All Our Favorite People Ashley Eicher & Hunter Kelly

Brittney Spencer  delivers thought-provoking insight on everything from race to romance and adult peer pressure to gun violence on her just-released debut EP, “Compassion.” She moved from Baltimore to Nashville in 2013 to pursue her dream of writing and performing country music despite not seeing anyone who looked like her in the format when she was growing up. At first, Brittney vowed not to talk about race in country music circles, but the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder case later that year led to her awakening on social justice issues. We talk about the importance of representation, staying true to herself and her journey to making "Compassion". 

You may have heard Maren Morris shout out Brittney during her CMA Awards acceptance speech last month. Brittney had a songwriting session with Maren, Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell the day before we recorded this conversation. Her cover of The Highwomen’s “Crowded Table” on social media earned Brittney an invitation from Maren and Amanda to join The Highwomen onstage for a performance whenever they resume live appearances.

Hit songwriter/artist Luke Dick is one of the creative people in Nashville that keeps music interesting for us. His left-of-center perspective shows up in hits he’s co-written for Eric Church (“Kill a Word”), Dierks Bentley (“Burning Man”), Kacey Musgraves ("Velvet Elvis") and he just received his first Grammy Nomination for Country Song of the Year for co-writing “Bluebird” with Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby. For what is surely his most personal project to date, Luke enlisted Dierks, Miranda, Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, The Highwomen’s Natalie Hemby and Jackson Dean to help him create the album Music from the Documentary Red Dog. On both the album and in the film, Red Dog, Luke and his mom, Kim, tell the story of the people at Oklahoma City’s Red Dog Saloon, the topless bar where Kim worked as a dancer when Luke was a kid. In this conversation, Luke tells us what inspired him to create the Red Dog documentary and album, how he found his people in Nashville’s music community, and how he keeps challenging himself to grow creatively.

Patrick Droney is here to tell us about his brand-new EP, State of the Heart. We’re both huge fans of Patrick’s music, and his life experience as a musician is just unbelievable. He started opening shows for B.B. King and James Brown as a teenager and has been mentored by some of rock’s most influential producers — Danny Kortchmar and Glen Ballard. He even tells us about having dinner with Joni Mitchell! Over the last four years, Patrick has found a creative home in Nashville's songwriting community while also contributing a track on Kygo’s latest album, Golden Hour, which also features Whitney Houston, OneRepublic, Kim Petras and more. Patrick tells us how mindfulness and meditation has transformed his life this year and why he’s committed to bringing the saxophone back to pop music.

Ryan Hurd is here to talk about his latest EP, EOM, which features his hit, “Every Other Memory,” and songs he’s written for other artists like “What If I Never Get Over You”, which became a #1 for Lady A, and “Heartless” by Diplo featuring Morgan Wallen. We talk about the importance of expanding your worldview and the lessons he’s learned on his journey to becoming a hit songwriter. He also tells us about how he and his wife, Maren Morris, have settled into their lives as new parents to their son Hayes, who was born in March. We also get into Ryan’s role as a budding fashion icon, the reasoning behind him covering Taylor Swift songs, and why it is so important to he and Maren to speak truthfully about how they see the world.

Jesse and Stevie Frasure are here to talk about how they balance their life as a married couple running their own business at the top of the Nashville music industry. Jesse is an in-demand songwriter/producer who’s worked with everyone from Thomas Rhett and Jon Pardi to Kelsea Ballerini and Kylie Minogue. Stevie is the VP at their publishing company, Rhythm House, which they run as a joint venture with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Jesse, who has DJ’d some of music’s most exclusive parties under the name Telemitry, just released an awesome new project called “Calm Springs”. The instrumental album evokes the glory days of Frank Sinatra’s time in Palm Springs in the swinging ‘60s and provides the perfect soundtrack for your cocktail party, trip to the spa or ride in a hotel elevator.

Hardy is here talking with us about the creative risks he took on his new album, “A Rock,” which includes his current hit “One Beer” featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson. The project features a harder rock sound than we’ve heard from Hardy before, and Ashley and Hunter ask Hardy about their favorite songs from the album, including “Give Heaven Some Hell” and “Unapologetically Country as Hell.” Plus, Hardy tells about the rocket ride of co-writing Blake Shelton’s monster hit, “God’s Country,” gives us an update on the Beer Olympics party he and girlfriend Caleigh recently hosted, and shares the backstory behind his new powerhouse softball team "The Recoupables" with fellow country stars Morgan Wallen, Jordan Davis, Ernest, Chris Lane and more that’s getting quite a reputation in Nashville.