Exclusive: Adam Craig Gets His Big Break After 12 Years In Nashville

Adam Craig

Adam Craig is now getting ready for fans to know his voice as well as his songwriting, as the newest signing for BBR Label Group’s Stoney Creek Records imprint. The songwriter has penned songs including Love and Theft’s “Whiskey On My Breath” and Parmalee’s “Close Your Eyes,” along with cuts by Jason Aldean and Dustin Lynch.

“When I found out I was getting the Parmalee single, I thought, ‘I’ve got to go into Broken Bow and just thank them for allowing me to stay in town this long and keep my publishing deal,’” Craig said during a visit to MusicRow on Monday (July 18). “I went and sat down with Benny [Brown, CEO of BBR Music Group] and he was like, ‘OK, let’s hear some music.’ So I didn’t really know if I was pitching songs for other artists still or pitching myself. Then a week later he called asking if I wanted a record deal.”

That deal has been more than 12 years in the making for the Washington native. After playing in a band during his high school and college years, he made the move to Nashville on the advice of a Nashville producer who worked with Jake Owen.

Pictured (L-R): Adam Craig, MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson

“He was like, ‘If you are for real, you’ve got to move to Nashville. You’ve got to be present to win.’ So I quit school and moved across the United States.”

Once in Music City, he continued writing and honing his craft, and fell in with a circle of fellow talented songwriters, including Tyler Farr, Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi. He would go on to play guitar for Swindell when Swindell’s career took off.

“We had this thing back in the day called Saturday Song Day at his place,” Craig recalls of those days when the writers were all trying to make names for themselves. “We were fans of each other’s music, so we watched college football, drank lots of beer, and played each other’s demos all day. There were other people there. We joke about it now, but everyone is so busy now, it’s like, ‘How do we do that again?’ We didn’t realize how cool it was back then, but it was this cool moment.”

Adam Craig with MusicRow staff. Pictured (L-R): Troy Stephenson, Eric T. Parker, Craig Shelburne, Adam Craig, Sherod Robertson, Jessica Nicholson, and Molly Hannula.

When he’s not in the studio working alongside producer Derek George, Craig has been visiting radio stations across the nation, amassing several more of those cool moments as he brings his own music to radio and to fans.

During his visit to MusicRow, Adam Craig previewed three tracks, including his debut single, “Reckon, which was written by Jeremy Stover, Randy Montana and Derek George. He also sang “Just a Phase” and “Why Can’t She,” a tune he co-wrote in 2011 with Matt Rogers and Jon Nite.

“When I’ve played this around town, people would say, ‘Oh, that’s the cheating song.’ It’s not really a cheating song. It’s more of a ‘trying to get the girl back’ song. That’s what I love about our format. You can interpret somebody’s song however you want. Somebody comes up and has their story for that song. I love that part of it.”

“Reckon” goes for adds on Aug. 8.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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