On The Row: Dylan Marlowe Displays Songwriting Skills With Debut Album

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Dylan Marlowe. Photo: Jacob Powers

The name Dylan Marlowe seems to be frequently found on the playlists of country music lovers these days with popular tunes like “Record High” and “Boys Back Home (feat. Dylan Scott),” leading him to amass over 312 million global career streams as an artist in addition to scoring a No. 1 as a songwriter with Jon Pardi‘s “Last Night Lonely.”

Built on classic country and tinged with rock, his musical stylings have been heard on tour with Dan + Shay, Cole Swindell, Hardy and Brantley Gilbert, among others, as well as on collaborations with Avery Anna, Kasey Tyndall, Yung Gravy and most recently Riley Green. Their tune “Stick to My Guns” appears on Marlowe’s recently-released debut album, Mid-Twenties Crisis, alongside “Boys Back Home” and 13 other tunes co-penned by the Sony Music Nashville songsmith.

Pictured (L–R): MusicRow’s Liza Anderson and LB Cantrell, Dylan Marlowe, MusicRow’s Sherod Robertson, Madison Hahnen and John Nix Arledge

He stopped by the MusicRow office last week to play a few tunes from the project and detail his writing process and journey thus far.

The Statesboro, Georgia native’s sound is influenced by pop-punk bands in addition to American rock groups, including Blink-182 and Weezer, and country stars like Eric Church.

“My dad was a drummer in a rock band and my mom was always listening to country music when I was growing up, so I think that’s where some of my [multi-genre] combination comes from,” shared Marlowe. “A lot of my melodies are inspired by pop-punk music. As [my band and I] played more live shows, I realized that I wanted to dig deeper into that kind of sound but also wanted to stay true to myself, which to led my music to evolve into what it is now.”

He began playing guitar and honing his craft when he was a senior in high school. After spending a year in college and some time working for his father, Marlowe made the move to Music City and connected with Dallas Davidson through fellow Georgia native Trea Landon, leading him to sign a publishing and artist development deal with Play It Again Music in 2020. He then co-wrote “Last Night Lonely” with Jimi Bell and Joe Fox, and later inked his record deal.

Marlowe dropped his debut EP, Dirt Road When I Die, in 2023 and embarked on his headlining run of the same name earlier this year after supporting Hardy’s “The Mockingbird & The Crow Tour.” He plans to hit the road again in 2025 to bring his new music to fans across the nation.

Dylan Marlowe & MusicRow’s Sherod Robertson

Marlowe treated the MusicRow team to several Mid-Twenties Crisis numbers that could potentially make the setlist, starting with the clever “Heart Brakes,” which he co-penned with Jordan Minton and Lindsay Rimes. He then moved into one of his favorites from the collection, “Hang It Up,” written with Tyler Chambers.

“The record is so dynamic to me,” Marlowe noted. “It’s got some slower country songs and some punkier country songs.”

He continued with “Shop Radio,” a tune he penned alongside Chambers and Johnny McGuire that was inspired by a radio in his dad’s utility shop that has remained on the same country-rock station. “It’s probably still on to this day,” he joked.

Marlowe then concluded with the adorable “Deer on the Wall,” which he wrote with Zach Abend and Seth Ennis about he and his wife’s differing home decor taste—further putting his creative and clever writing on full display.

Marlowe will kick off the “Mid-Twenties Crisis Tour” at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City on Jan. 23.

Liza Anderson
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