JD Clayton's easygoing songcraft has made him a promising figure on the country music scene. Since going viral with 2018's "Brown Haired Blue Eyed Baby," he gained confidence on the albums Long Way from Home (2023) and Blue Sky Sundays (2025), the latter of which showed off his gifts for interpreting acts like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tracy Chapman while still building his own stable of originals.
Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, just shy of the Oklahoma border, Clayton had plenty of artistic examples to glean from his family. His grandfather, a bluegrass banjo player, taught him some...