Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And welcome to Cydney Stumpo Tapes Nails on w b
Z News Radio ten thirty. And I'm in the studio
tonight with Sammy. But I got a really special guest,
So Country Music Start, Drew Baldwidge, Drew So Drew.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm actually very impressed that she got your name right.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Why is Drew stuck? Okay, yeah, I could call you Tim,
I could call you Bob, but no, I found Drew.
It's kind of funny, you know how social media works.
On my Instagram and I played that one song and
I started to cry. I had to be. I was
one of those emotional moms at the moment, and she's
somebody's daughter. Can she's got that lat? And I came
on like can she have me for three more? And
(00:37):
I was like, oh, I got to watch this whole thing.
And then it went out right. I didn't get the
whole song. I'm like pissed. I'm like, all right, let
me find it somewhere else. I could at the time.
And I reach out to you when you're climbing three
in the charts and you're hit number one, buddy crazy,
and I come from a generation where like you needed
Sony Records, and you needed RCA and back in, you know,
(00:58):
to get you to that level, and you did self meant.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Yes, and it has been an absolutely crazy ride for
me and for my family.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Back in twenty fifteen to twenty nineteen, I did have
a record deal. It was a small independent company, and
we put out some songs and none of them really
worked like we wanted them to. They all kind of
died in the forties. And you know, twenty twenty year
olls around Covid. I obviously hits and I lose that
record deal. The guy that owned it, he decided to
close down their label, and I was like, well, that's
(01:27):
that kind of sucks for me. And you know, I
never I never got another label. And it's kind of
like in Nashville, kind of get one shot. You know,
you get a record deal, you put out a couple songs,
if it doesn't work, they kind of move on to
the next, which I get, you know, I understand that.
And but I had this song that I saw that
I really believed in and it was working. It was
blowing up on TikTok and streaming and all that stuff,
(01:48):
and I was like, man, I want to just give
this a real chance. I'm going to hire my own staff,
create my own label, and send this song country radio
by myself. So that's exactly what we did.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And that's it. So what would you play like? An?
What was it called back in the day? And ar
guy uh ar guy. If I forget the name given
to me, I'm in a studio at media. I should
know this by now, but I think back in my
day was called a R an R thank you. We're
guys just ran around and said, hey, do play this song. Dude,
(02:20):
play this song, Dude, play this song. R.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Does that mean something else? Now?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
What that mean?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
YEA?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And our plans I don't know about that.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It was just like, you know, I knew I had
a song that was working. And the the biggest thing
is in radio and in the country space is that
you've got to have promo reps. So what that means
is just like, if you're going to start any business
and you want to take it all across the country,
you've got to have reps in every market. So let's
say if we were, you know, selling shoes, and we
were we were Nike, we would have a Northeast rep,
(02:50):
a Southeast rep, a Midwest REP and a West Coast REP.
And they would go out to all the stores and say, hey,
put my shoes in your store. So what I had
to do is I had to hire those people for
country radio. So how that works is every label in
Nashville all has a northeast to Southeast REP, a Midwest REP,
and a West Coast REP. And what that does is
they go around to radio stations and they say, hey,
(03:11):
play play my boy, play my song. And and so
what I did is I just had to create my
own staff and hire people that was really respected already
in the business, that have been doing it for a
long time. And and we went around to radio.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Hold on, did you forget Boston because I'm the one
running into the bull.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Boston was a big market and we,
you know, stopped in up there and they started playing
our song. And they've been so good to us. You know,
country radio in general, just radio has really latched onto
our story, especially us. You know, it's kind of like
you said earlier, Cindy, like most of the time you
hear this is a Sony artist or this is a
(03:47):
Warner Universal artist, and it's just it's our own record label.
And it's never been done before. For an artist to
independently self fund their first number one, that's never happened.
And now the world has really changed, the times have changed,
and I just think it really is a big win
for artists all across the format, all format of just like, hey,
(04:09):
now you can have a real chance in today's modern society.
If a song is working and people love it, you
can get it played on radio. And that's what we
just proved, which is exciting for me.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And what took you there? Was it social media? Completely?
Was it Instagram? What was it like? You came on
my Instagram like you just popped in boom? Yeah, I
liked it. I hit follow and that's it. I was
in love, right, that's just how I.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Yeah, well it it's crazy story. So I put this
song out all the way back in twenty nineteen, Cindy,
and it kind of just set out. Was on my
old record label. We put it out, then the record
label shut down and it just sit there. It did nothing.
So then in twenty twenty one, me and my wife
were getting married and it was always her favorite song.
(04:54):
So I thought, man, I'm going to go in the
studio and I'm going to make a wedding version, so
it's just me and a piano and a cello, and
just so she could dance to it with her dad.
So that's what I did. I went in the studio,
made a wedding version, and she danced to it with
her dad. It was so special. And the next week
I got on TikTok. We were on our honeymoon and
I just said, hey, if this gets five thousand likes,
(05:15):
i'll put it out on Friday. It was a Wednesday
night and I posted this TikTok. I fell asleep and
I woke up the next morning. I had almost ten
million views in four hours, and I was like, man,
every record label is going to be calling, and nobody.
I had some LA labels called, but nobody in Nashville.
And I couldn't get anybody's excited. But you know, twenty
(05:37):
twenty one, from twenty one to twenty three, it was
blowing up on TikTok. Everybody was using it in videos,
dad's daughters, and then that you know, transformed over to Instagram,
to Facebook, and you know, I looked up one day
and the song had almost a billion plays on TikTok
and I was like, oh my goodness, look at all
these people were reaching. How do we not have a
(05:59):
record deal? Why is Nashville not caring about this? I'm
watching all the streams happen in real time. I'm playing shows.
Everybody's singing every word back. And that's when I said,
you know what, screw it, I'm just going to do
it myself. I'm going to really try this. I know
it's going to be expensive, but I don't want to
look back in thirty years and say, why didn't I
freaking try with a song that was reaching so many
(06:19):
people and touching so many people's hearts. So that's what
we did. And it's crazy to think that we're a
year later and sending Now. We have a manager, we
have a booking agent, I have I'm getting ready to
go out on tour with Cody Johnson, who's like one
of the biggest artists in country music, and we have
other tours lined up for twenty twenty five. And it's
all because we didn't stop believing, you know. And I
(06:41):
think that's just so important for any business that you're in,
no matter if it's radio, if it's you know, a
job that you love so much and you believe in yourself,
keep going, keep believing, and doors will open. And that's
kind of the message that we've been sharing throughout this
whole process.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You've been doing this for how long? Now? You're how old?
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I'm thirty three, So I moved in the Yes.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Such a big thirty three. Okay, so you're so old?
So and you started how long ago?
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Yeah? I moved to Nashville at nineteen, so, uh we
originally June of next year will be fourteen years I've
lived in Nashville.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And you're originally from where I grew up.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
In southern Illinois, little town called Patoka, town of five
hundred people.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And you thought by playing in all the bars in
Nashville you get picked up. And then you did get
picked up by a record label, but it really didn't
do much and they probably shelfed you back in those days, right,
is that what they did?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, we got picked up. I was so young. You know.
Every when I first moved to town, everything happened fast.
I moved here at nineteen, I end up signing a
songwriting deal at twenty one, and then you know, at
twenty three, I'm signed to a record deal. You know,
just four years in Nashville. Four or five years in Nashville,
and I'm on tour with some of the biggest artists
in the format, playing every live Nation festival, all the festivals, everything,
(08:02):
and you know, then twenty twenty comes and all that
kind of goes away because of COVID, and I had
this kind of idea that just kept me going. I
was on my last straw and I was just like,
you know what, Nashville's kind of giving up. I'm just
gonna post on my social media Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and
just say hey, I'll play in anybody's backyard.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Did you have a job at the time, like doing
construction or anything like? You just pretty all you tough.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
It was just all music. You know, by this time
here it is twenty twenty, I've been in Nashville for
nine years. All I've made a living buy is just
playing wajel.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
We just hold that thought because we've got to go
to break and then we'd be right back. Okay, all right,
I like it, Okay, thank you. I'm Cindy Stump. When
you're listen to Tough as Nails on WBZ News Radio
ten thirty, and'll be right back and welcome back to
Toughest Nails on WBZ News Radio and I'm Cindy, I'm
Samantha and we're here with.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Drew Blberg. Hey, Hey, what's the.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Feeling when you hear that song for the hundred thousand times? Though?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Oh my goodness, it's uh never gets old, It never
gets old. It's such a blessing. I you know, a
lot of people get frustrated. I talk to artists, They're like, man,
I'm so wore out on the song that, you know,
my my first number one song, And I was just
so lucky that mine is says a lot about who
I am, it's about my wife, and it's just a
(09:26):
song that that I'll never get tired of. You know,
I'm very thankful for it. It's a song that, you know,
has now allowed me to go on tour and have
people sing along and things and do dreams that I
thought would never be possible. And so I'm very very
thankful for it.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And then I fell in love with the other song
Can I Have this Last Dance? Right?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
And that's.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Can she have? Okay? Can she have the Last Dance?
