Henry J. Star is the sound of self-discovery in motion. The debut project from Knoxville-born musician, producer, and songwriter Devin Badgett, it weaves together strands of Japanese adventure games, ambient textures, and Southern storytelling into a world entirely his own. Each note of his music feels like a step closer to understanding identity, emotion, and belonging — a sonic journal of transformation.
Today, Henry J. Star announces his debut LP, ‘The Soft Apocalypse,’ out October 17 via Acrophase Records. Alongside the announcement comes “Greenway,” the album’s first single — a dreamy, heart-on-sleeve coming-of-age anthem written as an offering to Badgett’s younger self. The song pulses with emotional urgency and melodic grace, capturing that rare blend of nostalgia and hope that defines the project’s spirit.
“Greenway” carries deep personal weight. “It’s about grief,” Badgett shares. “I was mourning the past and my inner child while trying to reconcile my imagined future with the current reality at hand. This song was, in many ways, the final piece of the puzzle.” Written, produced, and performed largely by Badgett in bedrooms and basements across Tennessee, ‘The Soft Apocalypse’ unfolds as a cinematic exploration of memory and healing — shaped by his experiences with family, race, and solitude.
Rooted in the imagination that once drew him into fantasy worlds like The NeverEnding Story, Badgett’s work channels escapism into empathy. ‘The Soft Apocalypse’ is more than a debut — it’s a homecoming. “Greenway” stands as its first glimpse: an emotionally charged, deeply human introduction to Henry J. Star’s vast inner landscape, where sound becomes a form of self-acceptance.