Who Is Ben Chapman? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

Today, we are introducing you to a country artist that we believe is going to continue to garner more and more fans this year. Ben Chapman is a talented singer-songwriter, who knows how to create songs that entice the listener, while still remaining true to himself and his artistry.

“I’m from a really small town in Georgia, there are about 2000 people there,” began Chapman. ” I started playing when I was like 12 and I really got that country bug from riding around with my grandfather. We would just listen to country records.” He recalls falling in love with classic country artists from a young age.

“I never listened to any new music growing up, so I was just listening to classic country, classic rock, just trying to find all these songwriters and stuff, and then I started playing guitar when I was 12.” Chapman’s parents introduced him to rock and roll and artists like the Allman Brothers.

“Country-rock is kind of what I do naturally. […] If I’m going to be honest and genuine, this is the music that I have to do. […] I just fell in love with it.”

Although he did not know it yet, these early influences would help him to fine-tune his own country-rock sound as a Nashville artist. “I started writing when I was 14 or 15, and ever since then I started playing at some little bars and honky tonks,” shared the singer.

After spending two years at community college, Chapman’s mom recognized that this was not his calling. “My mom sat me down one day and said ‘hey you don’t have to do this.’ […] I was going to class and I would go play gigs at night. I never really had a plan B for sure, music was always plan A,” he shared.

He continued to play around regionally and locally, until 21 years of age, when he finally made the move to Nashville.

The Turning Point:

After some encouragement from his mom and a buddy in the industry, Chapman drove the few hours to Music City, sharing that he did not have any nerves because “It felt like home anyways.” When he got to Nashville, his priority was to find his people. “When I first moved, I was just trying to find a community of songwriters […] I was trying to find a group of writers that really wanted to dive into the type of music that I was doing.”

Chapman hit it off with a few different writers including his now girlfriend and tourmate on Lainey Wilson’s ‘Country With A Flare Tour’, Meg McRee.

“Meg and I hit it off, and we have written a lot of songs together. We were playing at The Listening Room,” began Chapman, “and this guy was there, [who started] his own company with Hillary Lindsay and he was like, ‘hey,’ and we just started a conversation that night and it grew into this relationship, so Meg and I were some of the first people they signed.” This encounter led to Chapman signing a publishing deal with Hang Your Hat Music.

The publishing deal led to meeting Lainey Wilson’s manager, which helped him land an opening spot on her current headlining tour.

Today:

Currently, Chapman is not only touring with Lainey Wilson and Meg McCree, but he is also hard at work, getting music out to fans. Last week, the singer-songwriter released his brand new song, “Georgia Dreamin’.”

“Meg and I wrote it in Dallas, Texas with Bo Bedford. […] We were on our way back to Nashville, and we stopped in at his place and wrote “Georgia Dreamin’,” explained Chapman. “It is a song about being a drifter and a dreamer and being from the small towns that Meg and I are both from, everybody grows up and they leave and come back, and they leave again and come back. We were like, ‘we have to write a song for the drifters who don’t know what they want to do, but they always find it when they come back home.’”

Simply put, Chapman calls the new song, “a song for the small-town people.” Anyone who could not wait to escape their hometown, but ultimately missed it when they were gone can definitely relate to this transcendent song.

If news of the new single is not exciting enough, Chapman also has a seven-song project called Amber Sound Vol. 1 slated for release at the end of February. Volume 2 is going to come out later this year too. Fans can catch Chapman on tour with Lainey Wilson and on the festival circuit this year. The tour hits New York City’s Irving Plaza this Friday, February 3rd!

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