When Johnny Cash was a teenager, he enlisted in the Air Force in the height of the Cold War, and at age 19 he was deployed to Germany. Post-deployment, he went on to become one of the most iconic musicians in history. While not much bonds Cash and Williamstown’s Billy Farrell, the two were far from where they wanted to be in life at 19.
Farrell, a Williamstown High School alumnus and lifelong resident, currently works at a pool supplies store counting down the days until he can move to Nashville to pursue a career in country music. He said he hopes to move to Tennessee before Halloween.
Much like many in his generation, Farrell’s musical childhood music was a culmination of things his parents listened to, which was predominantly classic rock. He first picked up a guitar around the age of 12 and though he desperately tried to mimic the fast-paced guitar style of Eddie Van Halen, the youngster couldn’t keep up. Instead of getting discouraged and quitting altogether, he switched from electric guitar to acoustic guitar and that made all the difference.
From there, Farrell slowly traded in the sounds of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith for country acts such as Zac Brown Band and Garth Brooks. With a newfound fondness for country music, a knack for guitar playing and a deep singing voice, he decided to start attending open microphone nights at the age of 16. Recently, he’s been playing in bars and breweries in South Jersey like 13th Child Brewery, Devil’s Creek Brewery, Bleachers Sports Bar and the Irish Pub in Atlantic City.
Playing mostly cover songs, Farrell credits singers like Josh Turner and Cash as influences of his musical style. The aforementioned singers have deep singing voices, much like Farrell. While he plays crowd-pleasing songs on stage like “Beer Never Broke My Heart” by Luke Combs or “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band, he makes time in his set to honor “The Man in Black” by playing “Folsom Prison Blues.”
The bass voice is something of a throwback, not many singers on country radio have that almost-crooner sound, save for Scotty McCreery and Turner. Farrell accepted his voice as both a gift and a curse. The gift is he’s unique. Not many people can sing “I Walk the Line” like Cash and get away with it. The curse is that poppy songs like “Let It Be” by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line rule country radio. He’s come to terms with his voice and embraced the fact that he’s unique – he’s in the process of finding an old-school silver ribbon style microphone to remind the audience the type of musician he is.
When he’s not stocking shelves at the pool supply store, Farrell can be found traveling around South Jersey to the local watering holes in search of a date to play music to bar-goers and party people alike. And though he’s new to the scene, he understands rejection is part of the process.
“The one thing that pops in my mind is, ‘How bad do you want it?'” he said.
The short answer? Bad.
The long answer? Farrell is prepared to pack up his life and move roughly 800 miles southwest of everything he knows to pursue his dream. He’s ready to show up unannounced to the national hub of country music and show the world what a boy from Williamstown has to offer.
His ideal scenario is to move to an area outside of Nashville proper and find an area roughly a half-hour to the city, similar to Williamstown’s proximity to Atlantic City and Philadelphia. Once settled, his goal is to find a temporary job at either a Starbucks or the Grand Ole Opry. Starbucks because he could work in the morning from 5 to 10 a.m. and be in the city limits at Music Row by noon. The Opry gives him a different perspective. He would be in the city and rubbing elbows with the biggest names in country music constantly. Both jobs offer their own upsides.
Regardless, either job would be temporary to provide a steady income while he’s finding work as a singer and songwriter.
“I want to immerse myself in the music industry,” he said. “Like the same thing I’m kind of doing here times 10. I want to be on the doorstep of Music Row, asking for internships and going to bars. I want to be involved in the writers rounds.”
Farrell went on to describe writers rounds as a way for up-and-coming singer/songwriters to share their work with each other, network and let the creative juices flow. A lot of these writers rounds are done in coordination with the Nashville Songwriters Association International, of which Farrell is already a member. The NSAI is similar to a writers union where they assist and direct songwriters. One of the perks, according to Farrell, is the NSAI hosts events on Thursdays where songwriters who have had success in the form of a radio cut will host seminars.
“It’s like a class from people in the industry,” he described.
With opportunities like that coupled with past experience gigging around South Jersey Farrell has the tools he needs to succeed. Combine those with his “trial by fire” mentality and he’s ready to make his mark on Nashville as the next best singer and songwriter.
At the age of 22 Cash, along with his then-wife Vivian, moved from Texas to Tennessee to pursue a career in radio. Farrell, while younger than Cash was at the time, is doing the same thing sans a wife. Times were different then, but the concept of picking up and moving to chase a dream is the same. The comparison to a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee stop there – Farrell needs to carve out his own legacy and he starts this fall.