But the point was I was in like again one
of my like you know, che and I were fighting
my son at the time, Like, what a beautiful song, right,
Like they're just heartfelt, right, They're just the lyrics are
just there. The music's just great like it is. And
(10:12):
you deserve every bit of success that you're getting right now,
and you've worked hard for it.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
And this song, you know, it's so funny. Both of
these songs were the songs that I kind of wrote
for my wedding. You know, Can She Have This Dance
was something I just wrote for my mom so I
could dance with her on our wedding night. My wife
wanted me to write all the special dance songs, and
so I wrote this song.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
It's must have been one wedding that everybody was crying
a lot.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was special, and you know,
it's so funny. It was just me and a guitar
that I recorded it really really quick, that can She
Have This Dance? And I thought it was special. And
then me and my wife we now have a little
baby boy, and I listened to this song again, Can
She Have This Dance? Holding I was holding my son.
My wife was out running errands, and I came across
(10:59):
this song studio time. The next day, I didn't know
what I was going to record.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I mean that I don't know. That will be my
song when my son gets married, for sure. That's how
much I love that song. But let's go back a
little bit, bringing back to a little bit of your
childhood lake. What was that lake? Growing up?
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Did grew up to fifty people, Cindy, I don't.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Know what that's like. I think I graduated with a
class just about five hundred kids in the class.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Yes, I had. I graduated twenty two kids in my class.
And it was just I grew up on you know,
my grandpa had a farm, so we spent a lot
of time on tractors and four wheelers and you know,
growing up fishing, jumping the fence behind the house and
and going over the farm across the way. And it
was h man, it was a really good life. And
(11:49):
a lot of people ask why you why do you
sing country? And it's just like, man, it's all I know.
It's it's what I grew up doing. You know. We
grew up riding back roads and sitting on tailgates, people
drinking cold beer, sitting around fires, and that was our fun.
You know, our fun was was being out in the
woods being out in the sticks and caps.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
We did have bey causes you tipped you. I just
need to know.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
We had about a little over one hundred head of
beef cows and how the cow calf business Grandpa did
and my brother, you know, he still does that my cousins.
I was the only one that kind of got a
got out and was playing music. I was the black
sheep of the family.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
We'd be throwing haybales and I'd be singing baby lock
the door and turning the lights down the little and
they'd be like, shut up, and you just shut your mouth,
like getting on our nerves. And yeah, it was just
I just love music. It was so I grew up
singing in church and my dad sang, and so we
spent a lot of time riding around in the truck
with my dad singing.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
And really figure out what age that you really could
sing just like naturally.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Yeah. I think it was first grade Christmas program when
I performed for my first time in front of people,
and that was when I really got the bug. When
you know, we got done singing and everybody started clapping
and screaming, I was like, oh man, we must be
pretty good. At this It was just really then after that,
you know, we didn't have a music program. We were
so small. We didn't have football, we didn't have a
(13:16):
music program, nothing like that. Because we're K through twelve school,
all one school. So what the school I started in
kindergarten with, that's the same school I graduated with.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Which part did you miss? Sammy twenty two people we
went to school with or something like that has graduating class,
I think the whole thing. I think they went from
K to senior.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was twenty two in my class.
I think from kindergarten to senior was about a couple
hundred kids, a little under two hundred, one hundred and
sixty something like that.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Is your wife from there? Or did you meet your
wife where you are now?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
So I met my wife when I was out on
the road about eight years ago, seven or eight years
ago up. And she's from Illinois too, and I was
playing a show up there at a college town, Western
Illinois university town called McComb And I was passing through
playing a show when I met her out at a
bar afterwards and became friends. And she moved here a
handful of years later, and we just got together and
(14:08):
had dinner the first night we've been together ever since.
It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
It's actually funny because right now we've got you streaming
into chatter, which is it's an audio device. I don't
know if you've heard of clubhouse ever heard of Twitter X,
so chatter twitter x where you can actually go into
audio and talk to people blah blah blah. So you're
actually streaming in there and people saying, well, they've heard
your song and that's going to be that song to
(14:33):
dance with their Yeah, either or whatever, or so either way,
I guess it can work both ways. But it is.
It's just a beautiful song. But so you realized you
met your wife? Okay, did you know? Did you fall
in love with her right away? I?
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Did you know? It was uh, you know, it was
kind of a long process. We met and I had
a girlfriend at the time, and I was out on
the road, so you know, we just said that first night.
I think how it happened was we were at a
bar and there was some guy really hitting on her
and bothering her, and she just leaned down. She's like,
can you just talk to me until he goes away.
(15:09):
I was like, sure, yeah, I'll talk to you. And
so we talked and became friends that night, and I
came back the next year to that same that same venue.
We were playing and I was single, and so I
hit her up. I think it was probably on Facebook.
I slid into her DMS and I was like, hey,
I'm playing a show tonight, like you should come out,
blah blah blah. And she hit me right back and
(15:30):
is like, I can't. I got to work tomorrow. And
she never came that Yeah, so she blew me off,
and I was like, dang, it only always worked and
girls always came out, and so she was just this
one didn't, this one didn't. There was something special about her,
and so we just became friends and talked a lot,
and you know, she said she always wanted to live
in Nashville. She moved down here a couple of years later,
(15:51):
and yeah, we got dinner one night. And when she
moved down here, we've been together ever since. It's pretty crazy.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And then how long before you married her?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
It took me five years? I think five years. I
think I proposed at four years and then we ended
up getting married and we right at our five year mark.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And then let me just get married, have the baby,
and have the hit music at the same time.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Hey, that's what I'm talking about. And she's been such
a big supporter of this, you know, Cindy. It was
not having a record label. It was just kind of
me and her, you know. And this was the song
started streaming. She somebody's daughter started streaming like crazy, and
that was the first time we were really making money,
you know, we started seeing money come in from this.
And then I look at her and say, hey, it's
been I'm that money.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I'm still on the iTunes and I still pay and
that one of those songs is at the highest number still. Okay.
So that's how you know when the song's a hit,
because you ain't paying nine nine cents anymore. Okay, you're
in the dollar what was it, doll ninety nine? Right,
So my kids go all the time, Mom, why are
you still buying music on iTunes? So leave me alone.
I don't care, Like just one one yearly fee. Yeah,
(16:58):
it's just easy, dull night night, click right and it
comes on. So do they take care of you guys
on those iTunes? And they really pay what they're supposed
to pay. Because a friend of mine. I don't know
if you know the name Wendy Starlin. I don't so Wendy.
And actually I should hook you up with Wendy. She's
got a new app coming out and she was the
(17:19):
U she found Lady Gaga. Okay, so all these musicians
are not getting their fair share of the money and
that's the problem, and that's what she's doing right now.
But she's she's a big player in that space. Lady
Gaga obviously was a big, you know, home run for her.
But that's an introduction I'll make for you as time
(17:40):
goes on. Here hold that thought. Oh no, I don't
have to all that thought. I know, don't you stick that?
They stick that thing in my face like my clock
is running out? All right, go ahead, I'll make I'll
make ross happy. We'll go to break and be right back.
I'm Citty stumping you. Listen, Tough as Nails and we'll
be right back w BS and welcome back to Toughest
Nails on w B. And I'm Cindy Stumpo and I'm here.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
With Mantha and Drew Baldridge.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Buddy. Both those songs just kill it. I mean they
just kill it. It is what it is. I can't
take it away. I listened them, I swear to have
got it. Every they're in my car, there are they're
home on sons. I'm blasting that all over the place.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Looking back, you happy how it happened versus how you
thought it was going to go.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Oh yeah, record label taking half his money? You got more?
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Well, I think too, like or no. Sometimes sometimes in
life we feel like, you know, in moments when things
are going bad, You're like, this is the worst thing
that can possibly happen to me. And I remember losing
the record deal, losing the manager, losing all of it,
and thinking like, wow, this is as low as it gets,
you know, and then just learning from all those all
(18:50):
those loads, and you know, without without all those learning
curves and curveballs thrown my way, I wouldn't be here.
I wouldn't have a number one by myself. I wouldn't
have been the first artist to ever do this. And
sometimes I feel like God, you know, prepares you for
those moments and you don't even recognize it. And for me,
you know, without all those trials, without all those errors,
(19:10):
I'm not where I'm at right now.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
So my daughter's got something to say to you, since
she's missed astrology, right, she's going to tell you why
it didn't work out.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Because why, Sam, so, I was doing the math backwards
for your age now and when this happened in twenty
nineteen brings you back roughly five years through around twenty
eight twenty nine.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So there's this thing called you're sat in return where
satin is roughly between twenty eight and thirty years where
it was when you were born. And life like throws
things at you, whether you pick the right path of
the wrong path. Now, you kept getting hit with things
over and over again that you had never experienced before,
and it could have brought you down a really bad path,
and it didn't. It brought you to a better situation
(19:51):
than you could have thought of. But it doesn't always
work that way for everybody.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Because you made the right choices, follow.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Me, man, I mean, that's that's pretty powerful. I think.
