Leaving Austin

With a profound sense of brotherhood, a passionate love of music and a fierce determination, Leaving Austin is forging a path in country music that’s solely their own. Comprised of Austin Machado, Davis Forney and Michael Stevens, the trio’s smooth vocals and distinctive songwriting have made them one of the most sought after bands in Nashville. In less than a year, they’ve garnered co-writes with some of country music’s most successful songwriters including Jimmy Robbins (“We Were Us”, “It Goes Like This”), Scooter Carusoe (“Anything But Mine”, “Mean To Me”), Chris DeStefano (“Kick The Dust Up”, “Something In The Water”), Chris Dubois (“Buy Me A Boat”, “Today”) and- Thomas Archer (“Hurricane,” “You Broke Up with Me”).

But their path to this point hasn’t been as quick. Hailing from Visalia, California, a small farming town nestled in the far corners of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, they were all raised on the importance of faith, family and the belief that nothing was going to be handed to them. Country, pop and rock and roll became the soundtrack of their days working in farming and construction alongside their family and friends.

“I lived 40 feet from my grandpa’s house,” said Austin. “I just wanted to work on the farm like my dad and grandpa did. I loved it. My dad plays guitar and sings too so I grew up listening to everything from Van Halen and Boston to Ricky Skaggs, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson to Michael W. Smith.”

“My mom was 90% Shania Twain while my dad was pure rock and roll,” said Michael. “I fell somewhere in the middle listening to a mix of pop, rock, Christian and eventually country. I spent my days making cattle feed on a local dairy farm. It wasn’t easy, but it taught me a great work ethic.

Davis, who credits his father as one of his biggest influences, always thought he would work in construction like his dad.