An up-and-coming musician from Parry Sound, Ont., is hoping to be the next big name in country music.
Sully Burrows graduated high school last June and released his first single, ‘Youth,’ in October.
He describes his first co-written song with fellow Canadian country music singer songwriter Owen Riegling as “pretty special” because of the message.
“Youth is kind of just a song about enjoying the time that that you have growing up and because you can never get it back,” Burrows told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in a Zoom interview Friday afternoon.
“I think that song captures it perfectly of just enjoying that time.”
He has since released a second song he co-wrote with Bradley Hale, called ‘Think of Me,’ in January and signed with Partners Record Label out of Toronto.
Burrows said his second single is something he can relate to since he decided to pursue music instead of going to post-secondary school.
“It’s a song about somebody that you love moving away from your hometown and … going to school … and, you know, just kind of thinking about that person,” he said.
Competing to be ‘Top of the Country’
On Thursday, it was announced Burrows has been chosen as one of eight semi-finalists in a Canadian competition to find the next big country star.
The Top of the Country competition is hosted by the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) and satellite radio company Sirius XM and comes with a $25,000 grand prize.
“I’m honestly super excited that I was picked … it was really unexpected,” Burrows said.
“So, to get the opportunity to be a part of this competition and, you know, the other seven artists are amazing, so I’m really excited to see what this competition brings and how it goes.”
He is the only contestant from Ontario. The other seven semi-finalists are from British Colombia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
“The top eight now head into the studio to record original tracks before the competition heats up,” the radio company said in a news release Thursday.
“Canadian country fans will have a chance to vote for their favourite artists (in August) and help decide on the top three. Once selected, the finalists will perform on some of Canada’s biggest stages.”
How his love for music began
“Country music was kind of always playing in the background at my house. That was the main style of music that I would listen to,” Burrows said.
“My parents had this thing for each of me and my siblings, we would have to take music lessons until the end of Grade 8.”
He said he started playing piano, then switched to drums before starting guitar lessons.
“With country music, I really started writing when I was 14 or 15 and that was kind of the style that I gravitated towards,” Burrows said.
When asked about his biggest inspirations, he said Riley Green because of his relatable songs and Connor Smith.
Heading out on tour
All those years of music lessons are now paying off.
In March, Burrows is heading out on an eight-day tour with Andrew Hyatt, a Canadian country music star from Sudbury who won the CCMA ‘Rising Star of the Year’ award in 2022.
The young musician said he also has some live shows and festivals lined up for the summer.
A group of new songs will be released by Burrows in May, who said he anticipates a full album could be released sometime in 2026.
