For most artists, performing in Nashville is a distant dream. Trenton Antill, a Greene County native from Greensboro, has not only achieved this, but signed with a record label, as well – all before his first year of college.
Trenton describes himself as a creative soul and is always looking to create in any art form. The young musician and songwriter credits his inspiration for music in growing up surrounded by a family of music lovers and musicians, along with his favorite games and idols.
“I think what sparked the idea for me to play music when I was little was a game called Guitar Hero 3 where I got to listen to my idol, Tom Morello, guitarist for the band ‘Rage Against The Machines’, for the first time,” Trenton says. “As funny as that may seem, just getting to hear his playing and the song that he wrote for the game inspired me to want to go out and make my own music.”
Trenton’s present music career began in March 2018 when he picked up guitar and vocal lessons his freshman year of high school through Lucien Schroyer at LPS Guitar. While being a musician in high school might not have been his first plan, his multiple ankle surgeries took sports out of the picture.
“This made me feel lost and I did not know what to do, as I asked what my true purpose was. I then realized that music was that thing,” Trenton adds.
Since then, he has been proving his purpose through his multitude of musical achievements. Trenton has performed shows at various local events including Sounds of Summer, Waynesburg’s Rain Day, and his personal favorite, Greensboro’s Art Blast on the Mon. He has also played at the Commodore’s Songwriter Circle in Nashville.
“I think the Art Blast will always be the event I loved the most. It was my hometown and an event that I always went to growing up so to give back and perform there. It will always hold a place in my heart.”
His musical talents have contributed to his academic success, too. Trenton was honored to be the recipient of the Community Foundation of Greene County HVM arts scholarship this year. His vocal skills also resulted in his acceptance into the Commercial Music Technology program at California University of Pennsylvania.
However, Trenton’s biggest musical achievement is signing with the record label Sony MC1 Nashville, aka Sony Orchard, under their Dark Lonesome division. With them, he hopes to release a studio album and get his name out there as a musician.
Trenton will be releasing and streaming his first single on August 30. He’s part of this year’s Rain Day lineup, and he will also be performing at Stanley Fest in Micanopy, Florida in October. As for his future, Trenton plans to take it all day by day.
“I still have the same dreams as everyone else: getting famous, my music being successful, giving back to my community, etc. But I feel like it’s best to live in the present and not the future. I’ve learned over these past couple of months that the world of music can be crazy and can change in an instant so I feel like I should try to do what I can now while I’m living in it.”