Neil Medley Shares His Stories On Debut Project, ‘South End Kid’

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Singer-songwriter Neil Medley has released his debut album, South End Kid.

The album features 12 tracks, 11 co-written by Medley and songwriters including the late Keith Gattis as well as Tony Lane, Randy Montana, Josh Thompson, Jessie Jo Dillon and others. Medley also included an organic take on the Bruce Springsteen classic, “Dancing In The Dark” on the project, which is his first as an artist after spending the last decade penning songs for acts such as Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Cody Johnson, Josh Abbott Band, Cody Johnson and Brent Cobb.

Medley grew up in Louisville and gravitated towards storytellers like John Prine, Guy Clark and Bob McDill. He began writing songs as a teenager, and after graduating from the University of Kentucky, packed his bags and moved to Nashville to pursue a career a as songwriter. In 2021, Medley landed his first career No.1 with Jake Owen’s “Made For You,” which he co-wrote with Benjy Davis and Joey Hyde.

“For the past 12 years, I have made a living writing songs for other artists,” he shares. “I’ve sat in writing rooms tailoring stories and melodies to fit someone else’s voice and brand, while always keeping one eye on current trends and the other on the past. South End Kid is a project void of all such compromises. It’s a wide-open highway of personal stories, told in my voice exactly how I wanted to tell them. South End Kid is an album that I would want to go out and buy.” 

South End Kid Track Listing:
1. “Two Bar Town” – (Neil Medley, Randy Montana, Dave Kennedy)
2. “Us That I Miss” (feat. Ryan Beaver) – (Neil Medley, Aaron Eshuis, Ryan Beaver, Brinley Addington)
3. “South End Kid” – (Neil Medley, Caroline Watkins)
4. “Hello, Goodbye” – (Neil Medley, Tony Lane, John Pierce)
5. “Just A Simple Man” – (Neil Medley, Steve Moakler, Andrew DeRoberts)
6. “Maliblue” – (Neil Medley, Jessie Jo Dillon, Aaron Eshuis)
7. “Hangovers & Broken Hearts” – (Neil Medley, Randy Montana, Josh Thompson)
8. “It’s Been Real” (feat. Jessie Jo Dillon) – (Neil Medley, Jessie Jo Dillon, Aaron Eshuis)
9. “Dancing In The Dark” – (Bruce Springsteen)
10. “Tucson” – (Neil Medley, Joey Hyde)
11. “Closer All The Time (feat. Keith Gattis)” – (Neil Medley, Keith Gattis) 
12. “Like Him These Days” – (Neil Medley, Neal Carpenter)

Lorie Hollabaugh
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