As a precocious young boy growing up in rural central Illinois, Craig Gerdes could close his eyes and picture the scenes painted in Kris Kristofferson’s Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down. The lives he saw around him mirrored those lonesome lyrics—and that sense of realism has shaped his songwriting ever since.

Craig’s country roots run deep. He picked up the guitar at age 10, playing in his father’s band—his dad, who as a child would sit by the radio with family, waiting for the wind to carry in the Grand Ole Opry. Those nights spent listening to George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash weren’t just entertainment—they were education. By age 12, Craig was already writing and performing his own songs, laying the foundation for a life spent chasing—and living—the music.

“Country music is just about real life,” Gerdes says. “It’s not necessarily all happy or joyful times. There can be a lot of hard times—not just tailgates and bonfires and stuff like that.”

After a stint in Nashville—sleeping on floors, shopping songs, and chasing the dream—Gerdes returned to Pattonsburg, an unincorporated, rural corner of Marshall County, Illinois, where he’s spent most of his life. That return wasn’t about giving up—it was about breaking free.

“I felt like I needed to go,” he says. “But I realized the world was bigger than Nashville. I needed to take my music all over the country.”

That’s exactly what he’s been doing ever since—logging thousands of miles, rolling down the highway, playing barrooms, small clubs, and festivals across the nation. Whether he’s tearing it up with a full band or stripping it down acoustic, Gerdes connects deeply with his audiences, one story at a time. “What matters most isn’t how many people are at the show—it’s the ones who come up afterward and say, ‘That song was my life.’”

“It makes me feel like I’m making people’s lives better, even if it’s just for four minutes,” he says. “To me, that is successful.”

A hard-hitting, heartland-born singer/songwriter, Craig Gerdes channels the grit and soul of true outlaw country. His songs speak for the working class—stories of love, loss, rebellion, and redemption, delivered with a voice as rugged as a two-lane highway and lyrics that cut straight to the bone. His sound draws comparisons to legends like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Paycheck, and Steve Earle—but Gerdes is carving his own path with a style that’s all his own.

He’s a natural-born storyteller, writing about real people, real places, and real struggles collected along the road. His music is a lifeline for outsiders, dreamers, and true believers in the power of a well-told country song.

With a growing catalog of acclaimed releases—Smokin’, Drinkin’ & Gamblin’, Tough As Nails, and Highs N Lows—and a fiercely loyal grassroots following, Gerdes has earned every mile of road under his boots. He’s built his career the old-fashioned way—one show, one song, one soul at a time.

For Craig Gerdes, country music has always been about truth. And if one song can help tip the scale toward hope, even just a little, then the journey’s been worth it.