I don't know if they were the right choices or
they were just the ballsy ones you know at the time.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Is a good thing, buddy. I live with them all
day long. Okay, I got about four of them. Okay,
most men have two. I got four.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
I love it and It was just like, Hey, this
is my dream, this is what I want to do.
I'm gonna chase it, and I'm gonna do it till
the wheels fall off. You know, this is all I
want to do in my life. And you know, if
that means I fall flat on my face, try and
I'm going to go down swinging. And I just really believed,
like I said, believed in this song, believed in the
message of it. And that's what was so cool. Was
like the song that ends up being our biggest song
(20:37):
that gets over a billion plays billions, you know, views
or whatever, talking about treating women right and knowing their worth,
and I just think that's such a powerful.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Yeah, excuse me, gentlemen. Did you hear that? But you
just said something that's very resonating that it's teaching men
how to treat women. Yeah, now, I don't know. I mean,
it might be a closet case. Peter, I don't know,
but you don't come up off that way, So I'm
not going to take you as that person, So you
should be. That face is kind he's he's seeming like
(21:07):
Sharaija goat kind dice. Okay, now we're going by kind ice.
What's what you say?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
What? What?
Speaker 3 (21:12):
What?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
What's the sign? I don't know what's your sign?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
My sign is a leo.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
I was right by leos and tourists lately.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Little fire sign out there.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
And what's your wife?
Speaker 3 (21:23):
She's she's a leo too. So we got a lot
of fire going.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
On Fifth Family too.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
I'm a cancer, I'm the double side.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Oh double Sage's fire, I'm aries fire.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
So that morning when you woke up and you saw
all those views, were you jumping around the house or
wherever you were?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Oh my gosh. Yeah. So we were on our honeymoon.
We were in our little condo and me and my
wife were jumping around crying all sorts of things, like
every record label is going to call us. We got
to hit blah blah blah, and that just didn't happen.
You know, I went, I remember, I'll never forget. We
were on our honeymoon. I made the post already about
playing people's backyards. I booked a bunch of people's backyards.
And when we land from our honeymoon, my tour manager
(22:04):
comes in in the van, picks me up from the airport,
and we go out and we play twenty shows in
nineteen days in people's backyards, back to back to back
to back, just going around the country, and that turns
into playing over three hundred shows in a couple of
years in people's backyards, and I just that's what I
thought my life was going to be for a long time,
(22:26):
is just being the guy that's sang in people's backyards.
But I'll tell you this, Cindy, when I was in
when I was in folks back backyards, it really just
changed everything for me because I was so caught in
this Nashville system and I think artists we moved to Nashville, La,
New York or whatever, and you get so caught up
and thinking, I got to make music for all these
label heads. I gotta make music that sounds like the
radio or it sounds like this, And at the end
(22:48):
of the day, you just got to make music for people.
And I didn't realize that until I was in their
backyards and they were telling me, Man, this song means
so much to me because of this, or this song
means so much to me because of that. And now
I wrote it turned it into me writing my brand
new single. It's called Tough People, and it's a really,
really special song just about how tough times can sure
(23:09):
make some tough people. When you're at your lowest loves,
you really figure out who you are.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I don't know. Look at I'm watching you, like I said,
and I've been following you on Instagram, and you're more
impressive being right in my face right now, and I
didn't think that was going to be possible. You hit
the but something about morals and values, like big Time
Samuel will tell you, like, I either love you or
I don't even like you. How's that right? You're either
(23:37):
evil or you're a good human being, right, And I
just like the human beings, and that's what you are.
And you deserve so much good success. And I can
see the way that you treat your wife, and I
think any mother should be so proud to have you
as a son in law because and I'm sure your
wife's a wonderful woman too. It takes two people too.
(23:59):
I'm going to meet a try, I'm gonna meet both
you trust me, okay, And but at the end, it's
just there's just there's just this gleam. And Sim'll tell
you like I'll stroll through things on Instagram and you
see my follows and you see. Are you following Sidney Stomp?
I'm not sure, but my content has got a lot
(24:21):
of back and forth, back and forth, and I'm way
over my algorithm of what I should have. But there's
tons of everybody's got something to say. Right, you're gonna
love that about people. Right, you're gonna get your hits,
You're gonna get your knocks. She's gonna get your likes.
And me on the other side. Every time I get
a guy and that comes and knocks me after thirty
eight years an ultra ultra high end construction, Right, and dude,
you got a bathroom from home? Deepo? Like you seriously
(24:42):
gonna come at me? I will just emasculate them.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
So one guy writes back, He's like, do you really
answer these? I thought you didn't read these, Like, oh nobody,
this is a sport for me. You just you just
hit up a Boston broad Like, buddy, what do you
think was gonna happen here?
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Like?
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Did you think I was gonna come in like and
be kind? It's actually fund But what's been most of
your feedback on your social media besides the hate.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Is it's all been very positive? You know, I think
social media can be what you make it, you know.
Obviously for me, that's what changed my life with social
media was daughter blowing She's somebody's daughter blowing up? Can
she have this dance? Just like you said, Cindy, you
found us and discovered us because of social media, and
you know, it's all. What I love about social media
(25:26):
is what you put out there is who follows you.
And that's something that I've really noticed by playing people's backyards,
Everybody's like, man, did you run into some weird people
out there playing people's backyards and you just showed up
and you didn't know them? And I was like, man,
to be honest, there are mostly people that I would
hang out with. There are people that have the same
morals that I do, the same you know, kind of
(25:47):
vibe on life. And it's all because what you put
out into the world is what is it the people
that follow you? And I never really put that all together,
but it's all been really great. You know. Obviously you
always have some people on there that are at her haters,
and you know, I might post a picture of my
wife and and me, and there's been times where you know,
she's in her bikini or whatever, and we're out on
(26:08):
the boat and people come at her and say hateful
things to her, and that really bothers me more than anything,
I think is when people come at my family. You know.
I remember we posted a picture this past Christmas of me, her,
Santa Claus, and our son and my wife had a
little red dress on. It was the first time she
felt pretty since we've had our son, and she was
(26:28):
going out dressed up and people started attacking to her,
calling all sorts of things because she had a you know,
a pretty looking dress on. And so it can definitely
be you know, social media can be tough and rude
and hateful, but for the most part, a lot of
people on our socials are really kind. And if I
if I don't think so, I just block them. I
just delete them and block them.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
That's something that's the same. It does what I do.
I wait for you to come back again, and I
go after your throw it again. Okay, well yell at
them for you and then and then they eventually like
they just they just like go away like little bugs,
right because they're not ready for that.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Right. So that's.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Total Boston. But you know, look at I realized that
I wasn't made for HGTV. I wasn't made for TV
because I could take the hits when they were coming
after my kids. Yeah, watch out it. It was just
I decided, like, you know, what can your son do
more than golf? He's a he's an amateur pro golfer. Like,
what else should you do? Well, maybe you should be
(27:28):
sitting on a street corner shooting drugs and his arm.
I don't know. So you weren't supposed to go on
the HGTV website. I did it, and then I got
yelled at. I'm like fighting me, HGTV. They're like, we
can't fight you, Cindy. I'm like, well then then leave
me alone.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
So yeah, I mean some things are hurtful and we
have to learn to accept the good with the bad.
Hold that thought were going to break. I'm siddy, stumbling
you listen at Toughest Nails on WBZ and we'll be
right back and welcome back to Toughest Nails on WBZ.
And I'm Cindy and I'm here.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
With Samantha and.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Now we see each other, buddy, this is better. Yeah,
we look like here, that's good. We've been watching you. So,
I mean, I got so many questions. See im go ahead.
She went on, oh you so as your career was going,
and where you stand right now?
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Right?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
So it was at one point with somebody saying, hey, buddy,
you need to get a real job, like you better
go cut some lumber, you better stop building houses, hang up,
learn how to be a mechanic. Like anybody torture that way,
or they were just had your back.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
It was I think whenever I first moved here, you know,
my my mama was worried about that. You know, I
think there were some people in my life that were
worried about that. But I was always just so lucky.
I found a way to make a living playing bars.
And when I first moved You'll never forget. I made
a I had this envelope and I set in my
computer and I had my guitar and I sang like
(28:46):
forty songs into my old MacBook, and I had had
the CDs, and I made cards that said my name
and my phone number on them. And I walked down
all a Broadway in Nashville and I took these envelopes
into every bar and I was like, hey, my name
is Drew Baldridge. Is your music director here? And they'd
be like, nah, just put it on the desk. I'd
(29:07):
be like, oh cool. So I'd set it on the
desk and I'd leave. And then I walked into Tutsies
one night one day and I was like, hey, is
your music director he They're like, yeah, he's actually upstairs,
and it was like something out of a movie.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
I actually called yeah, yeah, yeah I was.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
And this guy's counting hundreds on his desk and I
walked in. I was like, hey, I'm I'm Drew, you know,
and he's like, you want to play our bar? I
was like yeah. He's like, you know about forty songs,
old country and new country, and I was like, yeah,
I sure do. He's like, I tell you what I
like the way you look. You go up tomorrow. And
I was like oh okay. So I went, you know,
(29:42):
started playing at Tutsies, and that allowed me to make
a living and all at this time. You know, where
I'm from is only four hours from Nashville. So I
would go up every Friday and Saturday and play bars
in my hometown area where I came from, and then
I would play Tuesday's Thursdays in downtown Nashville.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
And that's the name Toutsy is like I think a
roadhouse when I hear Tutsi's right, you think.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Of a.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Listen. Boston is so different, right, Like, it's so different
from where you grew up. And you know where you
live now, tell me something your roots home?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (30:24):
So how far away from your mom?
