{"id":52630,"date":"2025-01-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=52630"},"modified":"2025-02-06T08:04:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T14:04:29","slug":"eoff-hopes-to-turn-recent-accolades-into-music-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/eoff-hopes-to-turn-recent-accolades-into-music-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Eoff Hopes To Turn Recent Accolades Into Music Career"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 It may not be long before music libraries in the vicinity include hits written and performed by full-time Tarleton State University employee and graduate student Courtney Eoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Professional
Courtney Eoff<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her work, including the award-winning \u201cMy Luck,\u201d is already available on music streaming services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She recently added a Song of the Year selection and Texas Troubadour recognition at the Texas Troubadour Songwriter Classic at the Bosque Arts Center in Clifton to her resume. The second-generation Tarleton State student heard about the annual competition online and decided to enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt sparked my interest, and I knew I wanted to,\u201d she said. \u201cI had some music I was writing, so I went to the studio during the summer and put some songs together. I thought the contest would be a great opportunity to be around people with some of the same interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges placed her performance in the top five of the competition, which meant she was invited to perform two songs in person. After earning a spot in the final two, she came back for a third show. Her talent impressed the judges, leading to winning two of the three categories in the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Luck,\u201d was tabbed Song of the Year and is to be released this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very shocked and very honored,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a great opportunity to network with people and celebrate music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eoff, who works as a technical communications coordinator in Tarleton State\u2019s Division of Enrollment Management while pursuing a master\u2019s degree in management, started playing gigs when she was 16 for gas money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Hey, this is kind of fun. So, I continued doing that through college, working and played gigs all across Texas. In my free time, I write. I just love it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, she comes from a musical family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever been silence in the house,\u201d Eoff said, \u201cThere\u2019s always been lots of music playing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And since she was little, Courtney would add her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d always been singing,\u201d she said. \u201cMy parents said I was humming before I could talk. I remember being little bitty and performing for my family. The first true performance I remember was when I was in kindergarten, and I sang \u2018Amazing Grace\u2019 with my dad on guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gifted as a performer and writer, she leans toward writing because she loves the creative process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like to take experiences from my life like listening to my friends or family and creating stories that people can connect with. Honestly, a lot of times, I\u2019ll come in after work, study a little bit and when I need to take a break, I\u2019ll pick up my guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sees her writing as therapeutic, something to give her a break from studying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll write songs just sitting at the table during my breaks. Sometimes my best stuff comes up in 15 or 20 minutes. Sometimes I\u2019ll get most of the way through a song and then I\u2019ll get stuck, so I\u2019ll revisit it the next day and try to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She began composing her own music when she was in elementary school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSongs about whatever happened on the playground or whatever you\u2019re feeling at eight years old,\u201d she said. \u201cAs you get older, of course, you experience deeper things and have more to write about. I love telling stories. Some are the truth, and some are a little more on the creative side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though she enjoys many genres of music, her heart is with classic country artists like George Jones, Tanya Tucker and John Conlee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m comfortable with it,\u201d Eoff said. \u201cI grew up with it. I love the classics. That\u2019s what I grew up with, what I love and feel connected to. I really like folk music \u2014 bluegrass. There\u2019s something about a mandolin and a fiddle that just gets me going. I love that kind of stuff. At my gigs I\u2019ll play some \u201880s rock like Journey. I really love it all, but country is my roots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though her studies at Tarleton State are intended to augment her skills and help her sustain a career as an entertainer, her passion is writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ll always love performing at church or gigs,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a fun thing for me to do on the side, but I love writing those stories that people can hear and relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her parents, both Tarleton State grads, are her sounding board when it comes to seeking advice on her musical journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, writing is a solitary thing,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s my peace, my quiet time. If I have something I like, I\u2019ll show it to my parents because I think they\u2019ve got good musical ears. I\u2019d love to eventually co-write, and there\u2019s no telling what kind of opportunities are ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She knows who she\u2019d like to record \u201cMy Luck\u201d should the opportunity present itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really like Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson. They\u2019re fun. I think the song sounds like something Lainey Wilson would do. It\u2019s upbeat and kind of in that wheelhouse. I also have some songs that people like Miranda might enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat would be cool. I couldn\u2019t even imagine that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 It may not be long before music libraries in the vicinity include hits written and performed by full-time Tarleton State University employee and graduate student Courtney Eoff. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":52631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,422,424,425,426],"tags":[447,456],"class_list":["post-52630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-morestories","category-arts-events","category-campus-community","category-honors-achievements","tag-dr-sam-pack-college-of-business","tag-stephenville"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2025\/01\/Eoff-2025-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","_morestories<\/a>","Arts & Events<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>","Honors & Achievements<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","_morestories<\/span>","Arts & Events<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>","Honors & Achievements<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Dr. Sam Pack College of Business<\/a>","Stephenville<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Dr. Sam Pack College of Business<\/span>","Stephenville<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on January 22, 2025","modified":"Updated on February 6, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on January 22, 2025 8:00 am","modified":"Updated on February 6, 2025 8:04 am"},"featured_img_caption":"Eoff 2025","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52630"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52633,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52630\/revisions\/52633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}