Palmer Anthony Is Coming In Hot!

When founder Reed McDonald created Country Underdog in college, his goal was to create a media platform that would cast a spotlight on Red Dirt Country artists with great country and rock music that weren’t getting enough attention. Since then, the objective for Country Underdog has been to share the “Underdogs” – well deserving Texas Country artists that are still making their name in the scene – with passionate Texas Country music fans. With our goal in mind, it’s time we cast a spotlight on aspiring Texas Country singer-songwriter, Palmer Anthony. This young underdog is slowly making a name for himself in the Texas Red Dirt music scene by filling the ears of Texas Country music fans with a fresh new sound that has a modern flare while still holding true to the much cherished traditional Texas style instrumentation and lyricism.

Born on May 5, 1996 in Willits, California, 25-year-old Palmer Anthony Runberg grew up playing baseball, football, and basketball and spent much of his summers pouring concrete. Palmer first picked up the guitar when he was 14-years-old and started teaching himself to play country songs that he had heard around the house from his dad’s cassette player but only for recreational purposes. In his teen years Palmer moved to Fort Worth, Texas, but after graduating high school, he went back to California to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara to play baseball while pursuing a Bachelor's degree in business administration and media studies. Far from home, there to remind him of home, he found comfort in the Country Music genre.

During his first year of college he began writing his own music and fell in love with the craft of songwriting. Getting through his second year of college, after a solo trip to Lubbock, Texas and then soon after Nashville, Tennessee, Palmer decided that music is what he wanted to do. In April of 2017 after graduating college, Palmer packed his bags and headed back to Fort Worth, Texas without knowing a soul in town to take a shot at the Country Music industry. In October of 2019 Palmer made his first appearance in the scene at the Rustic Tap in Austin, Texas. Inspired by artists like Ryan Bingham, Guy Clark, and Mac Miller you can begin to understand why the songwriting Palmer brings to the table is so incredible and honest as well as to where it gets it's modern touch.

Having song ready to be heard, Anthony headed to Nashville, Tennessee to work on his first project with multiple Grammy winning producer Jacquire King. He made his debut into the scene on January 11, 2019 with a three song EP titled “We Got The Night” co-written with songwriters Stephan Sharp and Carl Cartee. Through this EP Palmer established his sound and showcased his songwriting skills with a mix of Texas styled instrumentation that had a modern touch. While the songs gained the young artist some traction in the scene, he followed up with a two song EP co-written with Buddy Wright titled “Maybe It’s Just Me” in March of 2020.

Having no time to waste, Palmer put out another two song EP in November of 2020 titled “Remember Us”. This time around the two songs on the EP were produced by two separate producers; one them being producer Scott Faris on the song “One of Them”co-written with Joybeth Taylor and producer Stephan Sharp, who had previously co-wrote with Palmer on the song “Remember Us”. However, this was just the beginning of Palmer’s and Sharp’s relationship. In 2021 Sharp went on to produce Palmer's most successful single this far “Drink to That” that was co-written with Brady Kuntz as well as another single titled “Letterman”.

Leading into the new year Palmer wasted no time putting out more music but this time around featuring aspiring female singer songwriter Gracie York. The single titled “Meet Me in Texas” featuring York was co-produced by Kerry West, Jacquire King, Justin Johnson with co-writers Connor Gunn Quinn, Gable Bradley and Justin Johnson.

“My goal is to write and release music that is completely me and authenticity original and I hope I can pay some bills in doing” Palmer says, “ My proudest accomplishment thus far is that I’ve written every song I’ve released and have stuck to my guns in all situations as far as music decisions go.” he adds.

This far his 2021 single “Drink to That” has made the most impact for the young artist career as it has generated him a little over a million streams across major music platforms as well as placing him as a “Fresh Find'' under Texas Music Pickers. However, his new single featuring York is not too far behind. Playing over 100 shows a year, Palmer’s growing success has landed him on different stages within festivals, clubs and dive bars opening for acts such as Kolby Cooper, Pecos & the Rooftops, and Josh Ward.

“I believe our live shows are our bread and butter, if anyone wants to see what we’re about, that’s where they need to go," Palmer said.

Palmer has come so far already for an artist that’s completely independent, but more is soon to come from him. With fans now waiting, Palmer is all set to release his debut album in the Spring of 2022 that mixes his roots of traditional Texas style instrumentation and lyricism with a modern flare. As Anthony states in his Instagram bio “I write songs and sing em’” and that he is doing and he’s doing it very well. He may be an underdog for now but I don’t see that lasting very long. I’ll be here waiting for what is next for Palmer Anthony, and I’m sure once you listen to him you will be too.