About Sunny Sweeney
Sunny Michaela Sweeney is an American country singer–songwriter. Since beginning her career, her recordings have been released through five studio albums. Her best-selling album was 2011's Concrete, which spawned three charting country singles.
Born and raised in Texas, Sweeney was exposed to music from an early age but did not pursue it professionally. Instead, she attempted an acting and comedy career. She then attended and graduated from Texas State University in 2001. It was after several jobs that Sweeney chose to pursue music professionally. After forming a band and gathering a regional following, her music was heard by Big Machine Records. The label would release her debut studio album titled Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame . While its three singles failed to become success, it drew attention to Sweeney's career. She was then moved to Republic Nashville, which released her second studio album Concrete. Its lead single, "From a Table Away" reached the top ten of the American country songs chart in 2011.
Sweeney's career shifted towards the Americana genre with her next several releases. In addition, her recordings were issued on the independent Thirty Tigers and Aunt Daddy labels. Her 2014 album Provoked reached the top 20 of the American country albums chart and received critical acclaim. It was followed by 2017's Trophy, which made both the American folk and independent albums charts. In 2023, her fifth studio album Married Alone was released.
Sweeney was born in Longview, Texas. She was the only child born to parents Patrick and Sheila Sweeney. Her biological parents later divorced and remarried new spouses. Sweeney would become close with both her new stepmother and stepfather. Her grandfather, Art Sweeney, was a local musician who played clubs and events near her hometown. He was among her early exposures to music. While surrounded by music, Sunny herself did not perform publicly until singing Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" in her high school talent show. Upon graduating, Sweeney attempted other careers first instead of music.
Sweeney took several junior college courses before moving to New York City to attempt an acting career. After finding little success, she then moved to Austin, Texas, where she joined an improvisational comedy group. While she enjoyed being onstage she did not want to pursue comedy full time. Instead, she attended Texas State University. Commuting five days a week, Sweeney graduated in 2001 with a degree in Public Relations. She then married and worked various jobs. This included a brief stint at a newspaper and a child support agency. While interning for the Propaganda Media music company, Sweeney got opportunities to watch artists perform onstage. After seeing several artists perform onstage, Sweeney realized she could do the same thing. "This guy’s getting paid to do this? I could get paid to do that," she recalled to Lone Star magazine.
After college, she started a band and played local bars in Austin and began to branch out and play around Texas. She put out her first album with the production help of Tommy Detamore in March 2006. After gaining a following on the club circuit in her native Texas, Sweeney signed to the independent Big Machine Records label. She also toured throughout Europe in 2007. Her debut album, Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame, was initially self-released in March 2006, and was reissued in March 2007 on Big Machine.
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