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Know?
Speaker 1 (30:26):
How you that you live?
Speaker 3 (30:27):
We're four hours you know. I live in Nashville. They
still live up in Illinois. All my family does. They still,
like I said, my brother still works on the farm
and my cousins still do. And it's really fun. Tomorrow
we're actually having our number one party in Nashville tomorrow
for She's somebody's daughter. It's our first ever number one party,
and so all of my family is coming down to
go to it, so my brother and you know, my
(30:49):
mom and having what's that, No, it's gonna be a
it's gonna be at a rooftop in downtown Nashville, which
would be super cool. And we actually today we craned
in ash like turf, so the whole rooftop it looks
like a big backyard, so we can kind of say
we went from backyards to having a number one song
(31:11):
in country music, which is pretty special.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
So they're only a four hour drive from you.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
Yeah, only four hours there in southern Illinois.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
How proud?
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Oh well, it was fun this last weekend. Every year
I do a festival in my hometown. I called the
tour the Baldridge and Bonfire Tour, And so I thought,
when I was riding around playing backyards, I thought, ma'am,
how cool would be if I did a big one
called up the Big Baldridge and Bonfire. And so this
is my third year. Last weekend we did it and
all my hometown people came and big festival, you know,
(31:44):
a thousand people come out. And then I actually do
one in my wife's hometown too that we just started.
And so that was the past two weekends. We were
up in Illinois visiting them, playing festival, and it was
it just that's a special event. We get to raise
money for charity, and I just always really we love
helping out our small town area.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Country Fest. Let's Stadium, Letts Stadium. Yeah, oh oh, you
haven't played chi Lette Stadium yet, country Fest?
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Have you?
Speaker 3 (32:11):
I haven't yet.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
No.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I have played a bar outside of Gillette Stadium. What's
that bar there? Called? There's a bar club, dance Club
outside of Gillette Stadium across the street. Maybe something strings.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
She's at every game.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
How you should know this, Sam, I don't hang out
around there.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well, it doesn't matter. We got to get when's country Fest?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
That's when it already happened. It's in the spring though,
right August August it's Kenny Chesney's Country Fest.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Well, we gotta we're gonna come back up the Sandy.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Oh, it doesn't matter. I have my pool on that one.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
I like it. We'll come home.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I have a pool on that one. So I saw
on your schedule of what you've got coming up, Boston's
not on there. Where's the closest run New Hampshire? Do
you do Maine? Do you do any of those areas?
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Or so this summer we're not allowed to announce yet.
We're gonna go out on tour with another artist this
summer and we're going to be close to y'all. So
you know everybody out there. If you just followed Drew
Baldridge Music, which is my Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, it's
all the same thing. We post all our tour dates
all the time. Where we're playing, when we're playing and
(33:18):
you can follow along and we'll be announcing more dates.
Right at the start of the year. We just announced
the Cody Johnson tour and we're gonna have more with
some other artists coming up really soon.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
So when do you go back on tour?
Speaker 3 (33:29):
So I'm on tour pretty much all of the time.
So so like this weekend, we're playing in Indiana next weekend,
we we are, like if you go to Drew Baldridge
music dot com, you can see all the tour dates.
But we're officially doing our own headlining tour this November.
We're going out for November in a couple of dates
in December. It's just called Drew Baldridge Live. It's celebrating
(33:52):
SE's Somebody's daughter going number one. We're gonna be in Pittsburgh.
We're gonna be in Detroit, Cincinnati, Anna, not Boston. I
really wish we were coming to Boston. But we're going
to be playing a town called Niceville. Is that right? Niceville, Florida,
something like that, I think coming up And no, remember.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
I don't know. I'm a city slicker. I go back
to the I go to Florida. I'm still around pavement.
Part of Florida. It's actually funny, And I'll tell you
a little story. Charlie Walks a really good friend of mine.
He was the VP of Sony Records. And when I
first found you, I shared you with Charlie because he's
got his own label. Right, I go, Charlie, just listen
to him. Just listen to him. A Cyndy country is
(34:32):
not okay, Charlie. Then, like really months later, when Charlie
is not at number three and then you went to
number one, I go, you just lost out, buddy, right,
Like I just I just love sticking it up. That's going. Okay,
you just lost out, buddy.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
It's now at a point that those labels aren't going
to come screaming out because they part of Florida. Where
the heck is that? I don't know?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Panhandle handhandle?
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Okay, probably down there like Brayton. We brother went to school, Yeah,
probably how we on the hills Brainton? But what was
I just went? What was his saying, Charlie walk Oh yeah?
So I was like, Charlie, well he hit number one.
Now he doesn't need you anymore? Right? So do you
think now because of this, artists will realize if just
keep pushing the rock up the mountain. You don't need
(35:21):
these labels to make you feel bad. Yeah, you know,
I think too, like because there was a time you
had depend on the labels.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Yeah, you know, I think for like award shows and
things like that, you do need help, you know, you
do need votes, you need all this stuff. And so
we're very open to a partnership. I always think I'm
going to own at least half of what I'm doing,
you know, because I've worked so hard for it and
pushed so hard for it. But if we could find
like a real partner, a major label that wants to
come alongside of my label and be a partner, Okay.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
I'll be calling Charlie back tonight.
Speaker 3 (35:55):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
You know, correctly to Charlie to go ahead.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
Over the next little bit. I really believe that we
will find a partner, somebody that want that believes in
our music as much as ours.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Who is it that you'd love, who would be your
first choice to partner up with.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
There's this record there's this record label in Nashville called BMG,
and they are just really really good. They have people
like Laney Wilson, Jelly Roll, Jason al Dean. They know
what they're doing. They've been doing it forever.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I'm gonna tell you something. I love Jaysontine. You know
why when he came up with that, because because Christy
Nooa's a friend of mine. Number one, okay, and number
two when she go out behind him on small Town.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Oh yeah, small Town USA.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Yeah, and she, you know, she stood right behind him
and said, look, he wasn't doing trying to put any
points across that he you know, wasn't what people want
to read into it, and so on. And I thought
it was a great song. And I know I'm a
Boston broad that likes country. Right, you can't make this up.
But actually there's a lot of There's a lot of
(36:57):
us here and that's why we have the bull here
because yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
And Boston is massive, massive country fans.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
I know Kenny Chesney loves coming up there. He's got
a song called Boston. And I actually came up to Boston.
I did this tour. Right before I played the Backyards,
I had this song called Senior Year and it was
talking about how the hook of the song said, never
thought it would disappear Senior Year, And I put this
song out in twenty nineteen, just mean, live it up, kids,
It's gonna go by fast. Well. On twenty twenty, all
(37:24):
these kids a senior year did disappear, and I remember
sending this song around to radio stations and just saying, hey,
I'm doing zoom concerts for the class of twenty twenty
since school shut down. One of the very first stations
I sent it to was up there in y'all's area,
and I ended up coming in and playing a graduation
a drive in graduation in Debtham. Debtham.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Yeah, it's down the street from us.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Yeah. So we've been up there a couple of times
and played for the seniors and did a big senior
send off for all the graduations. When twenty twenty hit,
it was on a big flatbed trailer, had all the
kids full up in their cars, and I was on
this big trailer by myself, just kind of giving a
commencement speech right there and little Dedham, Massachusetts.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
Dedham, Massachusetts, it's actually a big Deadhim's that's so small,
you know, all that thought we're going to break. I'm
Sindy stumping you. Listen Toughest Nails on WBZ News Radio
ten thirty and welcome back to Cindy Stumpo Toughest Nails
on WBZ and I'm here with Sammy, I'm here with
Drew Joe. The song just makes me cry every time
I hear it. I'm sorry, but it's just so beautiful,
(38:29):
so beautiful.
Speaker 3 (38:30):
Appreciate y'all having me on here, and I appreciate y'all
letting me let me talk about my music. And we're
so excited to be out on the road this fall,
and you can check out all our tour dates at
Drew Balder's music dot com. And at the start of
the year, we're gonna be going out on tour Cody Johnson,
our first ever arena tour, which is crazy to think.
We're gona be playing for like fourteen or fifteen thousand
people a night, and we're hoping to come up y'all's
(38:54):
area really really soon. We've got a brand new song
that's going to be coming out next month and it's
called Tough Pece and we're gonna be teasing it really
really soon on my socials, which is just Drew Baldridge Music, TikTok,
Facebook and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
And please tag me in all of it, Okay, because
I got a lot of follow us, Okay, so please, okay,
everybody have a great, safe weekend. This is Cindy Stump
and we'll see you next day. Night,
And welcome to Cydney Stumpo Tapes Nails on w b
Z News Radio ten thirty. And I'm in the studio
tonight with Sammy. But I got a really special guest,
So Country Music Start, Drew Baldwidge, Drew So Drew.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm actually very impressed that she got your name right.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Why is Drew stuck? Okay, yeah, I could call you Tim,
I could call you Bob, but no, I found Drew.
