Stemming from a small town, Troy Grove certainly had some big dreams from a very early age, pursuing country music and establishing himself as “one of music’s exciting new backcountry voices” by the year 2024.
Now, the budding superstar is sitting down with Music Mayhem to discuss his career from start to finish, starting by sharing his musical beginnings and finishing by giving a glimpse into the future, as well as detailing some of the trials and tribulations he faced along the way.
Musical Beginnings
With just over 1,000 people in his hometown of Hebron, Maryland, Grove grew up surrounded by country music in the “middle of nowhere,” knowing from a very early age that that music was something he wanted to pursue professionally.
“I was going to be a NASCAR driver or a singer. Those were my only two options as a kid,” he shared with a smile. “I found out that I loved singing, because I had a first grade talent show… I was too nervous to get on stage, so my dad had to come backstage and bring me out, so I kind of sat on his knee while I sang the song. Then, I got a standing ovation — which obviously was just because I was scared — but from that moment on, I was hooked.”
“I took it more seriously once I turned about 15 and started playing gigs,” Grove added, and it looks like social media helped him reach a level of notoriety within the country music community as well.
First Viral Video
During COVID, the soon-to-be country star was encouraged by a fellow artist and friend of his, Austin Giorgio, to give TikTok a try. “I don’t want to do that. It’s for the young kids,” Grove argued at the time, but one viral video might have changed his outlook once and for all.
“I started posting covers and got some of those comments, and it was cool. Then, I started finally releasing my own music, and in my first song that I released, I had one semi-viral video,” he explained, detailing what exactly the video entailed.
Suffering a Stroke
One of the most formative experiences of Grove’s life was suffering an unexpected stroke at the age of 20. Naturally, “This event altered his perspective on life and has led him to believe in what’s important to him and share it through song,” sharing the story of said stroke in his first “semi-viral video” on TikTok.
“It was basically just explaining, you know, I had a stroke before that put me in the hospital, and that’s why I ended up moving to Nashville to just kind of chase the dream while I can,” Grove shared about the video. “That video ended up going viral, and then everyone went and listened to my first single — which looking back is not the best music I’ve ever released — but it did get some traction and got up to like 350,000 on Spotify.”
“I was super pumped because I never thought I would hit those numbers, and then that just kind of started a snowball effect,” he concluded, passionately.
Although his first single is not the work he’s the most proud of, Grove has taken the time to really find himself as an artist over the years, describing that process as the biggest lesson he’s learned throughout his musical journey thus far.
Finding himself
“When I started releasing music, I thought, ‘Okay, this is it. This is what I’m going to be doing forever,’” Grove prefaced, but this could not have been further from the truth. Now, the rising superstar describes his sound as a fusion of all the genres he knows and loves — pop, rock and country — even delving into the punk world as of late.
“I love pop music, I love rock music and I love country music and I tried to try to all of them — and some of them worked and some of them didn’t, and I’m proud of all of them still — but the biggest lesson I learned was actually up until the point when we put out “Can We Skip This,” I didn’t know what my future held as far as what I’m going to be releasing and what style of music it’s going to be,” he explained.
“I had to find myself as an artist and, you know, release pop, release rock, release country, and I finally found a way to fuse all three of them and I feel so confident about it,” Grove gushed, admitting to Music Mayhem that he’s excited for what’s to come, beginning with “Can We Skip This.”
“Can We Skip This”
“Can We Skip This” hit music streaming services on August 20, and it might just be his best work yet, amassing over 100,000 streams in just two weeks.
Naturally, Grove took to Instagram to celebrate this impressive feat: “‘Can We Skip This’ hit 100k streams in 2 weeks! So grateful for everyone listening, and a huge thanks to everyone that was a part of this song. Also, shoutout to my wife for the song inspo @sarah_grove2 Love you! Can’t wait for y’all to hear the next one…”
He then delved into the process of making “Can We Skip This” in our exclusive interview: “I wanted to try something new. Like, I’ve done the country-rock thing, but you know, I wasn’t necessarily getting the numbers that I thought I should be getting, and we wanted to kind of find my own direction in that. We kind of added a little bit of the punk feel to it, which I love.”
Grove’s “Can We Skip This” Became His Biggest Single So Far
Aside from leaning more into the punk side of things, the story of the song “needed to be all about the girl,” and needless to say, “Can We Skip This” delivered. Looking for a cool way to say “I love you,” the lyrics of the tune are certain to appeal to all of the lovebirds out there, especially females, hopefully shifting his 70 percent male audience more towards the middle.
“We came up with ‘Can We Skip This.’ Like, let’s just skip all of the ‘I want to introduce myself to you’ at the bar… I already know that I’m in love. It feels like we’re soulmates already. So, I thought that was a cool way to kind of say ‘I love you’ in a different way,” Grove gushed.
“It became my biggest single so far,” the talented singer/songwriter added, detailing that “Can We Skip This” is just a glimpse into everything he has on the horizon.
What’s Next?
As far as what’s next for Troy Grove, he got a demo back “a couple of days ago” for a forthcoming tune titled “Time On You,” which is said to draw similarities to “Can We Skip This.”
“That’s a really cool rock-country-pop song,” he said about the genre-fusing track. “Once again, it’s all about the girl, which I love. So, all the new female fans I’ve just gotten, hopefully they’ll be looking forward to that one… It’s right up the same lane as “Can We Skip This,” and I’m hoping for the same result.
Advice for Aspiring Singer/Songwriters
To conclude our exclusive interview, Grove went ahead and offered advice to any young singer/songwriters — or any young people in general — prompting them to follow their heart and chase their dreams, even when faced with adversity.
“If there’s any kiddos out there reading this interview somewhere, I’ve had a stroke, I went on The Voice shortly after that, I moved to Nashville, and now I’m doing this, you know, by myself,” he explained. “No matter what life throws at you, just know you can still chase after whatever your dream is.”
On that note, to keep up with everything Troy Grove has in store, be sure to connect with the soon-to-be country star on Instagram @troygrove.music and TikTok @troygrove.music.
