Russell Dickerson

Ashley McBryde was born to tell stories, and normally we enjoy them in a song, but today you get to hear the stories behind those songs, in her own words. Here, Ashley gives a compelling account of her remarkable journey so far, from her strict fundamentalist upbringing living off the land in the middle of nowhere Arkansas where she was drawn to a guitar she wasn’t allowed to touch, to her scary near misses playing real life dive bars and learning stagecraft the hard way, to playing Girl Going Nowhere on the Opry stage and learning to tame her anxious mind so she could truly allow herself to shine. She got gone, and she got far!

Rising star, Carter Faith, is an artist that leaves it all on the page, and in this episode she talks honestly about being true to the artist you are and not censoring yourself to compete for the most airplay. She also discusses the sound of her ACM nominated album, Cherry Valley, and why she wanted her debut record to be "something you could really sink your teeth into."

If Country songwriting is defined by storytelling, then shouldn’t all stories be included? This week’s guest has made it his mission to combine queer stories with the genre that he grew up loving, without diluting himself in the process. Fancy Hagood has been on a journey of self-discovery since he left his home in Arkansas for the bright lights of Nashville when he was just 17, and as he shares in this episode, it’s been a turbulent ride…Fancy has always taken up space in defiance of school bullies and industry nay-sayers, emboldened by a strong and supportive family and a musicality that feels anointed. Here, he shares many stories from that journey, including what it was like coming out to his Christian family, how pop fame in L.A. crushed his self-esteem, and ultimately, how he turned disappointment into gratitude and found freedom and community as an independent artist.

Heavens To Betsy hitmaker, Jackson Dean, is a man who loves to travel and takes great inspiration from the natural landscapes he finds himself in, so who better to be our guest on Country Roads! Jackson traces this back to his upbringing in Odenton, Maryland, where he grew up exploring the sprawling woods and the east coast. Jackson also speaks a lot about family; his ancestral ties to Germany and Scotland, how he was seeking his father’s approval as a young person, and how being the youngest in the family meant he was exposed to lots of different music in his early years. He also reveals what it was like living in his grandfather’s tack room for two years, then moving from Maryland to Nashville, and how writing songs with other people initially blew his mind.

Angie K joins Ben to talk about how her El Salvadorian roots and her upbringing in Georgia have both influenced her music, and the joy of being an independent artist and growing your audience organically. Angie tells us the stories behind some of her most transportative songs like Laredo, and how living in El Salvador as a child was both beautiful and dangerous. She gets emotional speaking about the full circle moment she had thanks to her choir teacher, and speaks openly and honestly about being a gay artist in Country music. Angie also shares stories from some of the happiest times in her life when she worked on a cruise ship and how that inevitably led to her meeting her wife, as well as what it was like singing in front of her childhood hero on The Voice!