It's kind of funny, you know how social media works.
On my Instagram and I played that one song and
I started to cry. I had to be. I was
one of those emotional moms at the moment, and she's
somebody's daughter. Can she's got that lat? And I came
on like can she have me for three more? And
(00:37):
I was like, oh, I got to watch this whole thing.
And then it went out right. I didn't get the
whole song. I'm like pissed. I'm like, all right, let
me find it somewhere else. I could at the time.
And I reach out to you when you're climbing three
in the charts and you're hit number one, buddy crazy,
and I come from a generation where like you needed
Sony Records, and you needed RCA and back in, you know,
(00:58):
to get you to that level, and you did self meant.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Yes, and it has been an absolutely crazy ride for
me and for my family.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Back in twenty fifteen to twenty nineteen, I did have
a record deal. It was a small independent company, and
we put out some songs and none of them really
worked like we wanted them to. They all kind of
died in the forties. And you know, twenty twenty year
olls around Covid. I obviously hits and I lose that
record deal. The guy that owned it, he decided to
close down their label, and I was like, well, that's
(01:27):
that kind of sucks for me. And you know, I
never I never got another label. And it's kind of
like in Nashville, kind of get one shot. You know,
you get a record deal, you put out a couple songs,
if it doesn't work, they kind of move on to
the next, which I get, you know, I understand that.
And but I had this song that I saw that
I really believed in and it was working. It was
blowing up on TikTok and streaming and all that stuff,
(01:48):
and I was like, man, I want to just give
this a real chance. I'm going to hire my own staff,
create my own label, and send this song country radio
by myself. So that's exactly what we did.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And that's it. So what would you play like? An?
What was it called back in the day? And ar
guy uh ar guy. If I forget the name given
to me, I'm in a studio at media. I should
know this by now, but I think back in my
day was called a R an R thank you. We're
guys just ran around and said, hey, do play this song. Dude,
(02:20):
play this song, Dude, play this song. R.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Does that mean something else? Now?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
What that mean?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
YEA?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And our plans I don't know about that.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It was just like, you know, I knew I had
a song that was working. And the the biggest thing
is in radio and in the country space is that
you've got to have promo reps. So what that means
is just like, if you're going to start any business
and you want to take it all across the country,
you've got to have reps in every market. So let's
say if we were, you know, selling shoes, and we
were we were Nike, we would have a Northeast rep,
(02:50):
a Southeast rep, a Midwest REP and a West Coast REP.
And they would go out to all the stores and say, hey,
put my shoes in your store. So what I had
to do is I had to hire those people for
country radio. So how that works is every label in
Nashville all has a northeast to Southeast REP, a Midwest REP,
and a West Coast REP. And what that does is
they go around to radio stations and they say, hey,
(03:11):
play play my boy, play my song. And and so
what I did is I just had to create my
own staff and hire people that was really respected already
in the business, that have been doing it for a
long time. And and we went around to radio.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Hold on, did you forget Boston because I'm the one
running into the bull.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Boston was a big market and we,
you know, stopped in up there and they started playing
our song. And they've been so good to us. You know,
country radio in general, just radio has really latched onto
our story, especially us. You know, it's kind of like
you said earlier, Cindy, like most of the time you
hear this is a Sony artist or this is a
(03:47):
Warner Universal artist, and it's just it's our own record label.
And it's never been done before. For an artist to
independently self fund their first number one, that's never happened.
And now the world has really changed, the times have changed,
and I just think it really is a big win
for artists all across the format, all format of just like, hey,
(04:09):
now you can have a real chance in today's modern society.
If a song is working and people love it, you
can get it played on radio. And that's what we
just proved, which is exciting for me.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And what took you there? Was it social media? Completely?
Was it Instagram? What was it like? You came on
my Instagram like you just popped in boom? Yeah, I
liked it. I hit follow and that's it. I was
in love, right, that's just how I.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Yeah, well it it's crazy story. So I put this
song out all the way back in twenty nineteen, Cindy,
and it kind of just set out. Was on my
old record label. We put it out, then the record
label shut down and it just sit there. It did nothing.
So then in twenty twenty one, me and my wife
were getting married and it was always her favorite song.
(04:54):
So I thought, man, I'm going to go in the
studio and I'm going to make a wedding version, so
it's just me and a piano and a cello, and
just so she could dance to it with her dad.
So that's what I did. I went in the studio,
made a wedding version, and she danced to it with
her dad. It was so special. And the next week
I got on TikTok. We were on our honeymoon and
I just said, hey, if this gets five thousand likes,
(05:15):
i'll put it out on Friday. It was a Wednesday
night and I posted this TikTok. I fell asleep and
I woke up the next morning. I had almost ten
million views in four hours, and I was like, man,
every record label is going to be calling, and nobody.
I had some LA labels called, but nobody in Nashville.
And I couldn't get anybody's excited. But you know, twenty
(05:37):
twenty one, from twenty one to twenty three, it was
blowing up on TikTok. Everybody was using it in videos,
dad's daughters, and then that you know, transformed over to Instagram,
to Facebook, and you know, I looked up one day
and the song had almost a billion plays on TikTok
and I was like, oh my goodness, look at all
these people were reaching. How do we not have a
(05:59):
record deal? Why is Nashville not caring about this? I'm
watching all the streams happen in real time. I'm playing shows.
Everybody's singing every word back. And that's when I said,
you know what, screw it, I'm just going to do
it myself. I'm going to really try this. I know
it's going to be expensive, but I don't want to
look back in thirty years and say, why didn't I
freaking try with a song that was reaching so many
(06:19):
people and touching so many people's hearts. So that's what
we did. And it's crazy to think that we're a
year later and sending Now. We have a manager, we
have a booking agent, I have I'm getting ready to
go out on tour with Cody Johnson, who's like one
of the biggest artists in country music, and we have
other tours lined up for twenty twenty five. And it's
all because we didn't stop believing, you know. And I
(06:41):
think that's just so important for any business that you're in,
no matter if it's radio, if it's you know, a
job that you love so much and you believe in yourself,
keep going, keep believing, and doors will open. And that's
kind of the message that we've been sharing throughout this
whole process.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You've been doing this for how long? Now? You're how old?
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I'm thirty three, So I moved in the Yes.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Such a big thirty three. Okay, so you're so old?
So and you started how long ago?
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Yeah? I moved to Nashville at nineteen, so, uh we
originally June of next year will be fourteen years I've
lived in Nashville.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And you're originally from where I grew up.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
In southern Illinois, little town called Patoka, town of five
hundred people.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And you thought by playing in all the bars in
Nashville you get picked up. And then you did get
picked up by a record label, but it really didn't
do much and they probably shelfed you back in those days, right,
is that what they did?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, we got picked up. I was so young. You know.
Every when I first moved to town, everything happened fast.
I moved here at nineteen, I end up signing a
songwriting deal at twenty one, and then you know, at
twenty three, I'm signed to a record deal. You know,
just four years in Nashville. Four or five years in Nashville,
and I'm on tour with some of the biggest artists
in the format, playing every live Nation festival, all the festivals, everything,
(08:02):
and you know, then twenty twenty comes and all that
kind of goes away because of COVID, and I had
this kind of idea that just kept me going. I
was on my last straw and I was just like,
you know what, Nashville's kind of giving up. I'm just
gonna post on my social media Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and
just say hey, I'll play in anybody's backyard.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Did you have a job at the time, like doing
construction or anything like? You just pretty all you tough.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
It was just all music. You know, by this time
here it is twenty twenty, I've been in Nashville for
nine years. All I've made a living buy is just
playing wajel.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
We just hold that thought because we've got to go
to break and then we'd be right back. Okay, all right,
I like it, Okay, thank you. I'm Cindy Stump. When
you're listen to Tough as Nails on WBZ News Radio
ten thirty, and'll be right back and welcome back to
Toughest Nails on WBZ News Radio and I'm Cindy, I'm
Samantha and we're here with.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Drew Blberg. Hey, Hey, what's the.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Feeling when you hear that song for the hundred thousand times? Though?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Oh my goodness, it's uh never gets old, It never
gets old. It's such a blessing. I you know, a
lot of people get frustrated. I talk to artists, They're like, man,
I'm so wore out on the song that, you know,
my my first number one song, And I was just
so lucky that mine is says a lot about who
I am, it's about my wife, and it's just a
(09:26):
song that that I'll never get tired of. You know,
I'm very thankful for it. It's a song that, you know,
has now allowed me to go on tour and have
people sing along and things and do dreams that I
thought would never be possible. And so I'm very very
thankful for it.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And then I fell in love with the other song
Can I Have this Last Dance? Right?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
And that's.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Can she have? Okay? Can she have the Last Dance?
