Adam Craig’s Time In Nashville Isn’t ‘Just a Phase’
"It was the tenth year when I got [my] record deal. Don't quit," Craig said of finally getting his record deal.
It has been a long journey to radio for Adam Craig. The singer/songwriter moved to Nashville from Washington 10 years ago in hopes to make it as an artist. He soon discovered songwriting and dove in, garnering cuts from Jason Aldean (“Church Pew or Bar Stool”), Parmalee (“Close Your Eyes”) and Love & Theft (“Whiskey On My Breath”), among others.
While Craig is releasing his new single “Just a Phase” to radio this week and is signed to Stoney Creek Records, things didn’t always come so easy. His dream was to be an artist but for years he wrote songs behind the scenes, waiting for a publishing deal and later record deal. He’d find himself writing songs during the day and performing in the house band at night at several locations on Broadway including Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville Crossroads and The Second Fiddle.
“That really fueled the fire to continue to work as hard as I could,” he tells Sounds Like Nashville in his trailer backstage on the beach before his performance at Crash My Playa 2017 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. “It was the tenth year when I got [my] record deal. Don’t quit. That’s essentially Nashville in a nutshell. Stay there longest and eventually something good’s going to happen.”
Craig stuck it out, but it was difficult. He recalls a time during Christmas of 2013 when he went home to Washington, convinced it was time to throw in the towel.
“I was at my mom’s house, I was like, ‘Mom, I’m coming on 10 years of being in Nashville. I’ve had one cut. That’s it. My track record for being successful in Nashville is not very good,'” he recalls. “I was down about it, thinking she’d be like, ‘Yeah 10 years, might want to think about moving home.’ She said the polar opposite. She was like, ‘God gave you the gift to sing and it’s your obligation to share it with as many people as you can.'”
Instantly, he was recharged and the next year he solidified a record deal. Now, Craig finds himself playing Luke Bryan’s beach festival and heading out on tour with him later this year.
“This is going to be a great opportunity. To get in front of that many people every night and sing my songs . . . it’s going to be such a great year,” he says, beaming.
His year keeps getting better as Craig recently made his Grand Ole Opry debut and released his second single to radio on Monday (Feb. 6). Craig co-wrote “Just a Phase,” off his self-titled EP, with Jim Beavers and Lindsay Rimes and remembers hearing Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” on the way to the studio. While the three songwriters started the day by writing an upbeat love song by lunchtime they needed a break. So, at lunch Craig brought up Bieber’s song, sharing that he was impressed with the song’s raw emotion.
“I was like, ‘Have you guys heard this? It’s different.’ You can’t really say the same thing in country music to your girl, that would probably not fly very well. I just loved the idea of the subject,” he says. “I had a title in my phone, ‘I’m just something you’re going through.’ One of the other guy’s they were like, ‘I’m just a phase you’re going through,’ and the story fell out.”
“Just a Phase” showcases Craig’s bluesy side and embodies a throwback feel with the song’s minimal production. It’s quickly becoming a fan favorite and even before the song was released to radio it has been garnering high praise from listeners.
“I’m getting texts and calls from people all over the country. It’s so neat, it’s so incredible. I love being a songwriter,” he says. “That’s a satisfying moment — when somebody else likes what you do.”
