Anderson East

Michael Cameron Anderson (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Anderson East, is an American musician from Athens, Alabama, who currently is based in Nashville, Tennessee. East's sound is notable for combining R&B, soul, and roots rock. His song "Satisfy Me" was released in March 2015 and received consistent radio airplay. His major-label record debut, Delilah, was released on the Low Country Sound, an imprint of the Elektra label, in July 2015. East went to Athens High School in Athens, Alabama. East wrote his first song, called "Brains", which he played at his 7th grade talent show. Inspired by the musician Ben Folds, East taught himself piano and started writing music in high school. His grandfather was a Baptist preacher, his father sang in the church choir, and his mother played the piano in church when he was young. East attended college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, at Middle Tennessee State University, studying to become a music engineer. After completing his studies, he later moved to Nashville. In the beginning stage of his career, East opened for Holly Williams and ended up playing guitar and singing harmonies with her. At the same time, he worked as a session musician as well as a recording engineer to provide a way to make ends meet. East began his musical career in 2009, self-releasing an album titled Closing Credits for a Fire under the name Mike Anderson. He then began recording under the name Anderson East with the release of an EP titled Fire Demos. East's self-released debut album, Flowers of the Broken Hearted in 2012, was made up of two records: one record which he recorded in Los Angeles with producer Chris Seefried and session players Charlie Gillingham, Don Heffington and Rob Wasserman, and a second recorded in Nashville with Tim Brennan and Daniel Scobey. He funded the record as a PledgeMusic project with a percentage of the proceeds going to Water Aid, a nonprofit organization that brings water to communities that do not have clean drinking water.[citation needed] East's major label debut album, Delilah, was released by Low Country Sound, an imprint of Elektra in July 2015. It was produced by Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton) and features a song by George Jackson recorded at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In 2017, East appeared on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack album, performing the track "What Would It Take" which he co-wrote with Aaron Raitere. The soundtrack debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. East also covered Brandi Carlile's song "Josephine" to be included for her charity album Cover Stories. On August 15, 2017, East released the first single from his upcoming album Encore, "All On My Mind", which he subsequently performed on October 13, 2017 in an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 2010: Fire Demos 2011: Transitive Property 2015: The Muscle Shoals Sessions: Live From FAME "Songwriter/Composer: Anderson Michael Cameron". BMI. Retrieved October 14, 2015.[permanent dead link] "Happy birthday to Anderson East!". Twitter. July 17, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2015. Burke, David (September 3, 2015). "Name change means new direction for Anderson East : Go&Do: Entertainment in the Quad-Cities". The Quad City Times. Retrieved December 29, 2015. Barry, Jennifer (September 26, 2012). "Spotlight on Anderson East". Awaiting the Flood. Retrieved March 14, 2015. Dougherty, Steve (July 8, 2015). "Anderson East: Tapping Into a Nashville Soul Sound". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 29, 2015. McMackin, Emily. "Extreme challenge: Athens teens push for a skate park". The Decatur Daily. Decatur, Alabama. Archived from the original on December 17, 2004. Retrieved August 13, 2015. Hart, Jon (June 22, 2015). "909 in Studio: Anderson East – 'The Full Session' – The Bridge". KCPT 90.9 The Bridge. Retrieved August 13, 2015. Jackson, Josh (December 16, 2015). "Anderson East: Southern American Music". Paste. Retrieved December 29, 2015. McCartney, Kelly (July 13, 2015). "A Strong Whole: An Interview with Anderson East". The Bluegrass Situation. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015. Swann, Travis (October 17, 2010). "Anderson East sets out on new music journey". Murfreesboro Post. Retrieved March 14, 2015. "Anderson East". Music City Roots. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015. Koellner, Amanda (September 18, 2012). "Anderson East – Flowers of the Broken Hearted". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 14, 2015. "2015 Country Music Preview: 20 Reasons to Love This Year". Rolling Stone. January 9, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015. Leahey, Andrew (March 2, 2015). "Watch Anderson East Perform Forgotten Soul Song at Fame Studios". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 14, 2015. Orr, Dacey (July 24, 2015). "Dave Cobb and Anderson East Talk Bromance, Nashville, FAME Studios, Chris Stapleton and More". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015. Orr, Dacey (July 23, 2015). "How a bathroom break at The Bluebird sold superproducer Dave Cobb on Anderson East". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2015. "'Fifty Shades Darker' Soundtrack Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018. "Anderson East Details New 'Encore' LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 13, 2017. "Anderson East on the Redemption of Performing Live, New Album 'Encore'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 24, 2026. "Anderson East Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018. "Anderson East Chart History – Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018. "Anderson East Chart History – Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018. "Anderson East Chart History – Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018. "Anderson East Previews Upcoming Album With Moody New Song 'Madelyn'". Rolling Stone. April 7, 2021. "Anderson East Chronicles Creative And Personal Evolution On First Album In Four Years 'Worthy'; Listen To Single 'Say I Love You' Here". Backseat Mafia. May 13, 2025. "Anderson East Album & Song Chart History – Adult Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2018. "Anderson East Album & Song Chart History – Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2018. "Anderson East Album & Song Chart History – Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2018. "CMT : Videos : Anderson East : Devil in Me". CMT. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2016. Official website