Charlton's Liam Coleman nets top award at NE Songwriting Competition, plans fall tour

Weeks before the expected announcement of his first tour, and just a year after graduating from high school, Charlton's Liam Coleman is making a name for himself in country music, taking home the top award in the 2022 New England Songwriting Competition.

Coleman's song, "Leaving Season," netted him the grand prize of $500 in the competition and first place in the country song category as well.

"It was a very exciting moment," Coleman, who, since January lists his home address as Nashville, said. "Life is very, very good for me in Nashville. I'm just writing every day, playing at night and meeting new people."

Co-writers Carson Wallace, Dariann Leigh and Nathan Wilson were instrumental in penning "Leaving Season," an old-school-sounding ballad with heartbreaking lyrics about loss.

He also won a Judges' Choice Award for a song called "Broke Down," also written with Wilson and Chris Chapman.

Many of Coleman's songs take shape in the apartment he shares with two roommates. He is a late riser, playing out most evenings. In the daylight, a group gathers to write.

"We talk about our lives, what ideas we have, what inspires us that day ... then we put some music behind it. It can come together really fast sometimes," he said.

Draws from life experiences

Though he's just 19 years old, Coleman said he draws from his own life experiences. Recently released "Vintage" has a line about playing a guitar the singer was given by his father when he turned 16.

"There's a little bit of truth to that," Coleman said, adding that sometimes stories from his growing up in Charlton find their way into his music.

"Vintage" is also the song he and his manager Peter Strickland of Marathon Talent decided would be the one featured in his first video.

The video shot in March will be officially released to Coleman’s website, YouTube and several other distribution outlets July 13. The single was featured last month on Boston’s Country 102.5 as their “Catch of the Week."

'Honky tonk'

While he grew up in New England, Coleman said he tends to gravitate toward country music with a Texas sound.

He continues to list Hardy as one of his biggest inspirations and said Corey Kent and Whiskey Meyers are also among his favorites.

Coleman is working as a musician on Broadway with his band and almost every venue he plays has the words "honky tonk" in the name. Being at bars on Broadway has offered some unique experiences like the night he finished a set and was called to a table to hang out with John Stamos, an actor and musician who most folks will remember from the sitcom "Full House."

"The Beach Boys and LOCASH were there, too. So, that was a pretty random night," Coleman said.

When he is not playing on Broadway, he can often be found at some of the most famous spots in Nashville playing his original songs in “Writers' Rounds” where a group of three or four songwriters hit the stage and take turns performing their original music. Popular venues like Cabana Taps, Live Oak, Tin Roof and Whiskey Jam are where Coleman has connected with many of his fellow songwriters with whom he collaborates.

In May, Coleman performed at the Tybee Island Songwriters Festival in Georgia.

Nashville's influence

Nashville has proven an influence for Coleman and not just when it comes to music. The fresh-faced teen who left Massachusetts six months ago now sports a healthy crop of facial hair and shoulder-length locks hang below his ball cap leaving no question about what kind of music one will hear when he opens his mouth to sing.

One month into his senior year of high school, Coleman signed with Marathon Talent Agency inking the contract at Stone Cow Brewery in Barre where he played his first paying gig at 15 years old.

While most of his time is spent in Nashville, Coleman will will return to Massachusetts to perform in September. On Sept. 8, he'll be at Duke's Twenty One Sports Bar in Dudley and at Indian Ranch for Local CountryFest Sept. 11.

Coleman said Wilson, a good friend and co-writer, will be touring with him for what is planned as a multi-state college bar tour this fall.

Upcoming performance dates and information about new music can be found at liamcolemanmusic.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Charlton's Liam Coleman nets top award at NE Songwriting Competition, plans fall tour