On The Row: Redferrin Pours Heart & Hard Work Into Debut EP

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Redferrin. Photo: Sean Hagwell

Prior to the release of his debut EP, Old No. 7, on Friday (Feb. 16), rising Warner Music Nashville artist Redferrin swung by the MusicRow office to tell his story and play some tunes from the project.

The White House, Tennessee native grew up racing dirt bikes while honing his songwriting skills. He met fellow country artist Tyler Hubbard through racing and the two began to collaborate, before Redferrin switched gears to pursue music full time. His songwriting credits include Florida Georgia Line‘s “Countryside,” Nelly‘s “Lil Bit (feat. Florida Georgia Line)” and Dean Brody and The Reklaws‘ “Can’t Help Myself.”

Pictured (L-R): MusicRow‘s Liza Anderson, Madison Hahnen and LB Cantrell; Redferrin; MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson and John Nix Arledge

After spending the early days of his career writing for others, Redferrin is now writing for himself and coming into his own as an artist. Inspired by an array of influences ranging from Alan Jackson to Ozzy Osbourne, he infuses elements of various genres into his work to create his individual sound, sharing his story through song. The singer-songwriter produced and co-wrote all seven tracks on the EP.

“I try to be as hands-on as I can so that everything gets where I want it to be. There’s a lot of people helping me, but I know I have to steer the ship,” noted Redferrin. “I’ve just been doing my thing and, thankfully, everyone has been so supportive and encouraging.”

He shared his viral smash “Jack and Diet Coke,” which epitomizes his musical style. With more than 30 million global streams to date, the track caught the attention of the famous Jack Daniel’s brand and the company invited him out to tour the distillery. “I fell in love with Jack even more when I got to see the people making it and how down-home it is,” he recalls. “I got to learn about whiskey rather than just drink it.”

As the song’s reach increased, Jack Daniel’s invited him back to write for a week. He stayed in an airstream and fully immersed himself into cultivating the collection, each song leading to the concept of the next.

The artist also shared the track “Lose Her For Nothin'” with the MusicRow team. Redferrin tapped into his White House roots for the song, which he wrote with Cooper Bascom and Rose Falcon. Lastly, he played “Just Like Johnny,” a gritty tune written alongside Micah Wilshire in which he describes the similarities between himself and Johnny Cash while telling the not-as-known side of Johnny and June Carter Cash‘s love story.

To celebrate the release of Old No. 7, Redferrin sold out his first Music City headlining show at Exit/In on Thursday (Feb. 15). He is currently touring with Niko Moon and will join Billy Currington on the road this spring, in addition to several festival appearances.

Redferrin is published independently and managed by The William Gerard Group.

Liza Anderson
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