Country Next: Brian Fuller

Brian Fuller is a proud Savannah, GA, native with a heart for songwriting and a voice to tell his stories with authenticity. He caught the bug for music at a very young age and hasn’t put the mic down since.  Now a Nashville resident, Fuller has built a career on powerful lyrics and is ready to showcase his next chapter with a brand-new album, Small Town Record, dropping Oct. 24.

Growing up in a musical family, Fuller was inspired by a wide range of artists, but country music was always his passion. Fans will feel that palpable love for the genre radiate throughout the full-length project with songs that draw from real-life experiences, his love for the outdoors, faith, family, and close friends.

The title track “Small Town Record” was exactly what Fuller needed to round out the collection. Looking at the full picture, he now realizes that it “wouldn’t be the same without that song.” Along with this track, fans have also gotten an early listen to the album through tracks like “Die On That Hill,” “Write A Song,” “Southern Summer Sundown” with Jameson Rodgers and his latest single, which is dedicated to his wife, “For You (Katie’s Song).”

To learn more about Brian Fuller’s musical upbringing, the themes behind his next project and his fall tour with Noah Hicks, keep reading the exclusive Q&A below.

How did your upbringing in Georgia shape your love for music?

I would say it shaped everything about it. All of the life I lived and memories I made back home is what gets me the most excited to write and talk about, and honestly all I know how to write about. Anything else wouldn’t feel authentic, and that just ain’t me.

Was there a defining moment where you knew country music was the path you had to take?

It’s always been doing what I wanted to do in some shape or form, but the moment that sticks out the most to me is when I was about 12 or 13 I played a little music festival in my hometown with my mom and uncle. I played 3 songs and got off stage knowing that whatever feeling I felt on stage was one I wanted to chase the rest of my life. The only other thing that comes close for me is huntin’, and even still that doesn’t even scratch the surface of how I feel about playing music.  

You made the move to Nashville in 2019. What was the biggest lesson you learned after taking that leap to pursue music full-time?

In all honesty, it’s just being kind to people. It takes a village to make things happen, and I have always wanted the most genuine people around me – and just being nice goes a long way. There’s a lot more that comes out of just being kind, but I think you really just have to get caught with your foot in your mouth a few times to really learn. Learning the hard way some would say. Another lesson I learned, and I think this is worth mentioning, is knowing AS MUCH as you can about the business side of things. The more you know, the better your chances are to get the most out of your career, and it keeps you away from people that are in it for the wrong reasons. These 2 things, in my opinion, are what will determine how far you get, and with how much you are left standing with.

Your latest single “For You (Katie’s Song)” is such a personal track. Can you tell us the story of writing it for your wife and how she reacted the first time she heard it?

That song kinda just fell out. It originally started with the idea of doing “the last thing a good ol’ boy would do”, and just kind of started shaping itself into what it is now. I started writing the song by myself and got a verse & chorus written, then took that into a write with Smith Ahnquist and Jason Massey, and they helped me finish it up. Me and my wife were just about to get married, and I think my mind was just so wrapped up in all of that. I just wanted to put a “book mark” in that chapter of our lives as something we could go back to over the years. She loved it when she heard it but I hadn’t told her it was going on the album. I was going to surprise her the day it came out, but she ended up stopping by the studio at the same time we were working on the song and that kind of ruined the surprise. 

This follows your previous single, “Southern Summer Sundown.” Can you walk us through what it was like writing this one with Jameson Rodgers and then getting in the studio to record it together?

This song was actually the first time me and Jamo had ever written together. I have always been such a huge fan of his and wanted to bring in something really cool for us to write. I had written some of the first verse and chorus of that song and brought it in to Smith, and him – we jumped right on it. I think it was the first and only idea we threw out that day. On the original work tape we have, Jameson started singing the second verse in the room and I just let him run with it. I remember driving home listening to that and thinking how freaking cool it would be to have him on a song with me – cause like I said, i’ve always been a huge fan – so I just asked him to do it, and here we are. I called my wife the day I got the master back and told her 100 times how pumped I was to have a song with Jameson Rodgers on my record. Since then, we’ve written probably a dozen times, and me, Katie, him and his wife Sarah have all become pretty good friends. 

