Bio
CAREER
"Turn it on, turn it up and let the music soothe your soul." - Kerriann Curtis, IMR Magazine
ditributeJayess, Mississippi native Cole Powell entered the music scene with his 2011 debut Thanks For The Broken Heart, an album which Music Emissions described as a hybrid of “rock, pop, blues, and country, with a twist of jazz.” The record received positive reviews from critics, with IMR Magazine selecting the opening track “Stay (Begging You)” for its April 2012 edition of Indie Overdose, a monthly, “best of indie” feature.
In 2014, Powell’s sophomore effort Unfiltered hit #92 on the iTunes U.S. Singer/Songwriter chart. The following year, Powell became a voting member of the Recording Academy. Also in 2015, Powell co-founded and served as writer and editor for Southern Senses, an online publication dedicated to showcasing the best music and cuisine from the Southern United States.
As a touring artist, Powell and his bands headlined the 2014 Ole Brook Festival, served as the “after-party” act for Jimmie Van Zant at the 2012 Fire on the Water Festival, and opened for country stars Chris Janson and Chase Bryant at consecutive Atwood Music Festivals, Mississippi's longest running music festival. Powell retired from performing in 2016 to focus on other areas of his life.
During the summer of 2019, Powell’s third album, Redux, was released as two, digital EPs. In addition to charting in the top 50 of the iTunes U.S. Singer/Songwriter Chart, Redux II also won the 2020 Josie Music Award for EP of the Year, while “Company (feat. Brittany D),” from Redux I, garnered a nod for Best Musical Collaboration.
In 2020, Powell, wife Brittany D, and Kyle Graves formed Southern Gentry Music Review, releasing their debut single, “Christmas Alone,” in December and their debut EP, The Long Path Home, the next year. The group's version of Powell's holiday tune received a 2021 Josie Award nod for Holiday Song of the Year, while the 2020 single version of Powell’s “Not the One to Say (I Told You So)” was nominated for Jazz/Blues Song of the Year. The Long Path Home peaked at #37 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter album chart and, in 2023, was released as in an expanded format with three new recordings plus new mixes of the band's previously released tracks.
Powell's fourth studio album, Deca, was released worldwide December 28-29, 2021. The record serves as a 10th-anniversary remake of Thanks for the Broken Heart and contains tracking that spanned the entirety of Powell's recording career up to that time, including material from demos Powell recorded as a teenager. Deca received a 2022 Josie Award nomination for Rock Album of the Year.
In 2022, Powell began hosting music reaction series Random Reactions on the Randomine Records YouTube channel. The success of the series led to the launch of Powell's arts and media podcast, Words Like That, the following year. As of October 2025, the channel has garnered over 1.3 million views, driven by the strength of Powell's two series. In February 2026, Powell expanded his podcast network by launching Film Nerd by Night, a podcast and YouTube channel dedicated to covering film and TV. The show is a spin-off of Words Like That, which previously covered the film industry extensively.
Powell's 2024 single and video, "Outlived My Life," earned 2025 Josie Music Award nods for Folk Song of the Year, Story-Enhanced Performance Video of the Year, and Best Actor in a Music Video. Powell followed the track a year later with his sixth solo album, The Social Distance, peaking at #14 on the iTunes U.S. Singer/Songwriter Chart. The album's second single and video, "Never the Same," dropped the following month. For his 2025 efforts, Powell received five first-round nominations for the 2026 International Singer-Songwriters Association Awards: Male Vocalist of the Year, Male Songwriter of the Year, Male Album of the Year (The Social Distance), Male Single of the Year ("Never the Same"), and Music Video of the Year ("Never the Same"). "Never the Same" was also announced as an official Best Music Video selection of the 2026 JXN Film Festival, an annual Mississippi filmmakers festival held in Jackson.
In December 2024, Powell released a 10th anniversary edition of Unfiltered tilted Unfiltered X.
In addition to his solo and band projects, Powell recorded, mixed, and co-produced Graves's debut solo release, The Autumn Sessions, which hit #22 on the iTunes U.S. Singer/Songwriter Chart and received a 2022 JMA nomination for Male EP of the Year. The record was released on Radomine Records, the label Powell originally founded to distribute his on music.
In 2017, Powell appeared as featured vocalist on Southern Rocker J. F. Oakes’s “A Devil’s Bullet” and was subsequently tapped to provide three songs for Oakes's drama film The Band Forgettable, now in post-production.
Powell also served as producer and recording and mixing engineer on Brittany D's debut solo EP, Nor Doth He Sleep, releasing the project on Randomine in 2015.