‘Colton’s Kin’ takes over Running M

Although they met in high school, it wasn’t until a decade later where Justin and Emily Upshaw went on a first date, sang karaoke, and then made not only a musical connection, but also a love connection. The couple would soon form two unions, one of holy matrimony and later Colton’s Kin.

“[I was] a guitar player and a singer for a band at the time called the Surf Tonez,” Justin explained, “[but then] I started playing with Emily, just acoustic stuff, because she was a vocal arts performance major at Belmont University and has a beautiful voice. We married in 2013 and formed Colton’s Kin in 2014.”

Hailing from New Braunfels, Colton’s Kin, affectionately named after the couple’s firstborn son, Colton, plays a medley of music which range from older hits such as Stand By Me by Ben E. King to Bruno Mar’s Just The Way You Are and even some Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground.

“We play a very broad genre of music, but one thing we always make clear is we do not play country at all, which we believe separates us from all the other country artists out there,” Justin said.

Funny enough, the couple jokes about their band name, especially because they feel a bit guilty for Hunter, their second-born son.

“We threw out a Facebook post asking our friends on what we should call our duo acoustic act and one of our good friends recommended ‘Colton's Kin,’” Justin explained. “We loved it because Colton is actually the name of our firstborn son and it worked well because it's Colton's family. We always joke and say we feel a little guilty for our second-born son, whose name is Hunter, because he wasn't in the picture when we formed the band.”

Before meeting, both artists had their start in music at young ages.

“We both sang in our church youth choir growing up in the First Baptist Church of San Antonio,” Justin said. “I inherited my first acoustic guitar when I was about 12 years old from my Papa and immediately picked it up.”

The duo has performed in Gonzales before, and are very familiar with the history that the community brings.

“We have been to Gonzales quite a bit and we love the community and the history behind the quiet little Texas town,” Justin said. “We love coming to eat at Baker Boys BBQ and visit Marlene at the Running M. We usually end up playing once a month at the Running M.”

Colton’s Kin is set to take the stage at the Running M on Friday, performing from 7-11 p.m.

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Contributed photo