Ben Gallaher Talks Returning to His Roots, Stripping Back Songs and Creating His First-Ever Acoustic Project, ‘Taylor Gold’ [Exclusive]

Ben Gallaher is giving fans a fresh way to experience a hand-selected collection of previously released tracks with Ben Gallaher: Taylor Gold. Out today, August 7, the project features acoustic reimaginings of six songs from his sophomore album Time, along with a fresh take on one of his highest-streamed anthems.

The idea to strip these songs back came naturally to Gallaher as it brings him back to his roots as an acoustic guitar player long before he ever picked up an electric guitar. As a longtime fan of Taylor Guitars, he found even more inspiration after getting his hands on the brand’s new Taylor Gold Label model, admitting he “couldn’t put that guitar down.”

“It wasn’t just another guitar. It wasn’t just a piece of wood. This thing just gave me really a bunch of new inspiration. And I started playing the songs off the Time album and the whole thing happened so organic. It was like, ‘Hey, we should go in and record a handful of these and reimagine them almost in an acoustic way with this guitar. The full album is already out. We’ve been playing the songs live on the road, but what if we gave them a new version of several of the songs?’ And it happened like that,” he told Country Now.

From there, the project unfolded with ease with the help of producers Neil Thrasher and Patrick Thrasher. Gallaher, who co-wrote three of the seven tracks, went back into the studio and “got underneath the hood” on each and every one, during which he learned that with an acoustic project, less is more. So instead of trying to layer as many different guitar sounds possible, they catered to what each individual track needed.

“We tried to serve the song for what we were doing, and sometimes that’s taking parts out. And if there was a very signature part that could be replicated, we’d do it if it served the song. And then other parts that I tried to replicate, it just wasn’t going to work. So I wrote a different part for that,” he shared.

The deeper Gallaher dove into the creative process, the more fun he had bringing his first-ever acoustic project to life. Hearing the finished recordings was especially rewarding for him because, while the songs still maintained their familiar melodies, the stripped-back arrangements gave the emotions and storylines an entirely different feel.

“’I’ll Take You,’ for example, that intro riff, it’s the same notes, but it’s played completely differently on acoustic and electric. I mean, if somebody were to A and B that intro riff, you’ll hear it’s the same melodic line, it’s the same notes, but it sounds completely different and so that was a really cool thing for me to kind of dig into is either rewriting some parts to make them fit or taking the same exact part and translating it from electric to acoustic.”

When it came to deciding which songs would make the cut, it simply came down to which ones Gallaher wanted to hear re-imagined and which ones he couldn’t stop playing on his Taylor Gold guitar. The result was a collection largely pulled from his Time album, including his fast-rising country radio single, “I’ll Take You,” the love-struck “Betcha Money,” the gritty viral hit “Stomp,” and more. Also a standout is, “Still a Few Cowboys Left,” which appeared on 2023’s Country In The House album.

“The reason we put ‘Still a Few Cowboys Left’ on it is that one has just been a fan favorite ever since we put it out. And so although that’s the only one that’s not on the Time album, we thought, ‘Hey, if we’re going to do an acoustic thing, let’s put ‘Cowboys’ in there.’ So I think fans will be excited to hear that version of it.”

Several songs from Taylor Gold have already found a home in Gallagher’s live show, where he takes a break from the high-energy set to perform an intimate acoustic segment featuring the newly reimagined tracks.

“I think it’s a nice change of pace from the rest of the show in the same world, but a different flavor,” he said.

Fans can next catch Ben Gallaher at a milestone performance as he opens for legendary cult rock band Giant on August 28 and 29 at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley. The singer/songwriter called the opportunity a “huge honor,” noting his deep respect for the band.

“It’s a big deal for me. And that’s going to be just solo acoustic. So I’ll be playing most of the songs on this project stripped down as they’re about to be dropped here pretty soon. But yeah, that’s going to be a fun one.”