Introducing Rick Zachary, a sheriff turned musician. Rick was working towards being a Drug Recognition Expert. He moved from Missouri to New York to work in the same police department his father retired from. But before Zachary could get started a drunk driver hit him at a red light, breaking his back and putting an end to that career. During his recovery he refused to take painkillers, turning instead to music. He taught himself to play guitar and started writing. “It wasn’t my intention to get into music. I always loved music, had a passion for it. But never saw myself being an entertainer.” Life however had other plans.

He started playing open mics, moving onto solo gigs, then full band gigs. Now he’s releasing music in Nashville. His debut single “Small Town Saturday Night” recently came out and it’s very catchy. “I wrote it about my adolescense and growing up in a small town. All the stuff we did is relatable to a lot of people because no matter what your demographic is, wherer you’re from a lot of people can gravitate to it. We did the same thing in different ways.” Born and raised in western New York in a small, one stop light town called “Ransomville” Rick says there wasn’t much to do except dirt race tracks, bars, and farms.

He describes his sound as country with Southern rock. Influences include The Tragically Hip, Black Crows, and Cody Johnson. “I hung out with him a few years ago and saw the way he interacted with fans after shows. It was really awe inspiring. When I started to get into music I told myself I want to be like that. I want to be the same humble, genuine guy offstage as the same presence that I am onstage.”

He shares the story of going to see Cody at a small bar with two of his detective buddies and hanging out with him after the show. A year later he went to see him again and Cody recognized him. Cody then invited him backstage and gave him tickets for the next nights show.

Zachary admits to loving what he calls Texas rendered style country music, artists like Randy Rogers, Cody Jinks, Whiskey Myers, and Jason Bull and the Stragglers. So expect to hear some of that in his music.

“My music is relatable. That’s what sets me apart. There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s catchy and that’s great. I’m not knocking it. I like to write music that’s tangible and has some substance to it.”

As for what influences his songwriting he says “Honestly it’s just life in general. It’s not really anything that I can put my finger on.” He adds that he normally writes pretty fast, one of the first songs he wrote in just ten minutes went viral. It can be something he hears, sees, experiences, or even just a conversation sparking a song.

Rick has a nine year old girl, who surely is a big influence as well. We’re told she is his best friend in the whole world. At the time of sitting down with Zachary, he had been texting his daughter to let her know he’d be able to take her to the daddy-daughter dance. He was excited to go back home for that. Right now he’s been splitting his time between Nashville and home, but ideally would love to have a place back there as well.

Plans for the year include releasing a full album and a tour. His goal is to be on the road as an opening act for a bigger name artist. It’s no surprise his #1 choice would be Cody Johnson, followed by Luke Combs.But, Rick says he’s happy to play for whomever will have him. We wish him all the best.