Ben Gallaher: ‘Every Small Town’ – EP Review

Ben Gallaher’s new EP, Every Small Town, is out today, June 25th on all streaming platforms. Featuring “Never Get Old” and the anthemic title track, take a look below as we dig a little deeper into the new music.

For Quartz Hill Records artist Ben Gallaher, June 25 marks the release of his debut EP, Every Small Town. The singer-songwriter-guitarist co-wrote all five songs on the collection, which includes the anthemic title track. Produced by Mickey Jack Cone and Derek George, the album also features songs co-written by Nashville heavyweights including Ash Bowers, Joey Hyde, and more.

The EP opens with the title track, an electrifying ode to the small towns that make up the backbone of America. This song is perfect for summer and it’s impossible not to picture it behind a moving video montage showing off the best of humanity in the U.S.A. We cannot wait to hear this one in concert as it’s the kind of track that lends itself perfectly to a live show. 

“In every small town // In America, we’re the backbone // We’re the rock this country was built on // We’re the underdog // We’re the little guy // With the flag flying high 365,” he sings.

“We’re the wake up with the sun // Go and get the job done // Cold beer crowd // In every small town in America”

“Get On One” came from a guitar riff Gallaher couldn’t stop playing that became a full song in two hours during a writing session with Hyde and Mike Walker. Unlike most love songs, “Get On One” is an uptempo and not a ballad, but the sentiment is still there. Meanwhile, “Town Ain’t Dry” deals with heartbreak, Gallaher seeking to mend a broken heart in the bottom of a bottle. As he thinks about drinking his sorrows away, he muses how grateful he is to not live in a dry town. 

“Never Get Old” celebrates the things in life that are timeless to us, impossible to get tired of.

“But cold beer, hot summer nights // Good guys winnin’ fights // Friday hittin’ five, cashin’ that paycheck // Born in the USA // Advice my old man gave // Amazing grace and the letters in red // A bottle of whiskey, the way that you kiss me,” he sings.

“The war stories grand-daddy told // They never get old”

The album’s closing track, “Til’ It’s Yours,” allows Gallaher to show off a different side from the full-throttle uptempo songs on this power ballad. Like “Every Small Town” and “Never Get Old,” “Til’ It’s Yours” is a track about appreciating the smaller things in one’s life. According to an interview with WITF Music, Gallaher was inspired to write the song on a trip through Kansas. “It just got me thinking. Things, in general, mean more to you when they’re yours…To somebody else, it doesn’t have any value but if it’s yours it means everything. And I couldn’t get that concept out of my head.”

For Gallaher, this EP is a celebration of life. “To me, country music is the soundtrack to everyday life,” he says in a statement. “That’s what these songs are about: the American spirit, family, community, love, loss, God, hard work, and being proud of who you are and where you’re from.”

Every Small Town is an EP about embracing and enjoying the simple things in life. From celebrating small towns to enjoying the things that are truly yours, Gallaher embraces them all here, and we expect to be blasting these songs all summer long.

Ben Gallaher’s new EP, 'Every Small Town' is out now, June 25th

Ben Gallaher’s new EP, ‘Every Small Town’ is out now, June 25th

Every Small Town EP Tracklist:

  1. Every Small Town – Ben Gallaher, Ash Bowers, Jim Collins
  2. Get On One – Ben Gallaher, Joey Hyde, Mike Walker
  3. Never Get Old – Ben Gallaher, Derrick Southerland, Andrew Jacob Pruis
  4. Town Ain’t Dry – Ben Gallaher, Mark Irwin, Shane Minor
  5. Til’ It’s Yours – Ben Gallaher, Billy Montana, Jared Mullins

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Every Small Town is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.