Go Behind-the-Scenes of Rachel Wammack’s Debut Video, ‘Damage’

In the video Wammack sees love and loss from both sides of the bar--through the eyes of her customers and from her own experience. "It’s less about a drink healing you and more about just listening to someone who may be going through something. Being behind the bar in the video reminded me of that.”

Written by Alison Abbey
Go Behind-the-Scenes of Rachel Wammack’s Debut Video, ‘Damage’
Rachel Wammack

Rachel Wammack’s debut single “Damage” is an extremely personal one for the singer. Not only did writing the track require her to dig back into some dark memories of a past relationship, the video for the song also took her back to her roots as a bartender.

In the video, shot at Nashville’s Music City Bar and Grill and directed by Steve Condon (Old Dominion’s go-to director), Wammack sees love and loss from both sides of the bar–through the eyes of her customers and from her own experience. The heartbreaking lyrics tell the stories of Wammack’s patrons, from relationships to cancer and everything in between. But when the singer’s ex enters the bar (or does he?), her memories swell into a soaring chorus that’s filled with both optimism and heartache.

Rachel Wammack

Rachel Wammack; Photo credit: Joseph Llannes

To capture the true-to-life tale, the video uses real people, not actors. The move was important to Wammack.

“The words ‘love can do some damage’ have morphed and changed as quickly as the song’s meaning has to me. The characters–including me–weren’t models, but the song isn’t about perfect people with perfect lives. It’s about real people and real life and being honest about the process of healing our wounds,” she says. “It’s less about a drink healing you and more about just listening to someone who may be going through something. Being behind the bar in the video reminded me of that.”

And while Wammack admits in this behind-the-scenes video that she wasn’t the best bartender, she sure looks like she knows what she’s doing in the clip.