Country Roads with Ben Earle

The RD party has come to Country Roads! Russell Dickerson joins Ben fresh off the back of his barnstorming performances at C2C 2026, to talk about the road he’s travelled on to become the multi-platinum artist he is today. Russell talks about being a proud Tennessean raised on Country music, and how his musical influences changed and expanded - everything from Lil Wayne to Red Hot Chilli Peppers - when he moved to Nashville at the age of 10. He also lets us in on the kind of music he was making with his teenage band - Buried Under Broken Glass - and why they were prevented from performing publicly! Russell speaks about how he ended up attending Belmont University, where he met the likes of Florida Georgia Line and jammed in dorm rooms with singer songwriters that would go on to become lifelong friends and collaborators. He also shares the best story ever for any musician struggling to get a record deal, and why you should trust your gut when you feel you’ve got a hit on your hands.Listen to all the tracks mentioned in this episode by saving the Country Roads Podcast Playlist on Spotify, and follow us on Youtube and Instagram - @countryroadspod - for more content and exclusive giveaways! 

Southern belle, Willow Avalon, joins Ben this week to talk about her incredible journey from a teenage runaway living dangerously in Atlanta, to honouring southern storytelling in her music and preparing for her biggest headline show to date - all thanks to a billboard in L.A. she blagged, a brownstone apartment she should never have been able to rent in New York, and a pet possum named Bowie that became her best friend! Willow is perhaps the best example of the idea that underpins this entire podcast; that you’re everywhere you’ve ever been. Each one of the many places Willow has lived - including the tiny Georgia town she grew up in - has made an impact on her and her music, and she talks about them all here. Check out every song mentioned in this - and every - episode of Country Roads, by listening to our specially curated playlist. Search Country Roads Podcast Playlist on Spotify, and be sure to save it so it’s right there whenever you need it! You can also follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel @countryroadspod

Zach Top is here to kick off the second season of Country Roads, and true to our style, we go back to all the places that have made Zach the artist he is today, including the small hometown he described as, "You could smell it before you could see it!" He tells us all about his hobby farm homeschooled upbringing, a sweet story about how his family band got their first gig, and how his first pub crawl went down in England. Zach and Ben get nerdy about guitars for a minute, and Zack explains how a viral hit led him to producer Carson Chamberlain which led him to Nashville, where he bided his time while working construction alongside writing songs. He also opens up about some of his mistakes along the way, and he's honest about falling for some of the trappings of fame - and how he's put all that learning right back into his Grammy award winning album, Ain't In It For My Health. If you're pleased to have us back, please show us some love by leaving a comment or review - and share us with all the country fans in your life. You can also follow us on Instagram for more content and exclusive giveaways, and subscribe to our Youtube channel - @countryroadspod. 

Max McNown sits down with Ben to talk about his extraordinary story, and just how much life has changed for him in the last three years; from singing publicly for the first time on a pier in South California, to headlining his own tours, having a viral hit, and notching up over 10 million monthly listens on Spotify!As ever, we get to know Max through the places that have made him who he is, including the wilds of Bend, Oregon, Southern California where the whole trajectory of his life was changed, and Nashville, the place he now calls home. This conversation covers everything from the role models that have shaped him into the old soul he is today, to the challenges of growing up and feeling lost as a teenager; finding confidence through singing and healing through songwriting, to the real life experience that inspired his break out hit A Lot More Free and why it changed his life in more ways than one. Check out the tracks discussed in Max’s episode on our specially curated playlist, the Country Roads Podcast Playlist on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram for exclusive giveaways and to be the first to hear when Country Roads is back for Series Two!

Singer songwriter Eric Paslay holds the unique honour of being the first guest on the podcast to get Ben on a horse! They chat about this story and so much more, including Eric’s family-filled upbringing in Texas, the amazing story of how one of his songs brought him and his wife together, and his considered take on where Country music is at right now. We also hear about how the memory of his Grandad’s band fed his musical dreams, and the very special moment he got to have singing with his Grandad from beyond the grave on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Eric shares his journey to Nashville and how he first began learning how to write songs, songs which earned him three Country number ones in one year! He talks about his faith, his family, and his farm, and how one producer told him that his song would kill Country music - and it went on to be ranked the most played song of the decade! This episode has it all. Be sure to check out our Country Roads Podcast Playlist on Spotify, so you can listen to all the tracks discussed in this episode.

This week, Caylee Hammack dials in from Nashville to chat to Ben about the places that have had the biggest impact on her and on her music. She talks about everything from the quiet stability that family life in Ellaville gave her, to the heartbreak that pushed her to leave town and pursue her dreams in Nashville.Caylee speaks about a devastating diagnosis at the age of sixteen which turned her world upside down, and set her on the path to becoming a songwriter. She also shares what she learned from losing all her worldly possessions in a housefire; how the beginning of her honky tonk education at Tootsie’s on Broadway came about; and her love of solitude and nature and how it brought her to Scotland. Be sure to check out our Country Roads Podcast Playlist on Spotify, where you can hear all the songs discussed with Caylee in this episode, and many more besides! Follow us on Instagram @countryroadspod to connect with fellow Country fans, to hear exclusive content with our guests, and be the first to know about the giveaways and competitions we have coming up.

This week, rising star, Kassi Ashton, speaks about finding her sound by accepting that she is two sides of one coin; leaning into being someone who loves fashion design as much as dirt bikes, and hunting as much as ballet. Kassi has learned to be unapologetically herself, and explains how she has captured her truth in her long awaited debut album, Made From The Dirt. In learning more about the places that have made her who she is today, we journey to Missouri for rifle season which is bigger than Christmas for Kassi’s family; to her happy place in Key West, Florida, where she met her husband; and to Nashville where she struggled to fit in at Belmont, but found her feet Downtown. Kassi shares what it was like writing the most difficult song of her life but why it’s become one of her favourite songs to perform, why she’s more interested in being an icon than a star, and why her “rat cave” is the place she feels most at home! Also, listen in full to hear Kassi deliver one of the best answers ever to the question, “Are you Country enough?”

Canadian singer/songwriter Josh Ross joins Ben for a chat about his incredible rise to stardom, his love of Nashville and how sometimes you just need sit in silence. Josh slept in his car when he first moved to Nashville, trying to make it as a young songwriter, but soon made his mark and it's now the city he calls home. But Canada still has his heart - and he loves to return to see his family, and, to fish! Ben and Josh share stories of songwriting sessions in Nashville (and how, sometimes, they don't always go right) and talk about some of their inspirations. Remember you can watch all of our episodes on our YouTube channel - please subscribe and like so we can share the love!