But the point was I was in like again one
of my like you know, che and I were fighting
my son at the time, Like, what a beautiful song, right,
Like they're just heartfelt, right, They're just the lyrics are
just there. The music's just great like it is. And
(10:12):
you deserve every bit of success that you're getting right now,
and you've worked hard for it.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
And this song, you know, it's so funny. Both of
these songs were the songs that I kind of wrote
for my wedding. You know, Can She Have This Dance
was something I just wrote for my mom so I
could dance with her on our wedding night. My wife
wanted me to write all the special dance songs, and
so I wrote this song.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
It's must have been one wedding that everybody was crying
a lot.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was special, and you know,
it's so funny. It was just me and a guitar
that I recorded it really really quick, that can She
Have This Dance? And I thought it was special. And
then me and my wife we now have a little
baby boy, and I listened to this song again, Can
She Have This Dance? Holding I was holding my son.
My wife was out running errands, and I came across
(10:59):
this song studio time. The next day, I didn't know
what I was going to record.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I mean that I don't know. That will be my
song when my son gets married, for sure. That's how
much I love that song. But let's go back a
little bit, bringing back to a little bit of your
childhood lake. What was that lake? Growing up?
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Did grew up to fifty people, Cindy, I don't.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Know what that's like. I think I graduated with a
class just about five hundred kids in the class.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Yes, I had. I graduated twenty two kids in my class.
And it was just I grew up on you know,
my grandpa had a farm, so we spent a lot
of time on tractors and four wheelers and you know,
growing up fishing, jumping the fence behind the house and
and going over the farm across the way. And it
was h man, it was a really good life. And
(11:49):
a lot of people ask why you why do you
sing country? And it's just like, man, it's all I know.
It's it's what I grew up doing. You know. We
grew up riding back roads and sitting on tailgates, people
drinking cold beer, sitting around fires, and that was our fun.
You know, our fun was was being out in the
woods being out in the sticks and caps.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
We did have bey causes you tipped you. I just
need to know.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
We had about a little over one hundred head of
beef cows and how the cow calf business Grandpa did
and my brother, you know, he still does that my cousins.
I was the only one that kind of got a
got out and was playing music. I was the black
sheep of the family.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
We'd be throwing haybales and I'd be singing baby lock
the door and turning the lights down the little and
they'd be like, shut up, and you just shut your mouth,
like getting on our nerves. And yeah, it was just
I just love music. It was so I grew up
singing in church and my dad sang, and so we
spent a lot of time riding around in the truck
with my dad singing.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
And really figure out what age that you really could
sing just like naturally.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Yeah. I think it was first grade Christmas program when
I performed for my first time in front of people,
and that was when I really got the bug. When
you know, we got done singing and everybody started clapping
and screaming, I was like, oh man, we must be
pretty good. At this It was just really then after that,
you know, we didn't have a music program. We were
so small. We didn't have football, we didn't have a
(13:16):
music program, nothing like that. Because we're K through twelve school,
all one school. So what the school I started in
kindergarten with, that's the same school I graduated with.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Which part did you miss? Sammy twenty two people we
went to school with or something like that has graduating class,
I think the whole thing. I think they went from
K to senior.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was twenty two in my class.
I think from kindergarten to senior was about a couple
hundred kids, a little under two hundred, one hundred and
sixty something like that.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Is your wife from there? Or did you meet your
wife where you are now?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
So I met my wife when I was out on
the road about eight years ago, seven or eight years
ago up. And she's from Illinois too, and I was
playing a show up there at a college town, Western
Illinois university town called McComb And I was passing through
playing a show when I met her out at a
bar afterwards and became friends. And she moved here a
handful of years later, and we just got together and
(14:08):
had dinner the first night we've been together ever since.
It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
It's actually funny because right now we've got you streaming
into chatter, which is it's an audio device. I don't
know if you've heard of clubhouse ever heard of Twitter X,
so chatter twitter x where you can actually go into
audio and talk to people blah blah blah. So you're
actually streaming in there and people saying, well, they've heard
your song and that's going to be that song to
(14:33):
dance with their Yeah, either or whatever, or so either way,
I guess it can work both ways. But it is.
It's just a beautiful song. But so you realized you
met your wife? Okay, did you know? Did you fall
in love with her right away? I?
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Did you know? It was uh, you know, it was
kind of a long process. We met and I had
a girlfriend at the time, and I was out on
the road, so you know, we just said that first night.
I think how it happened was we were at a
bar and there was some guy really hitting on her
and bothering her, and she just leaned down. She's like,
can you just talk to me until he goes away.
(15:09):
I was like, sure, yeah, I'll talk to you. And
so we talked and became friends that night, and I
came back the next year to that same that same venue.
We were playing and I was single, and so I
hit her up. I think it was probably on Facebook.
I slid into her DMS and I was like, hey,
I'm playing a show tonight, like you should come out,
blah blah blah. And she hit me right back and
(15:30):
is like, I can't. I got to work tomorrow. And
she never came that Yeah, so she blew me off,
and I was like, dang, it only always worked and
girls always came out, and so she was just this
one didn't, this one didn't. There was something special about her,
and so we just became friends and talked a lot,
and you know, she said she always wanted to live
in Nashville. She moved down here a couple of years later,
(15:51):
and yeah, we got dinner one night. And when she
moved down here, we've been together ever since. It's pretty crazy.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And then how long before you married her?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
It took me five years? I think five years. I
think I proposed at four years and then we ended
up getting married and we right at our five year mark.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And then let me just get married, have the baby,
and have the hit music at the same time.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Hey, that's what I'm talking about. And she's been such
a big supporter of this, you know, Cindy. It was
not having a record label. It was just kind of
me and her, you know. And this was the song
started streaming. She somebody's daughter started streaming like crazy, and
that was the first time we were really making money,
you know, we started seeing money come in from this.
And then I look at her and say, hey, it's
been I'm that money.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I'm still on the iTunes and I still pay and
that one of those songs is at the highest number still. Okay.
So that's how you know when the song's a hit,
because you ain't paying nine nine cents anymore. Okay, you're
in the dollar what was it, doll ninety nine? Right,
So my kids go all the time, Mom, why are
you still buying music on iTunes? So leave me alone.
I don't care, Like just one one yearly fee. Yeah,
(16:58):
it's just easy, dull night night, click right and it
comes on. So do they take care of you guys
on those iTunes? And they really pay what they're supposed
to pay. Because a friend of mine. I don't know
if you know the name Wendy Starlin. I don't so Wendy.
And actually I should hook you up with Wendy. She's
got a new app coming out and she was the
(17:19):
U she found Lady Gaga. Okay, so all these musicians
are not getting their fair share of the money and
that's the problem, and that's what she's doing right now.
But she's she's a big player in that space. Lady
Gaga obviously was a big, you know, home run for her.
But that's an introduction I'll make for you as time
(17:40):
goes on. Here hold that thought. Oh no, I don't
have to all that thought. I know, don't you stick that?
They stick that thing in my face like my clock
is running out? All right, go ahead, I'll make I'll
make ross happy. We'll go to break and be right back.
I'm Citty stumping you. Listen, Tough as Nails and we'll
be right back w BS and welcome back to Toughest
Nails on w B. And I'm Cindy Stumpo and I'm here.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
With Mantha and Drew Baldridge.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Buddy. Both those songs just kill it. I mean they
just kill it. It is what it is. I can't
take it away. I listened them, I swear to have
got it. Every they're in my car, there are they're
home on sons. I'm blasting that all over the place.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Looking back, you happy how it happened versus how you
thought it was going to go.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Oh yeah, record label taking half his money? You got more?
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Well, I think too, like or no. Sometimes sometimes in
life we feel like, you know, in moments when things
are going bad, You're like, this is the worst thing
that can possibly happen to me. And I remember losing
the record deal, losing the manager, losing all of it,
and thinking like, wow, this is as low as it gets,
you know, and then just learning from all those all
(18:50):
those loads, and you know, without without all those learning
curves and curveballs thrown my way, I wouldn't be here.
I wouldn't have a number one by myself. I wouldn't
have been the first artist to ever do this. And
sometimes I feel like God, you know, prepares you for
those moments and you don't even recognize it. And for me,
you know, without all those trials, without all those errors,
(19:10):
I'm not where I'm at right now.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
So my daughter's got something to say to you, since
she's missed astrology, right, she's going to tell you why
it didn't work out.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Because why, Sam, so, I was doing the math backwards
for your age now and when this happened in twenty
nineteen brings you back roughly five years through around twenty
eight twenty nine.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So there's this thing called you're sat in return where
satin is roughly between twenty eight and thirty years where
it was when you were born. And life like throws
things at you, whether you pick the right path of
the wrong path. Now, you kept getting hit with things
over and over again that you had never experienced before,
and it could have brought you down a really bad path,
and it didn't. It brought you to a better situation
(19:51):
than you could have thought of. But it doesn't always
work that way for everybody.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Because you made the right choices, follow.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Me, man, I mean, that's that's pretty powerful. I think.
