Houston
MerrillIndependent Country · Utah
He is opening his national tour at a Draper benefit for families facing terminal illness. His daughters' mother is one of this year's recipients.
The angles
Pick whichever fits your show. He can speak to any of them.
He cut his fee to open at a benefit
Houston is opening his tour at a benefit for Waves of Courage, a Utah nonprofit that helps families with their bills after a terminal diagnosis or a catastrophic accident. He cut his fee for the show. His daughters' mother is being treated for cancer and is one of this year's recipients. He is also running the event's marketing and press for free.
A single dad writing for his daughters
Several songs on the record are about single fatherhood. His "Every Other Weekends" track is about custody exchanges. He has said the album is "really for my kids. I want them to see that it's okay to fail, to be wrong, to be embarrassed, and still get back up."
No label, L.A. credits, Utah address
Eighteen months and five trips to Los Angeles, with a multi-Emmy-winning composer on the boards and the A&R executive who signed Linkin Park in the room, all of it self-funded from Utah with no label behind it.
Harvest Wave Kickoff Gala
"When a family is hit with a terminal diagnosis or a major accident, their world stops, but the financial pressures do not." Jodi Frkovich · Founder & Director, Waves of Courage
Draper, Utah
The tour
Draper is confirmed. The other dates are on hold or still in routing.
The artist
Houston Merrill is an independent country recording artist and actor based in Utah, born in Arizona and raised in the Wasatch Front. He is a single father of two daughters, and much of his catalog is about co-parenting.
His debut full-length, No End In Sight, arrived 14 November 2025 after roughly eighteen months and five trips to Los Angeles. Jacob Bunton, a multi-Emmy-winning composer, handled instrumentation, mixing and mastering. Jeff Blue, the A&R executive known for discovering and developing Linkin Park, Macy Gray and Korn, worked the record with him. Eleven tracks, no label, self-funded.
Before music he worked in sales, marketing, manufacturing and international logistics, and he still runs his own store and marketing. He cheered at Weber State, walked on at the University of Utah, and qualified for the Junior Olympics in javelin. He has appeared on Fox 13's The PLACE and ABC4's Good Things Utah, and the record has drawn listeners from Canada, Brazil, Europe and Australia.
"I didn't really have my voice until I'd lived some life. Divorce, becoming a single dad, failing at things I cared about, starting over from nothing. Now I'm writing from experience, not imagination. These songs aren't concepts. They're lived." Houston Merrill
Tracks worth asking about
| Song | What it's about |
|---|---|
| Every Other Weekends | Custody exchanges and single fatherhood, the emotional center of the record |
| Cowboys Never Quit | Patriotic grit; a Dallas Cowboys version was cut separately |
| 86'd From Tennessee | Accountability and recovery |
| Dear Megan | An answer song to Megan Moroney's "Man on the Moon" |
| Mona Lisa On The Ground | Official music video out now |
| No Wife Happy Life | Second music video |
Assets
Photos, logos, album art, video and campaign images for your segment or article. The password is in your press email.
If you're booking him
He has done this on both Utah stations. A suggested intro and questions are below.
"Joining us today is a country artist from our own backyard, Houston Merrill, and he's opening his national tour at a charity benefit right here in Draper." Suggested intro, adapt freely
Why open a national tour at a charity event?
How does being a single dad shape the music?
Who did you make the record with?
What's next after Draper?
Can he perform live in studio?
Contact
Watch
This page is updated as dates confirm.