A native of Louisville, Illinois, Bailey Zimmerman is the son of a trucking business owner. He learned country music from his father and hard rock through his mother. When he was 16, he entered the workforce by landing a job at a meat processing plant, the first in a series of blue-collar jobs. In his spare time, he channeled his no-nonsense sensibility into his rock-inflected country songs, eventually amassing a following online and through social media.
"Never Comin' Home" was his first single in 2021, followed by "Small Town Crazy" by the end of the year. "Fall in Love" became a viral sensation early in 2022, leading to Warner Music Nashville signing him to their roster that April. The single "Rock and a Hard Place" -- which also was simultaneously released as an identically titled EP -- followed shortly afterward. "Where It Ends" and "Never Leave" both appeared prior to the October 2022 release of Leave the Light On, an EP that featured his then-current singles. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi