The first single Kiefer ever bought was Buddy Holly’s ‘Raining in My Heart’. While he didn’t grow up listening to country music – he was ‘the only kid in kindergarten who had an Aerosmith t-shirt’ – it was this genre he later endeavoured in. During a break from acting in 1998, Kiefer became a rodeo rider and found himself travelling around America with cowboys. 

It was at this time he discovered the music of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. The storytelling that weaves through both country music and acting was a recurring theme in Kiefer’s passions. But Buddy Holly, his first musical love, persisted throughout.

His fascination with music has persisted throughout his successful acting career – which has included 11 number one box office hits, as well as a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his leading role in 24 – and came to fruition in 2016 when he released his debut album, Down in a Hole. Since then, he has released two more albums and toured across the US, Canada and beyond. In 2019, Kiefer busked on the streets of Los Angeles with his Buddy Holly guitar in the video for his song ‘Something You Love’.