Sean Solo pays tribute to his musician father and their homegrown stage

Sean Williams

Like father, like son. And in honor of Father’s Day, a staple in the local music scene reflects on the musical influence of his father and their hometown, where they both work as professional musicians.

Music is in my blood. My dad is B. Keith Williams, a familiar face in the music scene. He moved to Macon in the early 1970s, but he considers Macon his home. He began playing in the band Paradise Lost and eventually moved to having a solo career. Virtually everyone I talk to knows my dad. And if the amount of interactions he has at the grocery store is any indicator, he may as well have been born here.

I was born and raised in Macon, and as a musician, I can think of no other place I’d rather be. My first performance was at the Rookery when I was two years old. I would perform “La Bamba” and the “Banana Boat Song” with my dad. We recently found a home video from that night, and looking at it now, I can see there’s no other place I was meant to be.

I grew up performing with my dad and eventually moved on to playing with bands around town. As a performer, my dad taught me to put the audience first without compromising your artistic integrity. Perform songs people want to hear while putting your own stamp on it. Don’t neglect performing your original music, as there will always be people who gravitate towards that as much as a cover song.

I have very fond memories of playing with my bands Dalmatian and sunDollars. Performing with them gave me the confidence to move forward into a solo career.

It took me years to build the confidence to show my original music with the world, but in 2016, I finally took the leap. Since then, I’ve released five solo albums (three studio LP’s, one EP and a live album recorded at JBA in Macon).

Releasing that much music into the world is a scary thing. Like anyone, I want the music to be received well. More importantly, though, I want to keep creating. I often struggle with doubt as to the quality of my work, but I’m reminded of the words of the Avett Brothers: “You can’t make everybody happy all of the time.”

I don’t even like every song I’ve written. When I realized that even Paul McCartney, one of my all-time favorite musicians, has written some duds, I was able to have a new perspective on songwriting. I was no longer focused on making everybody like every song I release.

It’s an unrealistic expectation, and I feel that acquiescing my need to please everyone has been the biggest push I needed to create more freely and earnestly. Accepting the reality that songs can move different people in different ways has helped me to continue to have the confidence to record and release original music. If I can make just one person feel a strong emotion from my music, then I’ll feel like I’ve done my job. My dad instilled this in me, saying that there’s nothing more gratifying than moving someone emotionally through music.

He also prepared me for the inevitability that every song I write won’t be received the same, but there will always be a song that captures someone’s attention. In both of our experiences, we’ve written songs that we thought would get more love than they did. Nonetheless, in every case, there ends up being at least one person who likes that song. For that reason, those songs become even more special to me than the ones that people like the most.

I have worked with so many musicians in the Macon music scene, and I feel incredibly blessed to work with some of the friendliest and most talented musicians around. Macon is now filled with eclectic sounds that permeate throughout the community. There is something for everyone.

In recent years, I’ve seen a major push forward in the music scene. Macon has made new strides in music while continuing to honor the history and legacy of the musicians that came before. Friends of mine, such as James Worsham, Brandon Lawler, Jamie Weatherford with Rock Candy Tours and so many more, have helped to push the scene into a new and exciting direction.

Had I not grown up in Macon, I don’t know that my passion for music would be as robust as it is. Through the encouragement of my girlfriend Paige, friends, family and other musicians, I have been able to move to being a full-time musician. Words can’t express what a blessing it has been to perform and create music in Macon, and I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else.

Being the son of a well-known local musician has only been a blessing. Performing with him throughout my life gave me an early advantage at understanding the audience and how to interact with them. I think this has been the number one thing I’ve learned from him and is part of the reason for both of our successes: He always reminds me to perform for one person as if you were performing in front of 1,000 people. Never give anything less than 100 percent. He also showed me that with hard work, you can make a living out of music. Had I not seen this firsthand, I don’t know that I would have had the courage to take the plunge.

Sean Williams can be found under his independent music project Sean Solo on Spotify and other music streaming platforms. You can also find him performing live throughout Central Georgia and producing albums under Williams Music Production (seansolo.net). His father, B. Keith Williams, remains a staple in the local live music scene and continues to record and play regularly at special events and local bars and restaurants like Cheers on Northside.