Today’s spotlight artist is Big Machine Records recording artist, Chase McDaniel. McDaniel is the real deal in country music. He brings his unique rock-country flavor to each of his songs, while infusing his own authentic flair and honesty into each and every song. We chatted with the singer-songwriter about his relentless grit, his journey, and his new music.

“I grew up in a small-town called Greensburg, Kentucky, two hours north of Nashville. Bit of a rough start, but always had a dream of country music,” began McDaniel. “I had two sets of grandparents that were musically inclined. One of them was a pastor of a small church and he played bass in a gospel group, and he taught me how to sing. My other Papaw was just obsessed with country music, it was his first love, and he would show me videos of George Jones at the Grand Ole Opry and Ricky Skaggs, and he gave me my first CD which was Josh Turner’s Long Black Train. I fell in love with country music kind of through a family connection.”

McDaniel recalls playing that Josh Turner album over and over again throughout his childhood. “Music was a form of connection. My Dad was an addict growing up and living with my mom, we were just super poor,” he shared. “You kind of combine some of the worst aspects of that, I was kind of put into a place, where things weren’t great, so I would take that Josh Turner CD, my headphones, and hide in my bedroom, and listen to it for hours, and that was kind of my escape, and then shortly after that I traded a pack of Yu-Gi-Oh cards for an AC/DC record in like 4th grade, and so rock music became induced into my veins, and shortly after that it was Eminem, and music was what got my back.”

At fifteen years old, McDaniel got his first guitar and writing music became a therapeutic release that I fell in love with. “It’s always been an instinct of mine to put the things I’ve been through, put the things I’m feeling into music and it’s been there for me, when I needed a way to communicate, and I didn’t have anyway else to say it.”

The Turning Point:

Today:

Flash forward to today, McDaniel is living his dream of being a country singer-songwriter. With songs like “Project” and “Your Daughter” previously released that showcase the singer’s different sides and new music coming out soon, McDaniel shows no signs of slowing down.

Most recently, the singer-songwriter released a brand new song called “Heart Still Works.” “I think there were elements of a pop-punk attitude in my lyrics and a little bit of a sound [in my other work] and I think “Heart Still Works” ups the ante a little bit with the guitar and drums. I was heavily influenced by the era because it was a time when my Dad was sober and I lived with him and I was around him from about 9-10 years old, and all he listened to was pop-rock radio,” shared McDaniel, adding, “That year just heavily influenced and just the attitude of that error, and I wanted to share bigger ideas into my music that maybe haven’t been said in country music before and I think rock has such a rich history of that, but also I’m a storyteller, and I don’t know how to write anything other than a country song.”

“Heart Still Works” is a true anthem for anyone who needs a reminder that their grief is valid, as well as, that it is better to feel the live feeling numb. “I was in an elevator one day, and I think song ideas are just like gifts, I’ve never really forced a song idea to life that was a great song, you just kind of have to live life and be open to when an idea comes, and I was in the elevator and it hit me, my heart still works, and it’s kind of wild to think it sometimes because I spent so long being numb to everything,” shared the singer. “I just wanted to try to bring that story to life but also make it redemptive and anthem for people that need to be reminded of something like that.”

Stay tuned for more incredible music coming down the pipeline soon!

Connect: