Jameson Rodgers: ‘Bet You’re From a Small Town’ – Album Review

Jameson Rodgers’ debut album Bet You’re From a Small Town, features “One Day,” “Some Girls,” and “Cold Beer Calling My Name” with Luke Combs.  Check out our full review and listen to the brand new music below.

For Columbia Nashville/River House Artists rising star, Jameson Rodgers, his debut album has been a long time in the making. The singer-songwriter moved to Music City from Mississippi over a decade ago, and has been waiting on this moment ever since. “Being from a small town in Mississippi, I’m well aware that not everyone gets to do music for a living,” says Rodgers. “I’ve been waiting to announce and release my debut album ever since I moved to Nashville 11 years ago. I’m extremely grateful for this day to be here and I can’t wait to see and hear how people react to these songs and this album.”

Co-writing 14 of the album’s 15 tracks, the newlywed singer explores themes of love, loss, small towns, and drinking beer, but manages to cover each of those tropes in a way that is new and unique. 

The album opens with the anthemic “One Day,” a tongue-in-cheek ode to that feeling of never quite getting over a breakup. With its driving guitars, the well-written and perfectly crafted mid-tempo, the song is a fantastic introduction to the album. “One day I’ll get over you,” Rodgers muses of his attempts to move on. “One day I’m gonna die.”

Other highlights of the album include “Merle Haggard,” “Missing You,” and “You Won’t. On “Merle Haggard,” we find Rodgers reminiscing about someone that his mama warned him about. “You’re the leaving story // You were good but no good for me // Mama tried to warn me // That you’d break my heart in two // Merle Haggard would’ve wrote songs about you.”

Meanwhile “You Won’t” is about accepting a breakup, while “Missing One” is a perfectly-crafted, radio-ready breakup-moving-on-missing-someone-track that we can’t get enough of. “I wanna want somebody else,” Rodgers admits. “The girls in here can’t help tonight // Because I’m missing one.” 

The theme of small town life weaves its way through the album, which is fitting considering the LP’s title. While the title track is another standout country anthem, songs like “Bars Back Home” and “Porch With a View” continue that vibe. On “Bet You’re From a Small Town,” Rodgers is truly celebrating life in a small town without being too cliche. “If you got a buddy that’s always got your back // If you’ve got a mama who prays for you no matter where you’re at // If you don’t give a damn how fast the world spins around // I bet you’re from a small town.”

Rodgers also explores topics of the opposite sex on songs like “Girl with the Broken Heart,” “Girls That Smoke,” and his chart-topping “Some Girls.” On the former, he encourages those dealing with a breakup, reminding them to “drink that wine // It’s gonne be fine.” Meanwhile, “Girls That Smoke” is about those girls who are just a bit too dangerous, wrecking hearts and weekends in one fell swoop.

Just as the album starts strong, it also closes strong with some of the best songs coming on the album’s second half. There’s “Cold Beer Calling My Name” featuring Rodgers’s labelmate, country superstar, Luke Combs. “Good Dogs” is a beautiful love song to the beloved pets that are gone too soon, while the album’s final track, “Desert,” is a sparse yet twangy song of hope about getting through tough times. “‘Cause life’s kinda crazy // Can’t predict the weather // But the cold and the rain and the pain don’t last forever,” he reminds us. “You know the lows sure make the highs so much better // Yeah sunshine all the time just makes a desert.”

It may have taken Jameson Rodgers over a decade to release his debut album, but after a few listens, we can absolutely say that it was well worth the wait.

Bet You’re From a Small Town Tracklist

1. One Day (Jameson Rodgers/Smith Ahnquist/Will Bundy/Lynn Hutton)
2. Merle Haggard (Rodgers/Hutton/Jake Mitchell)
3. Close to Anything (Rodgers/Brent Anderson/Mitchell/Hunter Phelps)
4. Bet You’re from a Small Town (Rodgers/Ahnquist/Bundy/Hutton)
5. Missing One (Rodgers/Ahnquist/Phelps)
6. You Won’t (Rodgers/Ahnquist/Bundy/Hutton)
7. Girl with the Broken Heart (Rodgers/Michael Hardy/Mitchell)
8. Bars Back Home (Rodgers/Ahnquist/Ashley Gorley/Phelps)
9. Porch with a View (Rodgers/Anderson/Mitchell/Phelps)
10. Bringing It Back (Rodgers/Mitchell)
11. Girls That Smoke (Rodgers/Ahnquist/Anderson)
12. Cold Beer Calling My Name feat. Luke Combs (Rodgers/ Phelps/Brett Tyler/Alysa Vanderheym)
13. Some Girls (Hardy/Mitchell/C.J. Solar)
14. Good Dogs (Rodgers/Anderson/Mitchell/Phelps)
15. Desert (Rodgers/Ahnquist/Josh Miller/Mitchell)

Our Picks:

1. “One Day”
2. “Missing One”
3. “Cold Beer Calling My Name”
4. “You Won’t