Steve Moakler is not a new name around Nashville. The singer-songwriter has been an integral part of the country music scene for over 10 years, and while fans might not yet know his just name, they certainly know his music.

Best known for penning songs for stars such as Jake Owen, Eric Church, Kellie Pickler and Dierks Bentley (you can thank him for Bentley's 2015 hit "Riser"), Moakler is highly invested in creating some of the best country music to come out of Music City -- not the least of which is his own. In March, Moakler released his fourth album, creating almost as much of a buzz around his own name as the buzz around the big names he's written for in the past.

Inspired by his native Pittsburgh, Pa. -- and taking its title from the city's nickname -- Steel Town is Moakler's most mature and well-thought-out record yet, with the singer co-writing every song on the record except one ... which was written by a little-known artist named Thomas Rhett. While it's most definitely a record that pays homage to his hometown, Moakler says Steel Town is just as much about looking forward as it is about looking back.

“Half the songs are about looking back, and half the songs are about being in the moment and what is available in the moment,” Moakler tells The Boot. “I was really kind of reflecting on that, and I was thinking, ‘Man, those seem like two contradictory things,' but I think somehow they make each other sweeter … I think the record is really about that tension.”

Learn more about Moakler and his hometown pride (hint: It extended even to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final!) by clicking through the photo gallery above.

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