Drew Baldridge spent the morning his first major-label album came out standing on his farm in Illinois with his family around him, which is roughly the image FARM FAITH FAMILY is built to project. The 16-track record is out now through BMG, and he told Country Now it feels like Christmas with all the presents already open.
The title is also the structure. The album is divided into three sections: the first third is about where he comes from, the middle third is about faith in God and in other people, and the last third is about his wife and children. He said he wants listeners to finish it knowing what he stands for.
One song explains why the record exists in this shape. Baldridge was sitting across from a record executive who told him his music was not cool enough and pointed him at other artists to study, one of them described in terms of tattoos and a look. He wrote Cool Enough Now with Tim Nichols and Monty Criswell about that conversation.
His answer at the time was to refuse. "I am who I am and I'm going to stand for what I'm going to stand for," he said, adding that if that did not work out he was not going to chase being something he was not. He describes himself as a small-town kid in blue jeans and a t-shirt, and the album does nothing to soften that.
The path to a major deal was not short. His first label closed its doors in 2019 after four singles that did not work, and he could not get another deal until he put a record out independently. He calls the current chapter a second chance rather than a breakthrough.
That history shapes how he talks about pressure now. He said a major partner brings extra weight because more people are involved, and listed managers, band members, his producer, the label and the radio team. His stated hope was that the record would win for them rather than for him.
Several tracks take on subjects country radio usually avoids. Him For Her deals with domestic abuse, Flowers On A Stone with suicide awareness and People Can Change with redemption. Baldridge frames those as the reason he was given the chance to make music, and credits BMG with letting him put out songs that do not sound like current radio.
A release show was set for the Saturday after the album arrived. More on the genre sits on our country hub, and new records land on the release calendar.
The facts
- Drew Baldridge's FARM FAITH FAMILY is his first full-length major-label album.
- The 16-track record is out through BMG.
- It is split into three sections: farm, faith and family.
- Cool Enough Now was co-written with Tim Nichols and Monty Criswell.
- It came from an executive telling Baldridge he was not cool enough.
- His first label closed in 2019 after four singles that did not work.
- Him For Her deals with domestic abuse and Flowers On A Stone with suicide awareness.
- He spent release morning on his family farm in Illinois.
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