Clayton Chaney is an Arkansan turned Angeleno whose songs narrate an ever-changing, West Coast coming-of-age. Chaney's sound can best be described as contemplative Country/Americana Folk-Rock with lyrics that are both hard-hitting and humorous.
Roger Miller, Buck Owens, and Elvis Presley were on the soundtrack to Chaney's early childhood. Dawes, Jonny Fritz, and John Moreland are among his more current inspirations. At eighteen, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a Film degree. His study of screenwriting evolved into a love of songwriting when he co-wrote and directed a musical comedy with his future bandmate and current Bloodshot Records artist, Jason Hawk Harris. Their musical friendship endured through a couple of indie-rock outfits fronted by Harris in college. Their collaborations grew into the formation of the indie-bluegrass band, The Show Ponies, with Harris as the band’s producer/guitarist and Chaney as the co-lead singer and bassist alongside front-woman and co-writer Andi Carder.
The Show Ponies released three albums and an EP between 2011 and 2017, which have racked up tens of millions of listens on digital streaming platforms. Chaney spent years traveling the USA in a 2008 Ford Econoline-350 Super Duty Passenger Van with his bandmates. He has experienced America’s big cities and small towns, playing anything in-between tiny living rooms and big festivals. The Show Ponies’ final tour in 2018 is the subject of a feature length documentary, We’re Not Lost, which explores the emotions of letting go of a dream. (Sadly the film doesn't touch on the crippling regret of selling the van.) Those emotions were the fuel for Chaney’s 2020 debut EP, Thinking Those Thoughts.
His following four single releases have been accompanied by music videos that showcase his comical tendencies alongside his dead-seriousness. His most recent single, "When the Light Comes In," will be the opening track on his first full length album, which will be released by Rock Ridge Music in February of 2026.
