Singer, songwriter, guitar player whose newest single was just released five days ago. In April he was signed by ONErpm, which operates one of the world’s largest music distribution platforms and YouTube multi-channel networks. He has drawn praise from the New York Times, and his debut album back in 2016 opened in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart and landed him on countless year-end best album lists, including Rolling Stone and iTunes. He had signed a major label deal at the age of just 19 and landed at Number 1 on Mediabase with the Gold certified, “I Met a Girl.” He was at CMA Fest this past June and has performed more than 50 times on the Grand Ole Opry, plus he was featured by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as a highlighted artist in the 2017 American Currents exhibit. That same year he joined Maren Morris and three others in being named New Faces of Country Music in conjunction with the annual Country Radio Seminar.
(The song “I Met a Girl”) “It was our first single we ever put out – on Warner Brothers at the time, Warner Music Nashville, at the time – and by the grace of God it was our first number one, our first gold record, it’s opened a lot of doors, it’s gotten us touring all over the country, to some different countries, I mean, gosh, I’ve gotten to open up for some of my heroes like Alan Jackson, and it seems like it’s all because of that one song.”
“Those relationships really matter in Nashville.”
“It’s great to be in that spot again of creativity, getting back in taking photos again, getting back in the studio again, writing again to finish out the project.”
“It’s pretty much the same deal with any publishing deal… it is a contract, a legal document, you are required to do so many songs a year… That number can be anywhere from… ten to thirteen, ten to fourteen songs that you have to turn in in a year.”
“I’m not a big fan of what (social media) does to young folks, or I guess what young folks let it do to them, and adults, even, let it do to ‘em. It’s great for what it can be used for for great things but it’s also bad at times.”
“It’s now, I think it’s just like 72 or 73… we’ve played, we’ve played, we’ve played, any time they ask, we make time because… it is the Grand Ole Opry… But man, it’s a feeling like no other.”
“There’s a bunch of places that are awesome in their own way. Every state, every city, every place has their own special thing. There’s no reason to discredit anything. But the Opry’s just special… and I think anybody will tell you that.”
“The way of songwriting obviously is always ever-changing. Music is always ever-changing and growing and will continue to. Heck, it was back in the ‘60s, and the ‘70s, and the ‘80s, ‘90s, early 2000s, and even now. So, we’re just too busy living in it to notice.”
“I love an idea because you can do so much with an idea. An idea, the sky’s the limit. Sometimes you’ll have a melody. Sometimes you’ll have a lyric. Sometimes you’ll have a few lines that rhyme. But when you have an idea, you can, again, the sky’s the limit. You can just do dang near anything you want – melodically, lyrically, because you know where you want to go. You know where you’re pointing towards.”
“I’m always looking forward to just playing live, singing new songs, writing new songs, going in the studio, they all have their special spot in my heart, and they’re all different. They all got different energy they give you.”
“I Met a Girl”
“In Walked You”