1993-2000: Early career In the mid-1990s, after moving to Nashville, Azar signed his first songwriting contract. "Someday" also received a
music video which aired on the former TNN (
The Nashville Network). An un-credited review in
Billboard was favorable toward the album, comparing Azar's voice to those of
Bruce Springsteen and
John Mellencamp. Reviewers also commended Azar's songwriting and musical image. A less positive review came from Larry Stephens of
Country Standard Time, who also compared Azar to Mellencamp vocally but felt most of the songs sounded too similar to each other. Azar would later go on to deride
Heartbreak Town, stating in 2003 that the album "didn't even sound like [him]". His wife shared a similar opinion, and according to Azar, she cried after hearing the album because she felt that it did not represent him as an artist.
2001-05: Mercury Records Former River North executive Michael Powers had begun working at
Mercury Records'
Nashville division and recommended Azar to label executives. The company initially turned him down. However, a songwriting session with Rafe Van Hoy led to songs that both Azar and Mercury executives felt represented his artistic style, leading to his signing in 2001. appeared in the music video for Azar's 2002 single "
Waitin' on Joe".|alt=A headshot of Morgan Freeman wearing sunglasses. Azar toured extensively throughout 2002 and 2003 to promote ''Waitin' on Joe'', averaging 250 shows per year. His final single for Mercury was "Doin' It Right", which was released in mid-2005 but fell short of top 40 on Hot Country Songs. In February 2006, Azar announced that Dang Records had partnered with
Midas Records Nashville for the distribution of the album. He charted the
Radney Foster co-write "You Don't Know a Thing" while on Midas. Between 2006 and 2007, Azar toured with
Bob Seger. Azar experienced delays in releasing his material while on Midas, citing both creative differences and the label's inexperience. This led to him exiting Midas and co-founding a new label called Ride Records in April 2008. On Ride, he released
Indianola that same year. While his first Ride single "I Won't Let You Lead Me Down" failed to chart, Ken Tucker of
Billboard found influences of country, blues, and rock in the production and songwriting choices, variously comparing tracks to Seger,
Jackson Browne, and the
Traveling Wilburys. Ben Scott of
The Oklahoman called the album "a nice mix of bluesy, contemporary rock with country influences". .|alt=Rock singer Bob Seger, strumming an acoustic guitar and singing into a microphone
2009-present: Further independent albums One year later, Azar released another album on Ride Records entitled
Slide On Over Here. Once again, Azar wrote or co-wrote every song. He told
CMT that Seger was one of the primary influences in his songwriting: "he’s pretty much the entire gamut of emotions and I felt like I was leaving some of them in the drawer. So, I pulled them out for this record." Azar co-produced the album with Justin Niebank, while both House and
Josh Kelley co-wrote songs and provided backing vocals. Two of the album's singles, "Moo La Moo" and "
Sunshine (Everybody Needs a Little)", both made top 40 on Hot Country Songs. Azar's next album was
Delta Soul, Volume One in 2011. The album featured four original songs and five re-recordings of previously released material. James House once again contributed backing vocals. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock reviewed the album favorably, commending Azar's vocal performance along with the inclusion of
slide guitar and
Hammond organ in the production. The album's re-recording of "Doin' It Right" later appeared on the soundtrack of the 2012
Kevin James film
Here Comes the Boom. Azar recorded a number of promotional singles throughout the 2010s. The first of these was 2012's "American Farmer", which the
National FFA Organization sold at conventions. In 2015, Azar collaborated with Sophie Young to record the song "The Sky Is Falling (Patti Jo's Prayer)", which dealt with the subject of
human trafficking. A high school senior in
Portland, Maine, heard the song and assembled a music video through the assistance of police detective Sgt. Steve Webster, a friend of Azar's. The music video was released on
YouTube and its proceeds were donated to Not Here Justice in Action Network (a non-profit dedicated to the cause). In 2017, he recorded a television commercial jingle for
McDonald's to promote their all-day breakfast menu. Also in 2017, he assembled a number of musicians who had backed
B. B. King and
Elvis Presley to create a
Delta blues project known as Steve Azar and the King's Men. The aggregation released the album
Down at the Liquor Store in August 2017, which was accompanied by a making-of documentary titled
Something in the Water filmed by Azar's son Strack. It was recorded at Club Ebony, a part of B. B. King's museum in
Indianola, Mississippi. Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal called the collection a "sultry album", also stating that "One can hear Azar's heart on this record". This project was followed in 2020 by
My Mississippi Reunion, a collaboration with blues drummer Cedric Burnside. Each song on the album references a city or aspect of the state of Mississippi. The album's lead single, "Coldwater", was released that August. After its release, the
Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters named the album as its 2021 winner in the category of Best Contemporary Music Composition. In 2024, Azar contributed the song "Our Castle Is Your Home" to the multi-artist charity album
Rock for Children, a children's charity album created by
Alice Cooper. The album was nominated for
Grammy Award for Best Children's Music Album at the 2025
Grammy Awards. ==Musical styles and legacy==