Allow us to set a scene: cheap, smoke-filled motel rooms with hookers, pistols, domestic abuse and murder. No, that’s not the setting of the latest true-crime documentary on Netflix, it’s the setting that Addison Johnson chose for his new single, “Country Inn.”
Johnson has proven to be no stranger to crime tales, as previous fan-favorite releases, “Cumberland River ‘58” and “Rollin’ Stolen,” have proven that he is a master of scene setting and planting listeners directly in the center of his tales. Serving as his first release since “The Busker” last June, Johnson admits spinning these twisted webs is his favorite way of telling stories.
“I always like to use singles to try and showcase the variety of styles that will be heard on the upcoming album. ‘Country Inn’ highlights probably my favorite way of writing these days, which is dark storytelling,” says Johnson. “There was way too much time in between releases for my liking, but there has been a lot of work behind the scenes to get ready for these upcoming releases, and I can’t wait to see what everyone thinks.”
As he adds another notch to his belt of dark tunes, Johnson says he drew inspiration for “Country Inn” from many-a-night spent in eerie motels, which helped him conjure the song’s story.
“As you can imagine, in my line of work, I’ve stayed at a few sketchy motels. I think we all have at one time or another. There is one about thirty miles from my house that sits out in the middle of the hills. Whenever I would drive by it, my imagination would go wild thinking about all the things that had probably happened there,” says Johnson. “I wanted to set up three different scenarios, all happening in three different rooms. I wanted the listener to have a ‘fly on the wall’ perspective as the song takes you through the motel.”
Serving as the latest glimpse into his forthcoming album, Johnson is happy to be back at work both in the studio and on the road after having to press pause for doctor-ordered vocal rest earlier this year.
“Unfortunately, this past year I had to take some time off for some vocal rest, but the new album is almost finished and should be released at the beginning of next year. While I certainly hated to pause, it did give me some time to write and sneak a couple of new additions onto the record,” says Johnson. “It’s been so great to get back on the road. It truly is my favorite place to be. The only thing better than being on the road is being on the road with new music. I’m really looking forward to playing a few new states this year and trying out some of the songs that will be on the album.”
And while he looks forward to new songs, Johnson recently shared that the catalog he has built thus far surpassed one million combined streams on Spotify; an accomplishment he’s proud of as he continues to grow his brand of country music.
“When you’re an independent artist, every accomplishment is a big one. They don’t happen very often, and they’re really hard to come by. It’s certainly cool to cross that milestone,” says Johnson. “I’ve had a love/hate relationship with streaming, but I do think it’s a great way to introduce your music to folks all over the world. The record labels still own the keys to all the big playlists, but I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished there and the growth we’ve shown over the past couple years.”
With the second half of his year still ahead of him, Johnson promises one more new song in the midst of a busy stretch on the road.
“For the rest of the year, I’ll be releasing another single, finishing up the new album, and continuing on this year’s tour,” says Johnson. “It’s been a while since I’ve had some music out, so I’m really looking forward to the upcoming months.”
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