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Songstress Brandy ClarkSFlbis ready to get ROWDY
By John Benson
Even though Music Row songwriters and Nashville recording artists work together on a daily basis, the expanse between the two jobs is vast.
However, every now and then someone comes along who’s so talented stardom can’t be denied.
That in a nutshell is the story of Brandy Clark, who in the late ’90s moved from Washington to the Music City. Roughly a decade later, the songwriter penned tunes recorded by Reba McEntire, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Rogers, Craig Campbell, Craig Morgan and LeAnn Rimes.
Clark later wrote No. 1 tunes recorded by The Band Perry (“Better Dig Two”) and Miranda Lambert (“Mama’s Broken Heart”). Then in 2013 she released her debut effort, “12 Stories,” which was not only critically acclaimed but also nominated for a Grammy Award.
“It’s funny, when I moved to Nashville, I wanted to be a recording artist,” said Clark, calling from Nashville. “What I gravitated toward was becoming better at the craft of songwriting. That’s what really drove me and continues to drive me.”
“Somewhere along the way my dream changed, and that’s OK that part didn’t come true. That’s until my manager approached me about making a record. It was just a snap of a fingers, and I was chasing that recording artist dream again.”
Clark admitted no matter how much satisfaction she received writing hit songs for other artists, nothing compared to standing in front of an audience, pouring her heart out and getting that immediate reaction.
There’s no doubt Clark is part of Nashville’s current trend of singer-songwriters (think Chris Stapleton and Eric Church) writing the anti-bro country tunes that instead shed light on the underbelly of society.
This includes Clark’s recently released album “Big Day in a Small Town,” which features top 40 lead single, “Girl Next Door.” She noted her producer, Jay Joyce, gave the project a little bit of an edge compared to “12 Stories.”
“As proud as I was of ’12 Stories,’ I didn’t want to remake it and end up with a paler version of it,” Clark said. “So I decided this next record needs to feel like a cousin as opposed to a younger brother or sister. As a songwriter, I’m going to always write songs about real life. It’s just what I do.”
Currently Clark is opening for Toby Keith on his “The Interstates and Tailgates Tour,” which comes to the area for a show tonight at Blossom Music Center and Aug. 13 at First Niagara Pavilion. Clark isn’t sure, but there’s a good chance she landed as his opener because she co-wrote his top 30 hit “Drunk Americans.”
“I’ve always been a big fan of Toby,” Clark said. “To me, he is such a great singer-songwriter. I’ve studied his songs through the years. I always do that, if something works and I really like it, I try to break it down to find out why does that work so well.”
As far at touring with Keith, when it’s mentioned his audience – like his music – can be rowdy, the fiery Clark said she’s ready.
“Whenever I’m going out with somebody that I think will have a rowdier audience, I change my set a little bit to reflect that,” Clark said. “I’ll do that with him and try to keep it a little bit more up-tempo.
“I think it’s going to be a good audience for me because Toby is really country, and I think at the heart of things for me I’m really country. I just couldn’t be more excited about the chance to get in front of his audience.”