A young country artist who brings a fresh, energetic approach to the dominant themes of the genre, Clark Manson was born and raised in Covington, Ohio in 1992. Manson was just a toddler when he developed a taste for music, learning the lyrics to the song "Achey Breakey Heart" with no particular prodding from his parents, and they soon began taking him to as many musical performances as they could. When he was five, Manson and his family saw George Strait in concert, and afterward the youngster knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. The Mansons also attended the annual Country Concert Festival in Ft. Laramie, Ohio each year, and when he was nine years old, young Manson got his first guitar and began picking out simple songs. While Manson divided his time between playing guitar and trap shooting as a teenager, music won out as he began devoting more time to songwriting. Fate stepped in while he was attending college; he was playing a few songs at a dorm room party when the resident assistants shut down the show, but instead of punishing him, they put him in touch with the booking agent at a campus venue. As student audiences warmed to Manson's music, he assembled a band and started landing gigs at off-campus bars catering to thirsty upperclassmen. Before long, Manson and his band were playing several nights a week and bringing in up to $250 a night, enough to persuade him there might be a career for him in music. Manson relocated to Nashville and began writing songs with fellow Ohio expatriate Dustin Blythe. In November 2013, Manson self-released his first album, Runnin' with the Night, which earned airplay in the midwest and helped him land bigger gigs, including a slot at Country Concert Festival. A five-song EP, I'm on It, followed in June 2014, and Manson began making a name for himself in the Music City. By 2015, he had landed publishing and management deals, and Ole Media Management released the single "Track Nine" in July of that year. ~ Mark Deming