Country Next: Dylan Marlowe

Country music has always been in Dylan Marlowe’s blood. But, it wasn’t until the Statesboro, Georgia native graduated from high school that he thought about trading playing baseball for a career in country music.

After learning how to play the guitar, Marlowe began performing in local music venues around his home state. In 2019, after organically growing a fan base, the rising new artist moved to Nashville, where he quickly sparked interest for his drive, initiative, and songwriting prowess.

In April of 2020, Marlowe – along with the help of his good buddy Trea Landon – signed a publishing and development deal with Dallas Davidson’s Play It Again Music Group. Despite everything shutting down due to the global pandemic, he began working toward putting together a collection of original material to best reflect who he is as an artist.

Months later, the talented singer/songwriter dropped two tracks including, “All About It” and “Where I Come From (Coming Out).” He also released a country rewrite of Olivia Rodrigo’s pop smash, “Driver’s License.” The clever re-make went viral on TikTok and led Marlowe to release a demo version of the song. The re-written track has thus far racked up nearly 1 million views on YouTube. Most recently, Marlowe has been entertaining fans with his catchy breakup track “Goodbye Gets Around.” The song, which he wrote via Zoom App, alongside Joe Fox and Lauren McLamb, dates back to a personal time when Marlowe ended a relationship with an ex.

“It’s like that small-town sort of thing, where as soon as we broke up, in the same week, other guys were hanging out with her, and it felt like it was just following me around,” Marlowe tells Country Now of the track.

Marlowe, who will soon hit the road as part of Dylan Scott’s 2022 Livin’ My Best Life Tour, recently spent time with Country Now, where he opened up about his music career, recent song releases, upcoming shows and more.

Read on to find out more about Dylan Marlowe in this exclusive Q&A below.

How did you begin a career in country music?

My whole life was pretty much baseball up until my senior year of high school. That’s when I learned how to play the guitar. I started doing Open Mic Night at a place called Locos. I started grinding there and in the south Georgia music market, and I tried to build it into what it is now. I met a guy named Trea Landon down there, and he taught me how to write songs – at least how he wrote them. Once I started writing my own songs, it was over from there. I just never looked back.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

I grew up listening to a lot of rock ‘n’ roll from my dad. When I’d get on the road with him, it would be rock ‘n’ roll, but then when I’d get in the car with my mom, we would listen to Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney. So, I listened to a pretty good mixture [of music]. But I am a huge Tracy Lawrence fan, just because his voice is different. I think when you hear it, you know it’s him, and that always stuck with me. And, I feel like when you hear my voice, you know it’s me. So, I kind of love that in a way. Then I listen to guys like HARDY with his crazy melodies and Dallas Davidson, who signed me. Dallas has always been a huge songwriting hero of mine. So to be able to work with him, hang with him, and be signed under him is unreal!

Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote?

I think singing was something I had to learn, but songwriting came more naturally to me. I don’t remember the title of the first song I ever wrote, but I do remember sending it to Trea. He texted me, and he was like, ‘Hey, this is pretty bad. I’m just telling you that because I love you, but don’t write another song like this.’ I was like, ‘Okay, cool.’ I’m pretty thankful for his advice, honestly. But, I went to Georgia Southern [University] for one year, and I’m pretty sure If I went back in time to see my notebooks, they would all be scribbled with ideas and lyrics for songs. So, once it bit me, it bit me pretty hard, and it still has me bit to this day.

How did you go from attending Georgia Southern University to moving to Nashville?

So, my dad was really supportive. He was like, ‘Man. If you know that you want to play music, then move to Nashville and do it.’ My dad owns his own construction company, so I decided not to go back to college my second year. I just worked for my dad for a year and a half until I saved up enough money to move to Nashville. My entire family was supportive of my decision. I’m glad they were cool about it, and I feel very blessed because of that.

Do your parents visit you in Nashville often?

My mom does quite a bit. She likes to come to Nashville, period. I think me being here gives her an excuse to visit and get some shopping done and see the scenery (laughs.) But most of my shows are out on the road. So, my parents try to come to as many of those as they can. We also have a show lined up this month with HARDY in Statesboro. So, that will be a fun hometown show.

How did you navigate your music career when you moved to Nashville in 2019, a year before the shutdown?

When I first moved here, it was kind of tough, just being a Georgia boy and feeling like I didn’t have anywhere to go and do Georgia boy stuff. But I found places. Then during the pandemic, it sounds crazy, but for an artist like me – and I am sure a few other people could say the same thing – but it was not the worst thing for me. I had already planned on writing for a year to see what best songs we could come up with anyway. I didn’t lose any momentum going into the pandemic. I gained it coming out of it because I got to sit back and stockpile songs. I didn’t feel like I had to keep up with anybody. I just focused on myself and on the songs I wanted to write, and that’s where songs like ‘Goodbye Gets Around’ and ‘All About It’ came from.

Can you tell me the inspiration behind your song, “Goodbye Gets Around”?

I wrote it about this girl I dated going into high school and that first year of college. It’s like that small-town sort of thing, where as soon as we broke up, in the same week, other guys were hanging out with her, and it felt like it was just following me around. That’s why in the music video, I chose to have these things that wouldn’t happen just following me around. We made a news report broadcasting a breakup and a fake newspaper – all kinds of stuff to go along with it because that’s how I felt.

How does “Goodbye Gets Around” compare to your previous releases?

It was kind of like the target of what I was aiming for sonically. ‘All About It’ is slow, and ‘Where I Come From’ is pretty upbeat and country. Then ‘Goodbye Gets Around’ just kind of sits in the middle. So that is where I felt like it was cool to be able to release it on its own. It’s one of my favorite songs, and I feel like it bridged the gap between slow and fast.

You also previously released a cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License.” Did you expect to get the reaction you did with that song?

That was crazy. I wasn’t planning on doing it, but I remember sitting in my room one night, trying to find something different that would maybe stand out on TikTok. I was going pretty hard on there, and nothing seemed to be working for me. So, I just memorized that chorus. Then, I went back to Georgia for a week. I posted a video of me singing the chorus, and it took off. I still wasn’t planning to release it, but my team is good at doing what they do. Cade [Price], he said, ‘Hey. It might be a good idea to get some hype behind this EP and put a demo out of it. People want to hear it anyway, and it would bring you a lot of traffic.’ So, that was the main factor in us putting that song out. I don’t want to put anything out that I didn’t write, but that was one exception. And, I think it did its job and got the songs the attention that it did. It opened some doors for me.

What do you want fans to take away from your music?

I want people to listen to my music and know that I was a part of writing it. I want them to know that pretty much everything they hear in these songs came from something I went through or one of my co-writers went through. And, just something that they can take home and feel like somebody else has been where they’ve been, whether it be a party song or a breakup song, I want people to feel like it’s authentic. I am who I am. I’m not trying to be anybody else. So that’s the biggest thing for me.

What’s next for you?

We have two songs ready to go, and we are working on a third one now. So, we should have three songs coming out. If not, the third one will be coming in January or February. We also have a couple of shows scheduled with Jon Langston and HARDY. And then we have about 12-15 shows that will take us through to the New Year. So, we’re trying to get ready to get on the road, and hopefully, things will take off again in the spring.

Fans can keep up with Dylan Marlowe on Instagram.