Songwriter Spotlight: Keeton Coffman

Keeton Coffman grew up in Bryan-College Station, Texas and after finding an old Alvarez guitar in his mother’s closet, his mom taught him a handful of chords and he found his passion. He was an elite gymnast who became a national champion and practiced his guitar on his travels to events and during his college years at the University of Texas in Austin. He formed a critically lauded rock band, The 71s, in Houston that was categorized as Christian rock, but was perhaps mostly rock and the band parted ways in 2012 and he began his solo career. His first album in 2016 Killers Eyes focused on the beauty found in the grit of hard work and it received strong trade press reviews. It was then that Keeton suffered a mental setback. He had been diagnosed with Bipolar II and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in high school, and the diseases re-emerged and set him back. He sought treatment and openly talks about his road to recovery and he kept writing songs. It is these personal songs from the heartland rocker that formed his new album Hard Times. The rocking songs from the album are rooted in his childhood experiences growing up in Bryan and College Station. In this episode, Keeton discusses “Wounded Heart,” “Magician,” “Let Her Go,” “Killer Eyes,” “Make It Look Easy,” and “Hurricane.”