I don't know if they were the right choices or
they were just the ballsy ones you know at the time.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Is a good thing, buddy. I live with them all
day long. Okay, I got about four of them. Okay,
most men have two. I got four.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
I love it and It was just like, Hey, this
is my dream, this is what I want to do.
I'm gonna chase it, and I'm gonna do it till
the wheels fall off. You know, this is all I
want to do in my life. And you know, if
that means I fall flat on my face, try and
I'm going to go down swinging. And I just really believed,
like I said, believed in this song, believed in the
message of it. And that's what was so cool. Was
like the song that ends up being our biggest song
(20:37):
that gets over a billion plays billions, you know, views
or whatever, talking about treating women right and knowing their worth,
and I just think that's such a powerful.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Yeah, excuse me, gentlemen. Did you hear that? But you
just said something that's very resonating that it's teaching men
how to treat women. Yeah, now, I don't know. I mean,
it might be a closet case. Peter, I don't know,
but you don't come up off that way, So I'm
not going to take you as that person, So you
should be. That face is kind he's he's seeming like
(21:07):
Sharaija goat kind dice. Okay, now we're going by kind ice.
What's what you say?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
What? What?
Speaker 3 (21:12):
What?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
What's the sign? I don't know what's your sign?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
My sign is a leo.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
I was right by leos and tourists lately.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Little fire sign out there.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
And what's your wife?
Speaker 3 (21:23):
She's she's a leo too. So we got a lot
of fire going.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
On Fifth Family too.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
I'm a cancer, I'm the double side.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Oh double Sage's fire, I'm aries fire.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
So that morning when you woke up and you saw
all those views, were you jumping around the house or
wherever you were?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Oh my gosh. Yeah. So we were on our honeymoon.
We were in our little condo and me and my
wife were jumping around crying all sorts of things, like
every record label is going to call us. We got
to hit blah blah blah, and that just didn't happen.
You know, I went, I remember, I'll never forget. We
were on our honeymoon. I made the post already about
playing people's backyards. I booked a bunch of people's backyards.
And when we land from our honeymoon, my tour manager
(22:04):
comes in in the van, picks me up from the airport,
and we go out and we play twenty shows in
nineteen days in people's backyards, back to back to back
to back, just going around the country, and that turns
into playing over three hundred shows in a couple of
years in people's backyards, and I just that's what I
thought my life was going to be for a long time,
(22:26):
is just being the guy that's sang in people's backyards.
But I'll tell you this, Cindy, when I was in
when I was in folks back backyards, it really just
changed everything for me because I was so caught in
this Nashville system and I think artists we moved to Nashville, La,
New York or whatever, and you get so caught up
and thinking, I got to make music for all these
label heads. I gotta make music that sounds like the
radio or it sounds like this, And at the end
(22:48):
of the day, you just got to make music for people.
And I didn't realize that until I was in their
backyards and they were telling me, Man, this song means
so much to me because of this, or this song
means so much to me because of that. And now
I wrote it turned it into me writing my brand
new single. It's called Tough People, and it's a really,
really special song just about how tough times can sure
(23:09):
make some tough people. When you're at your lowest loves,
you really figure out who you are.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I don't know. Look at I'm watching you, like I said,
and I've been following you on Instagram, and you're more
impressive being right in my face right now, and I
didn't think that was going to be possible. You hit
the but something about morals and values, like big Time
Samuel will tell you, like, I either love you or
I don't even like you. How's that right? You're either
(23:37):
evil or you're a good human being, right, And I
just like the human beings, and that's what you are.
And you deserve so much good success. And I can
see the way that you treat your wife, and I
think any mother should be so proud to have you
as a son in law because and I'm sure your
wife's a wonderful woman too. It takes two people too.
(23:59):
I'm going to meet a try, I'm gonna meet both
you trust me, okay, And but at the end, it's
just there's just there's just this gleam. And Sim'll tell
you like I'll stroll through things on Instagram and you
see my follows and you see. Are you following Sidney Stomp?
I'm not sure, but my content has got a lot
(24:21):
of back and forth, back and forth, and I'm way
over my algorithm of what I should have. But there's
tons of everybody's got something to say. Right, you're gonna
love that about people. Right, you're gonna get your hits,
You're gonna get your knocks. She's gonna get your likes.
And me on the other side. Every time I get
a guy and that comes and knocks me after thirty
eight years an ultra ultra high end construction, Right, and dude,
you got a bathroom from home? Deepo? Like you seriously
(24:42):
gonna come at me? I will just emasculate them.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
So one guy writes back, He's like, do you really
answer these? I thought you didn't read these, Like, oh nobody,
this is a sport for me. You just you just
hit up a Boston broad Like, buddy, what do you
think was gonna happen here?
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Like?
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Did you think I was gonna come in like and
be kind? It's actually fund But what's been most of
your feedback on your social media besides the hate.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Is it's all been very positive? You know, I think
social media can be what you make it, you know.
Obviously for me, that's what changed my life with social
media was daughter blowing She's somebody's daughter blowing up? Can
she have this dance? Just like you said, Cindy, you
found us and discovered us because of social media, and
you know, it's all. What I love about social media
(25:26):
is what you put out there is who follows you.
And that's something that I've really noticed by playing people's backyards,
Everybody's like, man, did you run into some weird people
out there playing people's backyards and you just showed up
and you didn't know them? And I was like, man,
to be honest, there are mostly people that I would
hang out with. There are people that have the same
morals that I do, the same you know, kind of
(25:47):
vibe on life. And it's all because what you put
out into the world is what is it the people
that follow you? And I never really put that all together,
but it's all been really great. You know. Obviously you
always have some people on there that are at her haters,
and you know, I might post a picture of my
wife and and me, and there's been times where you know,
she's in her bikini or whatever, and we're out on
(26:08):
the boat and people come at her and say hateful
things to her, and that really bothers me more than anything,
I think is when people come at my family. You know.
I remember we posted a picture this past Christmas of me, her,
Santa Claus, and our son and my wife had a
little red dress on. It was the first time she
felt pretty since we've had our son, and she was
(26:28):
going out dressed up and people started attacking to her,
calling all sorts of things because she had a you know,
a pretty looking dress on. And so it can definitely
be you know, social media can be tough and rude
and hateful, but for the most part, a lot of
people on our socials are really kind. And if I
if I don't think so, I just block them. I
just delete them and block them.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
That's something that's the same. It does what I do.
I wait for you to come back again, and I
go after your throw it again. Okay, well yell at
them for you and then and then they eventually like
they just they just like go away like little bugs,
right because they're not ready for that.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Right. So that's.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Total Boston. But you know, look at I realized that
I wasn't made for HGTV. I wasn't made for TV
because I could take the hits when they were coming
after my kids. Yeah, watch out it. It was just
I decided, like, you know, what can your son do
more than golf? He's a he's an amateur pro golfer. Like,
what else should you do? Well, maybe you should be
(27:28):
sitting on a street corner shooting drugs and his arm.
I don't know. So you weren't supposed to go on
the HGTV website. I did it, and then I got
yelled at. I'm like fighting me, HGTV. They're like, we
can't fight you, Cindy. I'm like, well then then leave
me alone.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
So yeah, I mean some things are hurtful and we
have to learn to accept the good with the bad.
Hold that thought were going to break. I'm siddy, stumbling
you listen at Toughest Nails on WBZ and we'll be
right back and welcome back to Toughest Nails on WBZ.
And I'm Cindy and I'm here.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
With Samantha and.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Now we see each other, buddy, this is better. Yeah,
we look like here, that's good. We've been watching you. So,
I mean, I got so many questions. See im go ahead.
She went on, oh you so as your career was going,
and where you stand right now?
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Right?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
So it was at one point with somebody saying, hey, buddy,
you need to get a real job, like you better
go cut some lumber, you better stop building houses, hang up,
learn how to be a mechanic. Like anybody torture that way,
or they were just had your back.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
It was I think whenever I first moved here, you know,
my my mama was worried about that. You know, I
think there were some people in my life that were
worried about that. But I was always just so lucky.
I found a way to make a living playing bars.
And when I first moved You'll never forget. I made
a I had this envelope and I set in my
computer and I had my guitar and I sang like
(28:46):
forty songs into my old MacBook, and I had had
the CDs, and I made cards that said my name
and my phone number on them. And I walked down
all a Broadway in Nashville and I took these envelopes
into every bar and I was like, hey, my name
is Drew Baldridge. Is your music director here? And they'd
be like, nah, just put it on the desk. I'd
(29:07):
be like, oh cool. So I'd set it on the
desk and I'd leave. And then I walked into Tutsies
one night one day and I was like, hey, is
your music director he They're like, yeah, he's actually upstairs,
and it was like something out of a movie.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
I actually called yeah, yeah, yeah I was.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
And this guy's counting hundreds on his desk and I
walked in. I was like, hey, I'm I'm Drew, you know,
and he's like, you want to play our bar? I
was like yeah. He's like, you know about forty songs,
old country and new country, and I was like, yeah,
I sure do. He's like, I tell you what I
like the way you look. You go up tomorrow. And
I was like oh okay. So I went, you know,
(29:42):
started playing at Tutsies, and that allowed me to make
a living and all at this time. You know, where
I'm from is only four hours from Nashville. So I
would go up every Friday and Saturday and play bars
in my hometown area where I came from, and then
I would play Tuesday's Thursdays in downtown Nashville.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
And that's the name Toutsy is like I think a
roadhouse when I hear Tutsi's right, you think.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Of a.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Listen. Boston is so different, right, Like, it's so different
from where you grew up. And you know where you
live now, tell me something your roots home?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (30:24):
So how far away from your mom?
