Music has been a big part of Steve Azar's life from a very early age. At four-years-old he can remember banging on a toy guitar in Greenville, Mississippi asking his family "How do I sound?" By the time he reached ten-years-old, he knew this was the path he would follow for life. "I live to write, I love to sing and I've grown up entertaining since I was a little kid -- in every type of situation," Azar says today. "I think I've played every type of gig there is."

Now, several years later, Azar's life and love for music has come full circle with the upcoming release of his new CD, Indianola. "Indianola is a little town in Mississippi," he says. "When I wrote that song, it helped me wake up and realize how most of us are always in a hurry to leave where we came from. We often feel like there is something better out there for us. And, a lot of times you feel you can't go home or hold your head up because you feel like you haven't been successful enough. Since writing that song, I have finally started enjoying the journey of my life."

And a very interesting journey it has been.After logging more than 2000 shows in clubs and festivals around the Mississippi area, Azar left his home in the Delta and moved to Nashville to pursue his dreams. His determination and strong will paid off when he was signed to Mercury Records and released Waitin' On Joe in 2001. The album's first single "I Don't Have To Be Me ('Til Monday)" made it to No. 2 on Billboard's country music singles charts and stayed on the survey for the third longest period of time in Billboard history. The song is now approaching 3 million spins on radio, making it one of the most played songs in recent years.

In 2003, the follow-up single and title track "Waitin' On Joe" reached the Top 10 and the video featuring Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman reached No. 1 on CMT. The video was nominated for the Country Music Association's Video of the Year.

Proud of his accomplishments, the Governor of Mississippi quickly proclaimed March 13th as Steve Azar Day – something Azar claims has meant the most to him throughout his career.

Steve Azar's career was on fire. He was opening shows for Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban, as well as headlining his own shows across the country. Ultimately, the grind of constant touring, conducting numerous interviews and everything else that comes along with being an entertainer in the spotlight, started taking its toll on his vocal chords.

Back in the spring of 2002, Azar began to notice a struggle with the left side of his throat, as his left vocal chords were developing a major cyst and shutting down. By summer of 2004, he faced the truth behind the trouble he was having when he would speak and sing. "I had a lot of noise in my throat," he remembers. "I was literally singing out of one side of my throat. I couldn't hit notes and had to bring the songs down to keys, almost to the point where I couldn't sing them anymore." Azar recalls, "I wrote 88 songs in 2004, most of them being autobiographical in one way or another, and recorded all of them in my studio, as well as playing 140 shows between 2003 and 2004. After all of this, surgery was inevitable for me to continue doing what I love." By September of 2004, Azar went into surgery to repair the hemorrhaging cyst. He was supposed to honor total silence for 8 to 12 weeks, but after a miraculous short five-week period, he was back in the studio with a stronger, clearer, fuller voice.

Once he was back on his feet with healthy vocal chords, Azar was ready to get business done once again. After amicably parting ways with Mercury Records, Azar, with his newly found freedom, started his own label, Dang Records. "I now believe that I have the opportunity to do as much as I can because I finally stepped out and took a look within," he says.

Azar's first album with his new label, scheduled for Summer 2006 release, goes back to his Delta roots. Indianola highlights the extraordinary songwriting talent that he is known for and takes the listener through his life in the Delta.

"All the songs on this record have to do with each other," he explains. "Mississippi Minute, Highway 61 and Indianola describe where I came from. It brings you back to exactly who I am. When you add Crowded, You Don't Know A Thing, and Still Tryin' To Find My Way Around to the mix, you're in the midst of a constant journey of my life. It all makes sense."

Now, with years of experience and wisdom behind him, Azar's music shows a more mature side with this new album and he claims he is much more comfortable with his songwriting these days.

"This record is about coming of age and growing up. It's about surviving mistakes and learning from them," he continues. "This album is my life in Nashville, to my upbringing in the Mississippi Delta and every person who has inspired me in my life so far. There are a lot of influences inside me."

In addition to writing or co-writing all fourteen tracks on the album, Azar serves as producer and engineer. He is also responsible for nearly all the string instrumentation on the album, featuring his musical talent and versatility on mandolin, electric slide, acoustic, and lead guitar.

Azar feels that Indianola has the depth to it that people are going to be drawn to. "I really love the emotion that comes out in these songs," he says. "I believe it because it moves me."

And, at the end of the day, Steve Azar knows exactly what it was he was put on this earth to do, and he gives much of the credit to his Mississippi roots. "The Delta gave me so much. It gave me everything – my musical soul. I love being a singer and a songwriter, but I'm really an entertainer," he says with a smile. "There isn't anything I'd rather be doing with my life!"