Tommy Acker Talks Finding Success On Social Media, Balancing His Country Music Dreams And Life As A Dental Assistant

Acker is destined to become the next big star in country music.

By

Melinda Lorge

Melinda Lorge is a Nashville-based freelance writer who specializes in covering country music. Along with Music Mayhem, her work has appeared in publications, including Rare Country, Rolling Stone Country, Nashville Lifestyles Magazine, Wide Open Country and more. After joining Rare Country in early 2016, Lorge was presented with the opportunity to lead coverage on late-night television programs, including “The Voice” and “American Idol,” which helped her to sharpen her writing skills even more. Lorge earned her degree at Middle Tennessee State University, following the completion of five internships within the country music industry. She has an undeniable love for music and entertainment. When she isn’t living and breathing country music, she can be found enjoying time outdoors with family and friends.

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Posted on October 23, 2024

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Tommy Acker; Photo Courtesy of Noah Heaton/@noah_heaton

Tommy Acker, a Texas native who splits time between the Lone Star state, Utah, and Nashville, Tenn., may not be a household name just yet, but judging by his songs like “How To Not,” “Thoughts I’ve Been Thinkin’,” and “Ain’t Too Much,” he might be the next big star in country music.

An Independent Artist Who Began Pursuing Country Music In High School

An independent artist, Acker got his start in music during his senior year of high school, when he picked up the guitar and started playing. Shortly after, he began songwriting and posting his music on social media. To his surprise, Acker’s songs garnered praise and plenty of traction on popular platforms, including TikTok. With a growing online fan base, Acker’s hobby turned into something more. And when a friend suggested he record his music in Nashville, the trips created a launching pad for his craft to take off, motivating him to continue pushing forward to make his dreams come true.

While still green to the music city scene, Acker says spending time with one of his buddies helped him navigate through the process of booking shows.

“It’s kind of funny. I just started doing all this,” Acker tells Music Mayhem in an exclusive interview. “My buddy does a small, little local festival with a couple of bands on a random weekend. And so that was my first time actually playing with a band.”

“I’d love to have a band…. It was super fun,” he shares. “It was awesome. So I plan on having a full production, full band kind of thing and hopefully get some solid guys I can play with forever and go that route.”

Tommy Acker; Photo Courtesy of Ike Everard/@ike.everard
Tommy Acker; Photo Courtesy of Ike Everard/@ike.everard

Nashville-Style Country Music

For now, Acker performs solely with an acoustic guitar, which he says is his “favorite form” of music. And, while “Ain’t Too Much” falls in the vein of traditional country music, with a sound reminiscent of a George Strait waltz’, Acker insists his original material aligns with the Nashville style of country.  

“I wouldn’t say my style of music is more Texas. I would probably say it’s more Nashville-style country music,” Acker shares. “Texas is its own animal, its own beast of music. But I will say, growing up, being in high school, and going to the Red Dirt concerts, it’s definitely in there somewhere. Yeah, I would say more so coming out of Nashville, I’ve learned a lot more things out of there and seen a whole different perspective from the Nashville side of it.”

Acker’s influences range from Cody Johnson and Riley Green to Morgan Wallen and Hardy. But, he’s as authentic as they come. And his first taste of success came with his viral “How To Not,” which racked up thousands of views on TikTok.

“That’s kind of the one that took off for me,” Acker recalls of the track. “I had it written, and going back to my buddies, they had a producer out in Nashville that I got in contact with. I sent him the song and told him the ideas and vibes I wanted to fit it. And he sent me back a demo or a mix of an instrumental. Once we approved it, we went to Nashville and got the voice recordings on it, and I put it together.”

“How To Not”

In writing “How To Not,” he says, “It was probably just after a breakup, and it was random things that were said or thoughts that either one of us had. Different things stuck out to me when she [or I] said something, and I was like, ‘Oh, well, that’d be a cool little twist of it.’ I don’t know how to not do these things after doing it for so long. It’s just you get used to a certain way of living, and once it’s no longer there, you get into the habit, and all of a sudden it’s not there, and you don’t know how not to do those things anymore. And so it’s this feeling of yearning or reminiscing, and even though it probably won’t work out or that’s not the end goal, it’s still a tough situation to be in. So that’s kind of how that one came about.”

“How To Not” has strongly resonated with Acker’s fan base. So much so that he says he’s received several comments from people telling him the tune helped them in some way, shape, or form. 

“It’s crazy to think that something can come to life and have such meaning for somebody else, even, I don’t know, just a random thought or idea that I had,” he shares.

Tommy Acker Talks “Thoughts I’ve Been Thinkin’”

“Thoughts I’ve Been Thinkin’” is another track from Acker. The laid-back song finds the singer/songwriter putting all of his feelings on the table for a person he sees in a romantic light. Acker says the tune didn’t need much prep work after it was written. In fact, he says both the songwriting process and the production had a fast turn-around.

“I had this idea, this little chorus, little melody, and I was putting it together just the things I was thinking about [and] I don’t know, it was just a funny little idea that I had,” Acker explained behind the songwriting. “I sat down with my friend, and he was throwing these ideas off of me. He was like, oh, you can make it sound like this. You make it sound like that. After a little bit, we had the whole thing written out, and I was like, alright, cool.”

“I sent it to my producer and was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got another one for you. What do you think of it?” He continued. “And then we got it produced and recorded, and that one was a pretty turnaround from when we sat down and finished it and wrote it to got it all recorded and produced.”

Acker’s Favorite Track So Far: “Ain’t Too Much”

“Ain’t Too Much” rounds out Acker’s completed recordings up to this point, and he credits the track as being his favorite to write so far.

“When it comes to music, I want to put out stuff that’s real and traditional and with a little bit of a modern twist to it,” he says, sharing his hopes with each release. “This was just about a guy that either messed up or has just about everything he could ask for. He’s got a good dog, he’s got a good truck, he’s got basically everything he could ask for in this life except for that one thing, and it’s that girl he’s missing. And basically, the whole story of it is from the outside. It might seem like a good life, but he’d give it all away to have that girl back. To have that special somebody back in his life is what makes him happy and completes him as a man. I would say that’s the whole consensus of it.”

Prioritizing Music Over Dental Assistant

Perhaps still in the beginning stages of his career, but Acker prioritizes music over everything else. After all, he has plenty to juggle as he continues to carve his path to superstardom. Not only does he go to college full-time, but he also works as a dental assistant.

Of managing his time, he says, “I’ve been lucky enough to have pretty understanding people around me when it comes to either taking time off of work or making sure I get my assignments done for school. My friends and people that I work with in Nashville, they’re like, ‘Oh, well, just let us know when you’re free.’ And I’m like, ‘Y’all tell me a time, and I’ll make it work.’ So that’s how we’ve been juggling it.”

Acker continues, “We take a week or two out of every month, and I plan to go out there before I go out there, I make sure all my assignments are done, and I let my work know, and they’re usually pretty understanding about it all. So a lot of preparation and dedication for it. And then I’ve always thought, if something matters to you enough, you’ll make time for it, and you’ll make it work. And so that’s what we’ve done so far, and it’s worked out pretty good, I think.”

What’s To Come In The Future?

Tommy Acker hasn’t followed up his releases with a full-length album or EP just yet, but he says he hopes to give fans even more to listen to in the near future.

“I love this process of writing music and seeing it come to life,” he explains. “And so my goal is to always put out music as much and as often as I can. And so hopefully here soon we can get something put together and have a whole album or a whole something to give to everybody. So that’s always the goal.”

“I’m always looking for the next big thing,” he adds, telling Music Mayhem what’s next. “I think right now my goal is to get out to Nashville, hopefully, sign a publishing deal, to start writing and meeting a lot of people, connecting with people, and becoming the best version of myself as a songwriter and as an artist. And just putting out not only a quantity of songs but quality songs. I want to put out everything that has my name stamped on the grid [and] I want it to be quality and professional and not just something to say, ‘Oh, here’s another rhyme somebody could use or sing along to.’ I want it to be something that’s meaningful and true to me, at least. And so I would say that my biggest goal is to just constantly meet new people and put out good quality music.”

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Melinda Lorge is a Nashville-based freelance writer who specializes in covering country music. Along with Music Mayhem, her work has appeared in publications, including Rare Country, Rolling Stone Country, Nashville Lifestyles Magazine, Wide Open Country and more. After joining Rare Country in early 2016, Lorge was presented with the opportunity to lead coverage on late-night television programs, including “The Voice” and “American Idol,” which helped her to sharpen her writing skills even more. Lorge earned her degree at Middle Tennessee State University, following the completion of five internships within the country music industry. She has an undeniable love for music and entertainment. When she isn’t living and breathing country music, she can be found enjoying time outdoors with family and friends.

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