes next. Whether it be the other bands he is working with or a massive tour coming soon in the summer, Payne has got a lot on his plate for the near future. Catch his performance at Laughing Sun Brewery on June 30 at 7:00 p.m.