From Songwriters to Singers: Old Dominion Steps Into the Spotlight

Even before their debut single, “Break Up With Him,” stole the No. 1 spot on country radio, there’s a good chance you’d already heard Old Dominion’s work. In fact, each member of the band—lead singer Matthew Ramsey, multi-instrumentalist Trevor Rosen, bassist Geoff Sprung, drummer Whit Sellers and lead guitarist Brad Tursi–is an accomplished songwriter. With a string of hits for artists like Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban and more among them, the five guys came together to breathe life into their own work and formed Old Dominion. As their debut album Meat and Candy drops and they prepare to go on their second tour with Kenny Chesney’s “Spread the Love Tour” in May, the guys talk about the road to country success—behind the scenes and center stage.

How did you make the transition from songwriters to a band? 

Sprung: It was kind of an organic process. We were playing in Nashville because we were friends and a lot of times those [performances] were to showcase songs that were being written among the members, and then slowly, people started coming out to the shows. It was people outside the band that told us we were a band before we had decided it.

Rosen: The band was happening organically, but we’d been playing together so much that we started to develop a sound, and we started to have success as songwriters too, which brought more attention to the band. It started to snowball together. It hit this critical mass where we started to be recognized as a great band and as great songwriters, so we looked at each other and said, “we actually could do this as artists,” so we put a little more of a focus on it.

How is it different to have success as a band rather than behind-the-scenes?

Ramsey: Way different. We were talking earlier about how surprising that is, for it to be that different but it’s impossible almost to get another artist to record your song. It’s even more impossible for you yourself to write a song and be the artist and have it climb the charts, so we’re in the middle of this whirlwind week where it’s CMA week and album release week and then all of a sudden we have a No. 1 song and it’s overwhelming, but because we are songwriters, it’s  little extra sweet that we’re the artists up there. We’re the ones connecting to audiences directly through that song.

What are people going to hear on this album?

Ramsey: They can expect the unexpected. It’s different. It’s a really different album. We took a lot of care in the making of it and as little time as we had to do it in, we chose very carefully our words and the parts we played. There is everything on [the album] from super happy fun poppy songs, to the more meaningful heartfelt songs. That’s where the name comes from, Meat and Candy; there’s everything.

You’re going back on the road with Kenny Chesney this summer. How will touring change now that you’ve put out an album?

Tursi: Hopefully it just gives us a chance to fill out our set a little bit, and have more interaction and more connection with the fans. Last year we had maybe one and a half songs that people knew. Hopefully the material will get out there and it will be a better show for us and the fans.

Have there been any weird moments now that you’re in the spotlight?

Sprung: We’ve come into a couple interviews and people say, “you guys are the hottest thing in country music right now,” and we just went, “whoa, they’re talking about us!” It knocked the wind out of me, that’s for sure.

Where do you see Old Dominion in five years?

Rosen: Hopefully still putting out music. Hopefully the well doesn’t run dry and we’re still just making great music and getting a connection with the fans and playing shows.

Tursi: That’s hopefully where it begins and ends. If you make great music, people are going to like it. Especially now that the doors are open for us, it’s easier to get it out there and we can continue to do that and continue to pave our career path how we want it to be.