To celebrate the release of his latest album Book of Paul, available now via Velvet Rose Records/Thirty Tigers, country iconoclast Paul Cauthen performed “Texas Swagger” on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on Friday, April 3. Watch his performance Below and listen to Book of Paul HERE.

With Book of Paul, Cauthen continues both his streak of against-the-grain attitude, and his genuine fascination with spiritual truth. But at this point in his career, he’s less interested in the wild-eyed abandon of revival, and more in his own path. A path of utterly authentic country music; fearless, proud, and with two middle fingers in the air. “I wanted to take it back to my roots and where it all began in East Texas,” he says.

And “Texas Swagger,” with its bronc-bucking beat, dark twang and barely contained sense of danger, serves as a mission statement:

“If all else fails, just remember where you came from,” Cauthen proclaims, noting he co-wrote the track with Rob Ragosta and Sam Martinez, who also produced. “We got it hot and cooking, put a little drumbeat on it, built that son of a bitch in 30 minutes. I was like ‘Alright, last time I felt like this was ‘Cocaine Country Dancing.’ It’s got a really fierce feel to it. It’s danceable as shit.”

With his nearly sold-out Tonkin’ ‘N Tejas Tour, Cauthen has added stops at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 11 and Denver’s The Mission Ballroom on Oct. 9. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit paulcauthenmusic.com.

Paul Cauthen Tour Dates:
April 18 | Kalispell, MT | Majestic Valley Arena
July 11 | Saint Paul, MN | Minnesota Country Club Festival
July 16 | Jackson, WY | Snow King Mountain
Sept. 11 | Nashville, TN | Ryman Auditorium
Sept. 19 | Pryor, OK | Born & Raised Festival
Oct. 9 | Denver, CO | The Mission Ballroom

About Paul Cauthen
Whether he knows it or not, every man lives by a code. And for country provocateur Paul Cauthen, that code is simple. Always bet on yourself. A singer-songwriter with a well-documented distaste for playing by anyone else’s rules, the East Texas native spent two decades clawing his way through the country underground, embodying the independent spirit with a monolithic Big Velvet vocal. Fusing classic-country grit, gospel power and a rhinestoned rock edge, four previous albums proclaimed his singular style with a booming baritone and near-biblical swagger. Taught to sing by his grandfather in a Church of Christ, Cauthen hit the scene with the duo Sons of Fathers in 2009, before My Gospel, Room 41, Country Coming Down and Black on Black unveiled a vulnerable, fire-and-brimstone songwriter with brazen Texas attitude – craving deliverance, yet possessed by a “bird dog” instinct for theatrical rapture. Cauthen has toured the world, collaborating with Margo Price, Orville Peck, Cody Jinks and Lana Del Rey. With favorites like “Cocaine Country Dancing,” “Fuck You Money” and his GOLD-certified collab with Shaboozey on “Last Of My Kind,” he counts over 442 million global streams. Cauthen’s fifth album, Book of Paul, takes him further down his path of utterly authentic country music; fearless, proud and with two middle fingers in the air. Co-writing 12 of 13 tracks, the troubadour confesses to his wild side and wrestles with the sin. He spares no detail – and makes no compromise. For more information, visit paulcauthenmusic.com.

With four albums and 442 million streams to-date, country iconoclast Paul Cauthen propels into a new chapter with Book of Paul, out now on Velvet Rose Records/Thirty Tigers. Fusing classic country grit, gospel power and a rhinestone rock-and-roll edge, Cauthen delivers 13 tracks filled with a booming baritone and personal truth.

Listen to Cauthen’s Book of Paul Below.

With a well-documented distaste for playing by anyone else’s rules, the singer-songwriter known as “Big Velvet” returns to his East Texas roots, writing his own creative code in permanent ink with Book of Paul.

“It’s just being who you are – unapologetically yourself – and that’s every one of my records,” Cauthen says. “Does it dance? Does it make you cry? Does it make you feel? As far as I’m concerned I’ve made it already. I can already do whatever I want musically. And when you get to this point you look back. I have built my whole career going against the grain, and that’s what this record is. The freaking trials and tribulations of Paul. It’s everything I wanted on an album.”

Tapping the strengths of longtime family friend and chart-topping co-writer Ryan Tyndell, Steve Rusch (Jessie Murph, Koe Wetzel), Sam Martinez (Tyler Braden, Carrie Underwood), Fustin (Priscilla Block) plus Nate Ferraro (Beyoncé) for production, they captured Cauthen’s unruly essence with all the charm of a rattlesnake (and the vocal venom to match).

