Fusing the traditionalism of vintage country with the bigger and more propulsive sounds of rock and contemporary C&W, Waterloo Revival were formed by lead singer and guitarist George Birge and guitarist and backing vocalist Cody Cooper, who have been friends since middle school. Birge and Cooper were born and raised in Austin, Texas, and as Cooper became interested in songwriting when he was 15, his pal Birge followed suit, and the two began performing together as a duo. When they graduated from high school, college took Birge and Cooper in separate directions, and after they completed their education, Birge went into commercial real estate in Austin, while Cooper was working in mortgages in Denton, Texas. But when Cooper returned to Austin to visit friends and family, he and Birge would end up jamming together, and in 2013 the two friends decided it was time to follow their true passion and try to make a living from music. Naming their act Waterloo Revival (Waterloo was their hometown's original name, before it was renamed in honor of Stephen F. Austin in 1839), Birge and Cooper began making a name for themselves on the city's thriving live music circuit, and they financed and released a five-song EP. After breaking through in Austin, Waterloo Revival pulled up stakes and moved to Nashville in search of a record deal. Music City powerhouse Big Machine Records took an interest in Waterloo Revival, and the label released the duo's first single, "Hit the Road," in December 2014, followed in 2015 by "Bad for You." A self-released EP, Front Row, appeared in early 2016, though it was their catchy March 2017 single, "What Guy Wouldn't," that helped them break through, garnering over seven million digital streams. ~ Mark Deming