Andy Velo Toasts Good Times in Premiere of ‘Drinkin’ Friends’
Check out this tribute to the fuzzy memories that last forever!
Andy Velo toasts boot stomping country anthems and good buddies in the new track, “Drinkin’ Friends,” premiering exclusively on Sounds Like Nashville today (May 28).
Filled with glass-is-one-hundred-percent-full positivity and featuring a jiving honky-tonk sound, its a rowdy new standout with an old-school approach, ready to order up a night on the town.
Written by the newcomer with fellow singer-songwriter Adam Craig, Velo’s “Drinkin’ Friends” is all about that Friday night feeling. With crunchy guitars and a laid-back delivery, it tributes a never-ending cycle of good times and fuzzy memories that last forever, and Velo says it came together in the span of just a few days.
“In a quick hour-and-a half write, ‘Drinkin’ Friends’ popped out and I am damn grateful it did,” he tells SLN. “We knew we had something on that zoom write, we were both excited. I immediately sent the work-tape to my producer, Jimmy Ritchey, and said, ‘You know we have to cut this, right?!’ His response was, ‘Not a doubt we do!’ In Shannon Forrest’s studio that following Wednesday, this song came together magically.”
Magic or not, it’s no frills approach is a refreshing change of pace — since a blast of straight-down-the-middle country rock isn’t heard as much as it once was. But with Velo’s twangy Georgia-bred vocal leading the way, he knew this one needed to be kept simple. And it needed a rhythm that could get folks off their barstool.
“It’s really simple I believe; give your people something they can have a great time collectively with their people singing to, living their lives to, making their memories to,” he says. “Slap the chorus up front in a song that is something that Brooks & Dunn or Mark Chesnutt would have cut with a turbo-tonk groove.
“It’s no secret, I love and wave the 90’s Country flag,” he continues. “It’s what I’m good at and I truly believe there is a big place in the country genre today for a song like ‘Drinkin’ Friends.’ You want a song that will succeed on your bar’s jukebox or cover band playlist? Give them this one. It’s fun, it’s simple, and it’s straight country music, and you’ll be singing and boot stomping to it by the first time you hear it.”
“Drinkin’ Friends” by Andy Velo is part of the emerging talent’s new album, Way Out, which is set for release on June 25. The project was produced by Jimmy Ritchey (Jake Owen, Kenny Rogers, Jim Lauderdale), and Velo’s previous releases include 2021’s “Shade Tree” and last year’s “Whiskysippi.” In 2019, he premiered the nostalgic “Wouldn’t Be the First Time” on Sounds Like Nashville.
