West Georgia natives and country newcomers Homegrown are set to embark on their musical career, hoping to draw as many fans as possible with their unique country sound.
Craig Brannon, Kevin Brannon, Megan Blair, and Jason Cole all grew up in the same area from different backgrounds. While all are different, they fit together like a puzzle piece. They friends met through after a night of worship at their church, and you can say, since then, the rest is history. and
The band has grown exceptionally since their start and now are reaching a much broader audience, focusing entirely on their music and growing their fanbase. This task shouldn’t be hard for the foursome as each member is willing to think outside of their musical box and take risks.
We got to catch up with Homegrown and get to know them a little bit. Read our interview below and listen to their new single “Throwback” now on Apple Music.
BEYOND THE STAGE: Your faith is a huge part of what you brought you all together? How does that play a part in your music? Would you consider yourselves Christian country or just country?
Homegrown: Yes, that is actually how we all got to know each other and started our music career, through shared faith. So, it definitely plays a huge role in our music. We like to think of ourselves as Christians that play country music. We strive for our faith to show up as individuals on and off the stage, but more about how we treat others and handle ourselves. That’s not to say that it doesn’t show up in our writing from time to time. We just like to make good country music, and try to be genuine.
BTS: Who are some of your main influences?
Homegrown: Concerning influences, we owe a lot to bands from the eighties and nineties like Diamond Rio, Alabama, Shenandoah, Restless Heart—groups that kept the vocal harmonies way out front, but also had incredible players in the band who could recreate live the polished arrangements from their albums. We’re not a retro or cover band—we’ve got a modern sound and think a lot of today’s country music, artists, and producers; but, those bands from twenty and thirty years ago are the blueprint for what we’re building here.
BTS: You have a new single out called “Throwback”. What was the drive you all had for putting that one out as a single?
Homegrown: I think “Throwback” revealed itself as the first single during tracking for the new [Georgia] EP. We might have been halfway to settling on that before we went in—we knew while writing it that it would be up-tempo, and we knew it was a cool concept that we felt was trendy and relevant without being gimmicky. During the session, though, hearing that guitar hook and that dance beat for the first time… it was irresistible.
BTS: How did you all come together to write the song and what was the writing process like?
Homegrown: We wrote “Throwback” with our tremendously talented friend, Jonathan Dean. We met JD about a year ago when our management team scheduled us a write with him, and we’ve just developed this great rapport and love working together. It was JD who came up with the initial idea for the song: use ‘throwback’—which is always trending because of “Throwback Thursdays”—as the hook for a song about a girl with this sort of timeless style/look. To flesh it out from there, we asked and answered questions like, well, what kind of ‘throwback’ things could you do on a date with this girl? how many different ways can we use ‘throwback?’ what is that ‘throwback’ style/look?
BTS: What would you say your favorite thing to throwback is on a summer day or after a long day?
Homegrown: Alright, full disclosure: for unwinding after a stressful day, I’m throwing back a bourbon and Coke Zero; for cooling off on a West Georgia/East Alabama heat-stroke-inducing, record-high hot day, I wanna throwback some sweet tea or lemonade! -Jason Cole
BTS: You just released your new EP ‘Georgia’. What’s different about this EP from your previous music? How do you see yourselves growing musically in the future?
Homegrown: I think there is a distinct difference in this EP and the previous albums. I think we have evolved as a group, our sound has matured drastically! I hope that means that the next album, our sound will have evolved even more!
BTS: Outside of “Throwback” what’s your proudest moment or song on the EP?
Homegrown: I really love “Georgia”. It’s such a beautiful snapshot of what it is to miss home. To long for the sites and people who helped shape you. I know we are all so proud to be from Georgia!
BTS: What’s coming up next for you guys as a band?
Homegrown: We just finished shoot a full music video for “Throwback” and can’t wait to get that out very soon! It is also shaping up to be a busy summer with touring so keep a look out for a show near you!!
To find out more information about Homegrown, visit their website and keep up with them on Twitter.
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