One Year Later: 2018 Southwest Airlines Artist on the Rise Winner Thomas Csorba

Our 2018 Southwest Airlines Artist on the Rise winner Thomas Csorba joined us back in Austin for our Lucky Draw Live event this month at the Cactus Cafe. We checked in with Thomas on his journey since playing Luck's main stage last year, get to know what he's been up to below.

Exclusive Video Premiere: Thomas Csorba's "Crooked Kind of Free"

We’ve had the privilege of watching Thomas Csorba transform over the last year since he won our Southwest Airlines Artist on the Rise contest and joined us out on the ranch to kick off our 2018 Luck Reunion. There’s no doubt that Csorba has something special and we feel lucky to be a small part of it with the premiere of his latest live video for “Crooked Kind of Free”. Watch the video and read what Csorba has to say about the song’s inception below.

by Thomas Csorba

This hasn’t been an easy few months. The social and political turbulence in this country has rattled me to my core. I’m an American man, twenty one years of age, and I’m trying to find my role in all of this - how to heal, how to grow, how to create meaningful work, and how to care for others. Honestly, I have very little desire to get political these days. Many of these political discourses on policy or party seem counterproductive - we seem to divide as a people, and I detest the idea of providing any fuel to that fire. I don’t know much, but I know this: all agree that humans deserve respect and care regardless of race, color, gender. It’s fundamental, isn’t it?

In that spirit, when I see people being harmed, I feel compelled to speak out. When I found out about the way families are being treated at our southern border, my heart broke in two. Surely this isn’t how we were made to live. Surely there’s another way to treat our neighbors.

I’m not sure what that looks like politically. I’m a songwriter, not a politician. Right now, I believe my role is to help build bridges between people and to paint this broken place in a way that inspires people to build those bridges. I hope this song doesn't come across as a pointing finger - but, instead, as a picture of a man processing through his role in this mess we've made.  I sincerely thank you for following along, listening, and engaging with my work.

Art matters. Our voice matters. Our neighbor matters.

I’m grateful to the Texas Gentlemen for helping me bring this song to life. Beau Bedford, who has been producing my new record, and the rest of the Gents have been the perfect crew to handle these songs. I can’t thank them enough. They’ve taken me under their wing, and I’ve been learning more than imaginable. My gratitude is unexplainable.