Holt launches full-time music career

The end of one career marked the beginning of another for Justin Holt. And he hasn’t looked back.

Since picking up his guitar a couple of years ago, Holt has gone from strumming casually with friends to performing as a full-time country music artist. This fall, the Vestavia Hills native and current Homewood resident completed his first tour, which included stops in five states.

“I’ve never been super nervous performing,” Holt said. “I think that’s the best part of it. I just love a good crowd and seeing how they respond to it and everything.”

Holt graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School in 2015 and signed to run cross-country at Birmingham-Southern College. But he suffered some injuries, including a femoral stress fracture, that hindered his ability to compete after his freshman year.

With a little extra time on his hands, he decided to reacquaint himself with the guitar. Holt played as a kid but prioritized athletics once he got to high school.

“I guess I just needed something to do, so I picked up the guitar again and started playing and eventually writing my own songs,” he said. “My friends seemed to like them, so I just kept trying them out, practicing.”

It didn’t take long for Holt to develop a reputation. He played his first show in the spring of his sophomore year at Zydeco. By the following spring, he was performing almost every weekend in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa or Auburn.

“At that point, I knew I had potential for a career,” Holt said, “and then senior year I got even busier. I guess I made the decision first semester senior year that that was what I wanted to do.”

Holt graduated from BSC earlier this year with a business degree. The skills he learned in the classroom have aided him in his transition from full-time student to full-time singer and songwriter. Over the summer, he reached out to hundreds of venues and negotiated with talent buyers to secure gigs.

The result was a four-month fall tour that included stops in Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia, Oklahoma and all over Alabama.

“It’s been a lot of traveling, but it’s a lot of fun,” Holt said.

Holt does some solo shows, but many are with his band. Members include his older brother Johnathan, drummer; Steven Martin, lead guitarist and harmony singer; and Chandler Patty, bass player.

Holt performs a blend of original and cover songs, with the ratio of original to cover depending on the venue. His most popular tune to date, “Good Looking Waste of Time,” has been streamed more than 80,000 times on Spotify. He said he draws from personal experiences when writing his songs.

“I’ve never like sat down and made up something that wasn’t true to me,” Holt said. “I don’t drive a jacked-up truck, so I’m not going to talk about that, and I wasn’t raised on a farm, so I’m not going to say that, so everything’s pretty genuine for the most part. I feel like the songs that are the most truthful are the ones that have done well with the fans the most.”

Moving forward, Holt plans to take his music career one year at a time. He’s done that so far, and it has turned out well.

“I guess my next goal is to kind of build off what we’ve done in the fall as far as playing in new places and kind of keep honing my craft as a songwriter and an artist,” he said.

Holt’s music is available on most digital streaming services, including Spotify, iTunes and Apple Music. Follow him on Facebook or Instagram at Justin Holt Music.