Aaron Burton was raised in Euless, TX, a small town outside of Fort Worth. He was surrounded by music; his father was a musician with The Bee's Knees (which included blues guitarist Anson Funderburgh) and The Buster Brown Band, bluegrass harmonies were often sung at family gatherings, and his parent's had a huge record collection.
His interest in the blues started at age 18 around the time he started playing guitar. He remembers picking up a Yazoo compilation of Delta Blues which ignited his interest in country blues. At that time, (the mid-nineties), he was going to the Plaid Pig and Horney's in Ft. Worth to see Robert Ealy , U.P. Wilson and others.
By the time he was twenty, he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant, gotten married, and was beginning to experience some of the frustrations that can fuel the music. He spent most of his twenties dealing with a bad marriage, trying to support a family on a blue collar salary, and playing his guitar for therapy. He would take his guitar to his truck driving gig to play when he had a little down time. When the marriage came to an end, he was ready to pursue a career in music.
Like many North Texas musicians before him, Aaron started his musical career busking in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas, TX. It was the early 2000’s and he would set up on Main St. a few doors down from Deep Ellum Blues, a club where many prominent local and national acts would play. Sambuca Jazz Cafe was just around the corner as well as many other venues so there were plenty of blues fans to throw a couple of dollars in his case. Deep Ellum was a “lively” area at the time and there was never a dull moment. One story he likes to tell is about a one-legged beggar who he would occasionally share tips with as the man would jump around and dance to the music, helping to draw a crowd.
Playing in Deep Ellum eventually led to his first paying gigs. One was at Sonny Bryan’s, a well known Texas BBQ chain where he played at 2 locations weekly for several years. Another was at The Goat, an East Dallas blues bar where he later picked up a weekly show he’s been hosting for the last 15 years.
He’s done some touring, represented North Texas 3 times at the International Blues Competition in Memphis, TN (twice in person and once for best self-released cd), and played several festivals in the U.S. and Europe. But being a family man with a wife and 3 children, he mainly plays in and around his home in Dallas, TX.
Aaron has 12 studio albums to date and well over 100 original songs to his credit, many of which have received local, national, and international radio airplay. He gigs several nights a week and is showing no signs of slowing down.