Writing the majority of songs on the tour bus, in cars, airplanes, and over Zoom, may not be ideal, but it may be a good sign that you’ve made it. Hudson Westbrook is not complaining. The Texas-born artist’s life has been at a fever pitch since he wrote his very first song, “Take it Slow,” about his long-distance relationship, just a year-and-a-half ago at age 19, while sitting at work. He thought, “I don’t know if anyone is going to listen to this, but it’s kinda catchy.”
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When the video of him singing it went viral on social media, Westbrook realized he should take songwriting seriously. He was a natural. He began working with other songwriters to learn the craft, including the all-important hook.
“I feel like songwriting is something that you can learn when you’re co-writing by asking yourself, ‘Why did this person do this in this line?’” he says, but confesses that with so much time on the road, much of his co-writing is done over Zoom or FaceTime, which he characterizes as “super weird.”
Before Westbrook knew it, by early 2024, he had written about 35 songs as a freshman at Texas Tech, where he was studying to be a landman. While they were blowing up on social media, he spent several months contemplating what to do until “Finally,” he says, “I was like, ‘OK,’ I understand that college and music are not doable at the same time if you’re trying to take both seriously, so I dropped out.”
His mother wasn’t too happy about the decision, but it wasn’t long before she saw how well it was going for her son. After the success of “Take it Slow,” Westbrook recorded “House Again,” which he co-wrote with Dan Alley and Neil Medley. By January of this year, he had signed a global publishing deal with River House Artists in partnership with Sony Music Publishing Nashville. Even before he signed with River House, they supported the release of his self-titled EP. For the past year, he’s been working on his debut album, Texas Forever, which dropped July 25, all the while playing for audiences on the road.
Which is why he’s had to learn the art of writing while moving in vehicles and over electronic devices.“If I’m in a plane or in a car, I’m grabbing little pieces here and there,” he says. “If I think of a melody or a title or someone says something, I’ll sit down that night and write a little piece of it and just kind of keep it. And then, I’ll either finish the whole thing or part of it. Last time I wrote on a plane with my producer, we wrote half of a song just sitting there, coming up with melodies in our heads. And sometimes you’ll look at someone and they’ll say something like, ‘Funny seeing you here.’ And you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m writing that down.’ It’s little things like that,” Westbrook says, adding that sometimes he’ll sing a melody into his phone if that’s all he has access to.
Westbrook enjoys co-writing. “It depends on how personal the topic is,” he says. “If I feel like I want to paint a picture of something that’s in my head, then I’ll write by myself. But if I’m willing to open up and feel like someone else’s perspective will benefit me, then I’ll open up to them. Your art is personal to you, so it’s whoever you want to share it with; whoever you want to let be a part of it.”
Westbrook says “House Again” is his most personal, followed by “5 to 9.” “In high school, I was with only my mom and my girlfriend, and I was the man of the house for my mom, so on the same end of that, I wrote a song about divorce,” he says. “Then there were a lot of breakup songs and those girls are my exes now, so they don’t hurt me too bad anymore,” he says, musing that those situations provide songwriting gold.
Westbrook says his highlight was his first headlining tour, which took place last August (2024). “We had sold out a few of the venues, and just watching people every single night sing my lyrics was kind of a shock factor. It’s cool!” he says.
He admits everything has been happening so quickly. “It’s been crazy to be a part of. People are like, ‘You’ve really blown up.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, imagine being in the middle of it!’ It’s weird having everything change that fast. But I’ve made sure to keep in touch with my friends and my family.”
And should his head get too high in the sky during this wild, wild ride, Westbrook says his family will keep him in line. “I have two older brothers and an older sister, so if my feet aren’t on the ground, they’ll put me on the ground,” he says with a laugh.
Photo by Ian Noh
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