Dustin Sonnier

A country singer and songwriter with a honky tonk sound, a touch of rock & roll attitude, and a Cajun spirit, Dustin Sonnier was born in 1987. He was raised in Vatican, Louisiana, a small town in Lafayette Parish. Sonnier grew up in a house filled with music, though his parents had different tastes: his father enjoyed old-school country music, particularly George Jones and Merle Haggard; his mother, on the other hand, liked classic rock and heavy metal, and played Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, and the Allman Brothers Band around the house. Sonnier loved music, and in his early teens noticed that girls tended to be drawn to musicians. With this in mind, he started playing guitar and singing in a Christian country band. Sonnier went on to spend three years working with Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin' Cajuns before he struck out as a solo act in 2006. In 2008, Sonnier released his self-titled debut EP, an independently distributed seven-song release. Sonnier became a frequent presence on the Louisiana club circuit, and established a reputation as a reliable live act. In March 2016, Sonnier brought out a second EP, Country., which included the track "Whiskey Makes Her Miss Me." The song, a weeper in the classic style, earned major airplay in Texas, and helped boost Sonnier's profile on music streaming services. Sonnier followed the success of the Country. EP with a new single in November 2016, "People Like Me." ~ Mark Deming