30A Songwriters Festival: Paul Thorn

People say you’re supposed to write what you know. It seems kind of clichéd, maybe, but it actually isn’t bad advice and it’s advice that Paul Thorn uses very effectively. This guy knows a LOT about…a LOT. The Mississippi born and bred musician has done a little bit of everything in his life; notable highlights include a respectable career as a professional boxer, not to mention service in the National Guard. Perhaps his biggest influence, though, is the fact that he grew up with Pentecostal minister for a dad. From the time he was 3 years old, Paul Thorn was singing in churches all over Mississippi ” music has always been in his life.

His new album, ‘Don’t Let the Devil Ride,’ dives deep into those childhood church experiences and Thorn shared some thoughts about the new record, as well as a couple of older favorites, during his session with us at the 2018 30A Songwriter’s Festival in Florida.