What’s one thing you hope fans will take away from your upcoming album after listening top to bottom?

More than anything else, I just hope people get a good idea of who I am and what I’m about. When I first moved to town, I had so many people telling me I needed to create a “sound” no one has ever heard before, and I took that to heart. I tried to re-invent the wheel a little, and that led to me messing around with a bunch of sounds and styles that I had no business messing with, because it just wasn’t authentically me. Eventually, I ended up circling back to the stuff I loved, and that is what fired me up the most. I kinda lost sight of what got me into music in the first place. I don’t regret making the music I have in the past, I think it all got me to where I’m at but the music I’m making now, and the songs that are on this record, really make me feel like I’m telling the honest truth about myself. So if there’s anything I want the fans to take away, it’s that I mean every single last word I’ve written in these songs, and I just want them to feel like they know me on a personal level. Also, I want people to feel like the songs are talking about them.

How did you land on the title Small Town Record?

The story behind it is kind of a long one, but I was on a writers’ retreat trying to get songs for this record, and out of the blue Taylor Phillips called another writer that was on the retreat just to say what’s up. When he told Taylor that we were on that retreat, Taylor asked if he could come out and write some with us. I had never met Taylor, but I of course knew of him from all of the massive hits he has written, so I was honestly in shock that he even wanted to come. We told him to come on out, and he got in his truck and started driving out there. He was about an hour away, so he got me on the phone and asked what kind of song I felt like I was missing. I told him what I was shooting for, and he said he was going to do some thinking on his drive out and he’d have some ideas ready when he got there.

When he walked in the door, he spit out that title “Small Town Record” and kinda gave us the idea of it, and I freakin’ loved it. So we sat down and wrote the hell out of it, and I knew as soon as we finished it up that it was going to be the title track. It summed up the whole record in one song, so it just made so much sense. The whole situation was just a God thing.

On social media, you shared that a favorite track of the project is “When Jesus Comes Back.” What is it about that song that struck a chord for you?

I think this song has just taken on a life of its own in the past few weeks. With everything going on in the world right now, the lyrics have just never felt more true to me. At its core, is just talking about building a life that reflects the kingdom of heaven. I really believe God has given me a platform to reach as many fans as he can trust me with, and while all the perks of having the job that I do are really cool, my main goal in everything I do is to lead as many people back to Jesus as I can. No matter the amount of success I find, if there is a day that people look at me and can’t see a man that is following Jesus, then I have failed miserably. He’s the why behind what I am doing. 

Faith, family, and the outdoors are big inspirations for you. How do those themes show up across the album?

I think they are stitched into just about every song. My life outside of music are all 3 of those things, so naturally I just turned around and wrote about my life. I’d say that just about every song on the record touches on at least one of them. There’s of course a couple songs that might not, but while the outdoors have always been something i’ve loved, My faith and family earlier on in my life have sometimes taken a backseat. I’m not proud of that fact, but it’s still true, and I’m not trying to hide that. So there’s a couple songs on the record that I let a younger version of myself take the pen and write, but to me that is what helps make a great collection of songs – Some from the past, some from the present. And as of today, my faith, my family and spending time huntin’ and fishin’ are all things sitting at the top of my list. 

You recently hit the road with Noah Hicks. What are you most excited about on this run?

I think I am probably most excited about getting to play some new music. I have had the same set list forever now, and getting to change it up a little will be nice. Also, being out on the road with Noah is going to be a lot of fun. Me and him have been buddies for a really long time, and I don’t think we’ve ever played an actual show together. We are also all on the same bus, so that’s gonna make for some interesting stories I may or may not be able to tell when it’s all said and done!  These were all great questions. I appreciate y’all sharing your platform and fans with me. See y’all out there!

Fans can keep up with Brian Fuller on Instagram.