Cole Phillips

The 18-year-old singer, songwriter, and guitarist tells the kind of stories that cut right to the core. Over bare country instrumentation, his vocals resound at levels of pain, experience, and wisdom that far belie his age.

Now, he chronicles where he’s from and where he’s going on a series of singles for RECORDS, LLC and more to come.

Cole hails from Bridge Creek, OK, which he describes as “not even a town, but more like a community.” Mom worked as a court reporter, and dad regularly traveled out of state to work on oil rigs. He discovered Hank Williams, JR. and David Allan Coe through his father and Dierks Bentley and Zac Brown Band via his mother. Eventually, he embraced Metallica, Nirvana, and AC/DC as well as red dirt favorites such as Zach Bryan and Cody Jinks on his own. His parents divorced and remarried, expanding the family and making Cole “the oldest of eight kids.” In high school, he picked up a guitar to learn Zac Brown songs. Around the same time, he endured the claustrophobia of smalltown life with the only potential out being a future welding on oil rig somewhere far away.

In the haze of a hangover, he penned what would become his breakthrough track “Drinking Alone.” Loose guitar underlines an incisive, yet irresistible refrain. It highlights his gritty right-from-the-gut delivery and straight-from the-heart songcraft.

“It was the first song I ever wrote,” he recalls. “It just happened when I got drunk one night. I basically woke up with the song. I’m still this person in many ways. I like being alone, but I’m more content with myself. The song is where I was at two years ago. It helped me get out of the rut I was in.”

It went from being his “class song” to organically exploding on TikTok with millions of views. In 2023, the success translated to DSPs with 7 million streams and 1 million YouTube views. Meanwhile, he inked a deal with RECORDS, LLC.

Now, Cole is amplifying an “Oklahoma story” as loudly as possible.

“I just want people to know somebody else has been there before,” he leaves off. “No matter how alone you feel, you’re not. You can always come out on the other end. I thank God because I’ve got the ability to touch hearts in a way I never imagined.”