Cauthen co-write 12 of the 13 tracks while also playing bass and drums on select tracks, making sure each song had the twisted backbone he craved. “It’s a nitty gritty, swampy, East-Texas-muddy-roots kind of feel,” Cauthen says with pride. “My claws are deep in it.”

Cauthen wastes no time getting to his point. Led by his burly, vibrato-laden baritone, “Book of Paul” opens the album on a minimalist mix of acoustic guitar and snare, as the troubadour confesses to his wild side, while wrestling with the sin. He spares no detail – and makes no compromise.

“If you look at the Bible, there is no book of Paul,” he explains. “I just wanted to write something that embodies me, because I’m sick of hearing records catered to what’s hot and what’s working. Me, I’ve always been this country boy, East Texas guy. Roots, rock and roll, Texas gospel. If you look back at all my albums, I’m proud to say I meant everything I’ve said.”

Tracks like “Texas Swagger,” which Cauthen will perform on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” today (check local listings HERE), serve as a mission statement, with its bronc-bucking beat, dark twang, and barely contained sense of danger. Cauthen started off with a frenetic guitar riff and some eerie “yee haw” background vocals, then added a strong dose of Big Velvet attitude.

Meanwhile, Cauthen puts his code to the test on “Dark Horse,” a cosmic-Western ballad fueled by epiphany he calls “a long ride on the back of a mule on a bunch of mushrooms.” The lonesome “Road Dog” recalls the bleak resignation of Johnny Cash’s “Hurt,” with coyote yips and an acoustic-industrial vibe. And with the warm, relaxing shimmer of ‘70s rock, “Cigarettes & Billy Graham” burns with an easy self acceptance – an anthem for those preachers of the open road.

Elsewhere, Cauthen enters a kind of voluntary lockup with the hypnotic, outlaw-country romance of “Ain’t No Crime,” and taps a “Chattahoochee” groove for the hazy, summertime twang of “Tossin’ Back Time” (feat. Jake Worthington).

Soul pop and gospel twang reach a slow-rolling confluence on the East Texas love story “Bayou By You,” and Cauthen teams with Delaney Ramsdell for the aching barstool ballad, “Chain Smoking.” “Breakaway” saunters into the sunset with a supremely casual indie-roots strut. And a colorful, character-driven country throwback unfolds on “Blue Denim & Black Gold” (the album’s only outside cut, written by Tyndell and Jeff Hyde).

Meanwhile, “Texas Gravel Road” unleashes every weapon in Cauthen’s creative arsenal. Built off a slowed-down latin beat, it’s a bellowing tribute to the blood, sweat and tears behind the star’s pockmarked path – a grungy gutter rocker draped in distorted dark twang. And with the album ending on “The Voice Inside (Silence),” Cauthen enters a state of acoustic prayer. With that velvet vocal at its most raw, an anguished internal battle between dark and light unfolds. … Yet those voices may be something else entirely. Knowing them is the key to Cauthen’s code, and the driving force behind his country music.

“That’s what God is. That’s the spirit. That’s you. The un-talked about. That’s the good shit,” he explains. “This record is the Book of Paul, but I would say everybody needs their own book, and the chapters in life create that. What I mean is, bet on your own. Everybody pointing fingers at you because you’re the black sheep, or because you have this trait or that, that’s what actually makes you different. So bet on that.”

Cauthen was taught to sing by his grandfather in a Church of Christ, and Cauthen hit the scene with the duo Sons of Fathers in 2009, before My Gospel, Room 41, Country Coming Down and Black on Black unveiled a vulnerable, fire-and-brimstone songwriter with brazen attitude – craving deliverance, yet possessed by a “bird dog” instinct for theatrical rapture. Cauthen has toured the world, collaborating with Margo Price, Orville Peck, Cody Jinks and Lana Del Rey. Fan favorites include “Cocaine Country Dancing,” “Fuck You Money” and his GOLD-certified collab with Shaboozey,“Last Of My Kind.”

With his nearly sold-out Tonkin’ ‘N Tejas Tour, Cauthen continues to hit the Texas touring scene while adding stops at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 11 and Denver’s The Mission Ballroom on Oct. 9. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit paulcauthenmusic.com.

Paul Cauthen Brings "Texas Swagger" to "The Kelly Clarkson Show"

Paul Cauthen Delivers Unfiltered 13-Track Album BOOK OF PAUL