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Know?
Speaker 1 (30:26):
How you that you live?
Speaker 3 (30:27):
We're four hours you know. I live in Nashville. They
still live up in Illinois. All my family does. They still,
like I said, my brother still works on the farm
and my cousins still do. And it's really fun. Tomorrow
we're actually having our number one party in Nashville tomorrow
for She's somebody's daughter. It's our first ever number one party,
and so all of my family is coming down to
go to it, so my brother and you know, my
(30:49):
mom and having what's that, No, it's gonna be a
it's gonna be at a rooftop in downtown Nashville, which
would be super cool. And we actually today we craned
in ash like turf, so the whole rooftop it looks
like a big backyard, so we can kind of say
we went from backyards to having a number one song
(31:11):
in country music, which is pretty special.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
So they're only a four hour drive from you.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
Yeah, only four hours there in southern Illinois.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
How proud?
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Oh well, it was fun this last weekend. Every year
I do a festival in my hometown. I called the
tour the Baldridge and Bonfire Tour, And so I thought,
when I was riding around playing backyards, I thought, ma'am,
how cool would be if I did a big one
called up the Big Baldridge and Bonfire. And so this
is my third year. Last weekend we did it and
all my hometown people came and big festival, you know,
(31:44):
a thousand people come out. And then I actually do
one in my wife's hometown too that we just started.
And so that was the past two weekends. We were
up in Illinois visiting them, playing festival, and it was
it just that's a special event. We get to raise
money for charity, and I just always really we love
helping out our small town area.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Country Fest. Let's Stadium, Letts Stadium. Yeah, oh oh, you
haven't played chi Lette Stadium yet, country Fest?
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Have you?
Speaker 3 (32:11):
I haven't yet.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
No.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I have played a bar outside of Gillette Stadium. What's
that bar there? Called? There's a bar club, dance Club
outside of Gillette Stadium across the street. Maybe something strings.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
She's at every game.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
How you should know this, Sam, I don't hang out
around there.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well, it doesn't matter. We got to get when's country Fest?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
That's when it already happened. It's in the spring though,
right August August it's Kenny Chesney's Country Fest.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Well, we gotta we're gonna come back up the Sandy.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Oh, it doesn't matter. I have my pool on that one.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
I like it. We'll come home.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I have a pool on that one. So I saw
on your schedule of what you've got coming up, Boston's
not on there. Where's the closest run New Hampshire? Do
you do Maine? Do you do any of those areas?
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Or so this summer we're not allowed to announce yet.
We're gonna go out on tour with another artist this
summer and we're going to be close to y'all. So
you know everybody out there. If you just followed Drew
Baldridge Music, which is my Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, it's
all the same thing. We post all our tour dates
all the time. Where we're playing, when we're playing and
(33:18):
you can follow along and we'll be announcing more dates.
Right at the start of the year. We just announced
the Cody Johnson tour and we're gonna have more with
some other artists coming up really soon.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
So when do you go back on tour?
Speaker 3 (33:29):
So I'm on tour pretty much all of the time.
So so like this weekend, we're playing in Indiana next weekend,
we we are, like if you go to Drew Baldridge
music dot com, you can see all the tour dates.
But we're officially doing our own headlining tour this November.
We're going out for November in a couple of dates
in December. It's just called Drew Baldridge Live. It's celebrating
(33:52):
SE's Somebody's daughter going number one. We're gonna be in Pittsburgh.
We're gonna be in Detroit, Cincinnati, Anna, not Boston. I
really wish we were coming to Boston. But we're going
to be playing a town called Niceville. Is that right? Niceville, Florida,
something like that, I think coming up And no, remember.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
I don't know. I'm a city slicker. I go back
to the I go to Florida. I'm still around pavement.
Part of Florida. It's actually funny, And I'll tell you
a little story. Charlie Walks a really good friend of mine.
He was the VP of Sony Records. And when I
first found you, I shared you with Charlie because he's
got his own label. Right, I go, Charlie, just listen
to him. Just listen to him. A Cyndy country is
(34:32):
not okay, Charlie. Then, like really months later, when Charlie
is not at number three and then you went to
number one, I go, you just lost out, buddy, right,
Like I just I just love sticking it up. That's going. Okay,
you just lost out, buddy.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
It's now at a point that those labels aren't going
to come screaming out because they part of Florida. Where
the heck is that? I don't know?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Panhandle handhandle?
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Okay, probably down there like Brayton. We brother went to school, Yeah,
probably how we on the hills Brainton? But what was
I just went? What was his saying, Charlie walk Oh yeah?
So I was like, Charlie, well he hit number one.
Now he doesn't need you anymore? Right? So do you
think now because of this, artists will realize if just
keep pushing the rock up the mountain. You don't need
(35:21):
these labels to make you feel bad. Yeah, you know,
I think too, like because there was a time you
had depend on the labels.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Yeah, you know, I think for like award shows and
things like that, you do need help, you know, you
do need votes, you need all this stuff. And so
we're very open to a partnership. I always think I'm
going to own at least half of what I'm doing,
you know, because I've worked so hard for it and
pushed so hard for it. But if we could find
like a real partner, a major label that wants to
come alongside of my label and be a partner, Okay.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
I'll be calling Charlie back tonight.
Speaker 3 (35:55):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
You know, correctly to Charlie to go ahead.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
Over the next little bit. I really believe that we
will find a partner, somebody that want that believes in
our music as much as ours.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Who is it that you'd love, who would be your
first choice to partner up with.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
There's this record there's this record label in Nashville called BMG,
and they are just really really good. They have people
like Laney Wilson, Jelly Roll, Jason al Dean. They know
what they're doing. They've been doing it forever.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I'm gonna tell you something. I love Jaysontine. You know
why when he came up with that, because because Christy
Nooa's a friend of mine. Number one, okay, and number
two when she go out behind him on small Town.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Oh yeah, small Town USA.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Yeah, and she, you know, she stood right behind him
and said, look, he wasn't doing trying to put any
points across that he you know, wasn't what people want
to read into it, and so on. And I thought
it was a great song. And I know I'm a
Boston broad that likes country. Right, you can't make this up.
But actually there's a lot of There's a lot of
(36:57):
us here and that's why we have the bull here
because yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
And Boston is massive, massive country fans.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
I know Kenny Chesney loves coming up there. He's got
a song called Boston. And I actually came up to Boston.
I did this tour. Right before I played the Backyards,
I had this song called Senior Year and it was
talking about how the hook of the song said, never
thought it would disappear Senior Year, And I put this
song out in twenty nineteen, just mean, live it up, kids,
It's gonna go by fast. Well. On twenty twenty, all
(37:24):
these kids a senior year did disappear, and I remember
sending this song around to radio stations and just saying, hey,
I'm doing zoom concerts for the class of twenty twenty
since school shut down. One of the very first stations
I sent it to was up there in y'all's area,
and I ended up coming in and playing a graduation
a drive in graduation in Debtham. Debtham.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Yeah, it's down the street from us.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Yeah. So we've been up there a couple of times
and played for the seniors and did a big senior
send off for all the graduations. When twenty twenty hit,
it was on a big flatbed trailer, had all the
kids full up in their cars, and I was on
this big trailer by myself, just kind of giving a
commencement speech right there and little Dedham, Massachusetts.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
Dedham, Massachusetts, it's actually a big Deadhim's that's so small,
you know, all that thought we're going to break. I'm
Sindy stumping you. Listen Toughest Nails on WBZ News Radio
ten thirty and welcome back to Cindy Stumpo Toughest Nails
on WBZ and I'm here with Sammy, I'm here with
Drew Joe. The song just makes me cry every time
I hear it. I'm sorry, but it's just so beautiful,
(38:29):
so beautiful.
Speaker 3 (38:30):
Appreciate y'all having me on here, and I appreciate y'all
letting me let me talk about my music. And we're
so excited to be out on the road this fall,
and you can check out all our tour dates at
Drew Balder's music dot com. And at the start of
the year, we're gonna be going out on tour Cody Johnson,
our first ever arena tour, which is crazy to think.
We're gona be playing for like fourteen or fifteen thousand
people a night, and we're hoping to come up y'all's
(38:54):
area really really soon. We've got a brand new song
that's going to be coming out next month and it's
called Tough Pece and we're gonna be teasing it really
really soon on my socials, which is just Drew Baldridge Music, TikTok,
Facebook and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
And please tag me in all of it, Okay, because
I got a lot of follow us, Okay, so please, okay,
everybody have a great, safe weekend. This is Cindy Stump
and we'll see you next day. Night,
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