What happens in a small town? Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell have your answer. The two country stars have teamed up on a brand new song called "What Happens In A Small Town," the first taste of Gilbert's forthcoming new album due out early next year.
"What Happens In A Small Town" was written by Brantley, along with Brock Berryhill, Josh Dunne and Rhett Akins. In the song, Gilbert and Ell sing in the chorus, "What happens in a small town/ Stays in a small town/ Every back road we’ve ever gone down/ Friday night bleachers, Sunday pews/ Ain't a county line mile without a memory of you."
Gilbert recently explained to Bobby Bones that after turning in his record to Scott Borchetta, who nothing but great things to say about the album, however he wasn't sure if Brantley had "the single" yet. So, the country star reached out to Rhett and Brock who went out on the road with him, and wrote "What Happens In A Small Town."
On the song, not only is Lindsay Ell singing, she's also playing the guitar, and recalls getting the call from Borchetta asking that she be a part of the song. She told Bobby, "I got the call from Scott Borchetta, actually, and it was one of the coolest moments, to be like 'Yeah I definitely wanna be a part of this song with Brantley.' And, then going in the studio, being able to record my vocals and guitar with Dann Huff was a crazy bucket list moment for me. And, I remember I was playing this solo and Dann was guitar teching, for me, and he was moving knobs on the amp while I'm playing and I'm like, 'What is happening right now? One of my guitar legends is basically my guitar tech right now.' And so, the next day, Dann sent me a text and he's like, 'Man, I gotta tell ya Lindsay, for a jaded guitar player like me, your guitar solo was really inspiring.' So, I was like, whelp, if Dann Huff never says another word to me then that's pretty cool."
Brantley also explained what made Ell the right person to join him on 'What Happens In A Small Town." He told Bobby, "When Scott brought it up in the meeting ... actually, it wasn't even a meeting, we were on the phone, and he was like, 'Dude, I'm listening to some Lindsay Ell stuff, and it's incredible.' And she's an awesome person around town. I've never heard anybody have a bad word to say about her, and everybody around her wants good things to happen for her. And, aside from that, I'm actually a fan. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law wanted to go to the Opry, and we went and Lindsay was playing there that night. And, then it just clicked when Scott brought that up. I was like, man, that's it without a question."
Listen to Brantley Gilbert's "What Happens In A Small Town" featuring Lindsay Ell above!
Photo: Joseph Llanes