By this time, the group had expanded to include lead guitarist Shawn Willett and vocalist Steven Jodway. Soon the band was playing in and around the mid-Michigan area, and in 2015, they issued an eponymous six-song EP. The core members of the group were rhythm guitarist Matt Martin, drummer Mike Martin, and bassist Corey Smith. State of Mine was formed in 2010 in Laingsburg, Michigan, a town northeast of Lansing, the state's capitol. In 2021, they topped the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart twice, first with a cover of Garth Brooks' 'The Thunder Rolls' followed by a cover Blake Shelton's 'God's Country.' Their 2016 EP Devil in Disguise showed off the group's dark but anthemic nature, while 2020's Seeing Red was a harder-edged and studio-savvy effort.

Their approach is informed by the alternative metal movement of the 1990s, with aggressive rhythms, raw guitar sounds, and occasional hip-hop production elements, though their lyrical sensibility is rooted in the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Playing tough, no-nonsense heavy metal with a hard-working Midwestern sensibility, State of Mine first rose to fame by bringing out the louder side of songs popularized by Garth Brooks, Katy Perry, and Rascal Flatts.

Free download state of mine t shirts