Mitchell Tenpenny seeks consistent country music success

On February 3-4, country performer Mitchell Tenpenny will headline two nights at the Ryman Auditorium.

The 33-year-old Nashville native is the grandson of former Sony/ATV Music Publishing CEO, Nashville radio industry legend and Alabama Music Hall of Fame inductee Donna Hilly. He is also co-founder and flagship artist of Sony-distributed Riser House, a full-service label, artist management and music publishing company.

Until Chris Young’s collaboration “At the End of a Bar,” released in September 2021, reached the top of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart five months ago, an artist of enviable pedigree had one notable It didn’t work.

No.1 hit.

“I go to No. 1 parties all the time and see my friends get their diplomas and I want to be as cool as they are,” says Tenpenny, taking a break on a Nashville soundstage. he told The Tennessean as he prepared for his 27 tour dates. From January to March.

“When I was cool, I had to pinch myself. You can feel the bite.It’s cool once you roll it, but you’ll want more.

COVID-19 raised questions in Tenpenny’s mind. Tenpenny questioned whether mainstream country music could succeed in the arbitrary and decade-long timeline that her artists often impose on their way up Music City’s creative ranks.

He recalled flying home from London in March 2020, anticipating a two-week delay in expanding the scope of his career on a national and global level. But instead around the time his two years passed, he began questioning his aspirations for his career. From the pinnacle of unprecedented success to staring at the walls of his home, he had no choice but to evolve as an artist and a human being.

For Tenpenny, the two shows at Ryman are both a showcase of his craft at country music’s “mother church” and a reunion of his hometown show for the Lipscomb Academy class of 2008. At Middle Tennessee State University, who also had garage guitar jams that spurred his country’s stardom.

“I’m going to riff a new song. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

Tenpenny is really likeable and charming. He believes that the era of favoritism surrounding much of Nashville’s pop and radio-ready mainstream country music scene is driven by half-baked PR copy and less by people, the most stalwart. He’s the type of person who can quickly change the mind of a skeptic. He maintains a playful demeanor and works tirelessly.

That scene now features local artists from the Nashville metropolitan area, such as Tenpenny, Ernest, Jelly Roll, and Young, who are topping the charts as pop-loving country singer-songwriters. Alongside the constant flow of local and international artists to Music City, it is imperative that the city’s native creatives have a high reputation.

Tenpenny recalls signing with ERNEST as a duo early in his career. He views his Jelly Roll, a veteran, as a mentor whose rise to independence paved the way for his success.

“As Nashville artists, we come together as a team for this moment,” says Tenpenny. “Given the balance between embracing change and staying true to our roots, it creates a special moment that lasts for a while.”

Given his roots in the genre, Tenpenny’s desire to master the craft of songwriting was essential in observing his career progress. Aside from his No. 1 hits with Young, in the last five years he’s landed country in his radio top 10 with 2018’s “Drunk Me” and his 2021 “Truth About You.” I entered twice.

For the past decade, the genre has insisted on putting at the forefront what Tenpenny calls the “teenage and early twenties angst” of male stars’ lives. increase. The performers have stepped back and matured enough to allow the dive bar scene that country music culture creates to speak louder than their own lives, demonstrating tremendous staying power to their fans.