Covington’s Corey Crowder mixes country and classic rock influences on his self-produced albums, and more than a few in the entertainment industry have already taken notice.

His songs have been featured on TV shows like "One Tree Hill" and "The Real World" — since TV now seems as effective as radio in getting your songs to your audience — and now fans can hear his tunes Friday night in Dahlonega.

Crowder, who was formerly signed with EMI Music in Nashville, will perform a show with his band at The Crimson Moon. His music includes influences of classics such as Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Cash and The Allman Brothers, among others.

We recently caught up with Crowder to find out more about his music and see what he has planned for the show.

Question: When did you start playing guitar and performing?

Answer: I started playing guitar as a young kid. It’s weird to think about, but I’ve been writing songs and playing out for about eight or nine years now. I’m still really young — I’m only 26.

Q: What are some of your inspirations for your song writing?

A: I am married and I’ve been with the same girl (Laney Crowder) for about 10 years, so that occupies a lot of it. There’s some songs about everything, really, I try to write on life experiences because there’s nothing worse than feeling like the artist isn’t connecting with their own song. So I try to write about my own life experiences or people close to me and it keeps it personal.

Q: What do you have planned for the show at The Crimson Moon?

A: I’ll have some guys in my band with me — I play with different groups of guys all the time. It sort of keeps it fun and fresh for me, but this will be a fun show. I try to keep every show different that way, so they aren’t watching the same show every time they are coming to see me. I will have a pedal steel player and I’ll have a bassist and a drummer. Depending on the availability I may have a fiddle that night — we’ll see.

Q: Some of your songs have been featured on "One Tree Hill," "The Real World" and "The Biggest Loser." How did you get connected with those TV shows?

A: Honestly, by luck. I had a record deal with EMI, so they landed me things like "One Tree Hill." But "The Real World" and "The Biggest Loser" just found me online and asked to use my songs. MySpace — it’s annoying, but it’s been awesome for me. It’s a free way for people to hear about you.

Q: Your latest album is called "Lost and Found." Tell me about some of your favorite tracks on the album?

A: My favorite track is probably "The Sailboat Scream." That’s a song that I wrote for my wife — I try to write songs for my wife from time to time and they kind of get old to her, hearing them, but this was one in particular that, when I showed it to her, she actually cried. It’s kind of a special song where I kind of ask a lot of questions. It’s kind of hard to put love into words, so I decided to ask a lot of questions and see how that did.