Redferrin shot to fame in 2023 with his song, ‘Jack and Diet Coke’ and now, with his new album, Old No 7, tracks like ‘Just Like Johnny’ are firmly establishing him in the genre.
Having previously written for Florida Georgia Line, Redferrin is taking the same style and twisting it into a heavier, guitar and drum heavy beat.
Ahead of his performance at the Friday night after party at The Long Road Festival in Leicestershire, UK, Redferrin sat on some hay bales with me to chat about his UK fans, cowboy beans and the heartwarming story behind ‘She’s Like Whiskey’.
Do people recognise you when you’re walking around?
We ain’t really walked around here yet today so we’ll see. When we played in London last time, we were at the O2 for like a week it felt like – so probably another week and people would start to be familiar (he laughs). That was sweet though.
How are you finding the UK fans?
I love them. I mean, so far, they’re really loyal and really active on my social media and it seems like folks are excited that we came back, and I can’t believe we came back so quick. I was telling my buddies earlier, when we came to London last time, that was one of the first times I ever heard people sing my music back. I had just put the EP out a month before and it was just crazy because even back home in The States, people weren’t really singing it back to me yet.
The UK is loving country at the minute.
That’s pretty cool.
Yeah, so cool and your music is that southern country vibe – it has the pop side to it – but it has that proper country element that we’re picking up at the minute, so I bet people were loving it.
I grew up loving Ozzy and Black Sabbath and Zeppelin and stuff too you know so it’s got some of those big guitars I think folks like over this way. Yeah, it’s a little blend of everything.
So you’re doing the after party show tonight?
Yes ma’am.
What’s that going to be? Will it be full band or just you?
So my set up everywhere I go is me and a drummer, and we run all of our tracks. So everything I play live at home that we record for the record we just play them live through the computer.
Do you have any songs that you have to play, non-negotiable, have to be in the set?
Yeah I’ve got one called ‘As Long As There’s A Bar’ that I wrote last time I was in London and that’s one of our favourite songs to play anywhere but I definitely had to play it on this side of the pond.
So I heard Baylen ask this question on his radio show – beans for breakfast, have you had them? Apparently you guys don’t do that over in The States?
(he laughs) We don’t do beans for breakfast over there but I did have them. They had them at the hotel we stayed at last time. I gave it a shot.
Not a fan?
Well, being honest, back home, my mama always made them with a lot of cinnamon and bacon in them, so I think I was just…not ready for how they tasted because I was used to mama’s beans. But I mean, it was great, you gotta try it. That’s one thing, everywhere we go, we try to lean in. I want to at least know what it’s like even if I don’t like it.
So you used to write for Florida Georgia Line?
Yes ma’am.
Have you got any songs that you took to the writing room that then sounded completely different when they were finished?
No, honestly, so far – and this is kind of what encouraged me to be an artist early on – a lot of the demos that we sent to artists that they cut, they used our stems or they reproduced it just like ours. I actually have a lot of background vocal credits in there I’m sure nobody knows about, where I sang the harmonies on my record and then they liked the feel of them so they left them on the real record. That was always really special to me that people appreciated what we did enough to leave it alone. Sometimes it’s sad to hear a song change, sometimes they get better, too. You can’t be married to anything. It’s sweet so far that everything has been consistent.
Were there any songs that were really tough to let go of?
Yeah ‘Countryside’ with Florida Georgia Line. That was supposed to be my very first song.
I just had that on today actually!
No way! That’s crazy. That was supposed to be my very first song that I put out as an artist and they were recording their album in The Bahamas and they called me one day and said, “hey we really like this song, we promise we’ll make it worth your while if you let us cut it”.
And you’re like, listen, get me some beans with cinnamon and bacon and I’ll think about it…
(he laughs) yeah get me some country beans and we can talk about it.
They did their thing with it but I sing it live every night. I really want to record a version of it because they’re not singing it anymore, you know, so I think it’s kind of just a great song that’s just sitting there.
It can come home.
Yeah maybe it can come back home.
So your EP, Old No 7 – what is your favourite song to perform and your hardest song to write?
Oh that’s a great question. Favourite song to perform off of Old No7 is ‘Champagne In The Morning’.
When was the last time you had champagne in the morning?
Probably a couple of days ago! First day in London. We showed up like 7 in the morning but it was midnight basically to us so we were just trying to rally for the day! But yeah, it feels like a bomb goes off when the chorus happens. And when we were in London, my microphone went out when I was singing it and they sang the whole chorus and second verse until the microphone came back.
Does that just make your heart stop?
Yeah well that’s the first time anybody ever sang back to me and it was on the other side of the world. I sure didn’t expect them to know it.
And this was the first time you came to London?
Yes ma’am.
So first time in London, other side of the world, first time you heard someone sing your music.
Yeah so that one is like…we’re singing that one for sure no matter what.
What did you do to celebrate that moment?
Honestly, I mean I probably had the biggest goofy smile ever, because I’m just like tapping the microphone and they’re going champagne in the morning and then I’m like, here we go, and threw the microphone back to my guy and let’s sing it. That was so special. Makes the hair stand up on your arms when it happens.
That’s what you do it for, right? That’s the dream. It doesn’t matter how many people are there, you’ve got people singing your song back to you.
It was cool. One of the presidents from my label was there from the US and he just came up to me afterwards and was like, “I get it now”. It was really cool that that song was – it was a deep cut, you know, that people didn’t really believe in and it ended up being one of the songs that everybody was like, “hey I get it now” so that’s really sweet to me, I’m really thankful for that.
Hardest to write?
I’ve got one called ‘She’s Like Whiskey’ and it sounds like a love song or a breakup song but it’s actually about my dog. She was 13 and I had her since I was 18 and we were downing Jack Daniels staying in a camp writing songs for a week and she got sick while we were there. On our last night with her we just got drunk and gave her a bunch of treats and wrote a song with her laying in the Airstream with us and it was really about her. I think about her every night I sing it, I’ve got it tattooed on me. She knew a lot of versions of me, and she loved them all. Yeah, so when people hear that, it means what it means to them, but it hits a whole other way when you know what it’s about to me.
Have you ever considered a Jack and Diet Coke flavoured lip balm?
(he laughs) Yeah we thought about it – I don’t know how you get Jack Daniels and Diet Coke to let you have their flavour but I think we could figure it out.
Is there anything else you want to talk about for your UK fans?
I’m just thankful to be out here playing. I hope people come check out the shows and check out the music. I love the UK, I love the pace here, I love the Carhartt street wear. I feel like I’ve only had a little taste of it, but I love it.
Redferrin is finished up his UK visit on Russell Dickerson’s ‘Good Day To Have A Great Tour’ tour – and we know how good the RD party is. His latest single, ‘Just Like Johnny’ off his ‘Old No 7’ album is out now.
