Carl Watkins is a singer-songwriter from the Appalachian Foothills of Southeastern Ohio. Growing up in a rural community, Carl passed their time listening to all sorts of music and performing whenever they got a chance. Like many musicians, they got their start performing at churches and school events.
After graduating, Carl attended Muskingum College (now Muskingum University) and studied music with a focus on vocal performance. Realizing they didn’t need a degree to be unemployed, Carl dropped out and started taking on professional work.
During this time Carl performed with many groups and found some success in the regional Bluegrass scene with the band Almost Famous. Unfortunately, the seasonal nature of the music scene meant they would have to give up music in favor of a traditional job.
While going back to school, Carl took the opportunity to start getting back into music. Practicing guitar, writing songs, and playing open mics, they slowly began to return to music. After contracting COVID in 2020, Carl became physically disabled and took that as a sign to return to music full time.
Carl is now fully focused on writing and recording original music. In 2022 they released their first set of recordings, the EP Red Flags and Growing Pains. Over the second half of 2023, Carl plans on releasing the tracks to their newest EP Upbeat Songs to Feel Down to.