As Gloria Anderson puts it, there may be “A Little Bit of Cowboy” in everyone, but there’s plenty in the Luling, Texas native.
With the release of her debut album, Run of the Mill, Anderson delivered ten tracks full of cowboy songs and tunes that yearn for a simple, small-town way of life; a way of life that’s often overlooked, sometimes, even by the people who are living it.
Five years removed from the release of her debut single, Anderson’s poetic songwriting and story-centric delivery have never been better, and people are taking notice. She’s recently been selected as an ambassador for Texas Songwriter U and the winner of Tractor Supply’s Emerging Artist Program.
About an hour before she made her CMA Fest debut, we chatted with Anderson about Run of the Mill, having the album completely crowd-funded, her growth as an artist and more!
Pro Country: Your new album, Run of the Mill, was fully crowd-funded, with over $28,000 being raised to make the project happen. As the goal was met, what did it mean to you to see so many people wanted to hear the album and what you had to say?
Gloria Anderson: Oh my gosh, it meant so much to me. I went into it inviting my closest friends and family to a show, and I told them it was a lot of money, and it was a way that they could be a part of the record. I didn’t expect those 12 people to raise $28,000, but I asked them to send it to 10 or 15 people each. I’m really blown away by all of the support that’s happened since.
When I went through and wrote the “thank you” notes and did the rewards, I got teary-eyed. It showed me that people believed in the music and wanted it to be heard.
PC: Prior to your new album, Run of the Mill, your last project you released was 2023’s Households. With that time in between collections of songs, how much were you looking forward to having a full album to present?
GA: I was so excited! I wrote for about three years. I was writing for a lot of other artists in Texas and trying to get cuts on records, but once we wrote “Run of the Mill,” it felt like me. I went through my catalog and realized I had most of the record written. I wrote a few more songs by myself, and it all started falling into place.
PC: You released the first single from Run of the Mill, “Chisholm Train Nightingales,” in January. Why did you feel that was the right song to release first and the kick off the record?
GA: My great-great-grandfather was a chuck wagon cook, so they say. My great-granddad ran cattle. He was a ranchero down in Texas. He had a big lasso and whip and all those things. I heard that the cattle drivers used to sing to their cattle to keep them on the paths. I started playing around on my guitar, and wrote the song with my friend Jessee Lee. The first line is “It all started south of San Antone,” and I felt like that was the perfect introduction to the record and the songs that would follow.
PC: “Run of the Mill” kicks off its album yearning for small town, simple living. Can you talk about why you decided to make the song the title track and to lead off the album?
GA: My hometown, Luling, Texas, has a mill called the Zedler Mill, where the local high school has their prom and homecoming. We also celebrated the life of my best friend’s mom there when we were in high school. I realized that, after living there for 12 years, there’s a lot of things that even locals stop noticing. We’ve got a big oak tree in the middle of one of our streets, and we just drive around it! [laughs]. We forget that it’s even there; it’s just normal to us. I realized that there’s a lot of people that pass through our town and don’t see anything except for the big ol’ Buccees that we have. I hope that people realize that there’s a lot of life that’s lived in these little towns. Hopefully they’ll shop local or stop in at a local mom and pop shop.
PC: You’ve called “Highway 80” a deeply personal song that was the last song you wrote forRun of the Mill, but the first song you recorded. As a solo write, can you talk about what the song means to you?
GA: That song means a lot. It touches on my best friend and I’s friendship. We had to learn how to grieve at a young age. It goes back to what I said about a lot of life being lived in small towns. That song is a reminder to slow down and to pay a little bit more attention.
PC: “A Little Bit of Cowboy” is our favorite song on Run of the Mill, and is a song you wrote with Maura Streppa and Daniel Ethridge. Can you take us in the room and talk about how the song came together?
GA: That one just fell out on the day of! None of us had that idea or title going into the write. Being a Texan that moved to Nashville, you very quickly learn that a lot of people are all hat, no cattle [laughs]. We were talking about that, and I think Daniel said “there’s a little bit of cowboy in everyone you know.”
I’m really grateful for that song, because I submitted it to Tractor Supply’s Emerging Artist Program, and it helped me win it. We got to re-record it, and there will be a “Tractor Version” coming out this summer.
PC: “Hill Country” features the fantastic vocal group Troubadour Blue. Can you talk about how they became involved with the song and what they brought to the song?
GA: Daniel wrote four songs on the record. “Hill Country” was the second song we ever wrote together. It was probably six years ago now. It’s always been a favorite; whenever I would be in Texas, I’d play it.
Brenna Wheeler is also a member of Troubadour Blue. We knew we wanted fiddle on the song. I was talking to one of my producers, Tammy Rogers King, and she suggested having Brenna come in and play on it. We also brought in Daniel to sing and made it a Troubadour Blue feature! They’re one of my favorite bluegrass bands, so it was a treat to have them be a part of the record.
PC: You recorded Run of the Mill with producers Jeff King and Tammy Rogers King. Can you talk about what it was like to collaborate with such great, well-respected people to make the album?
GA: I learned so much working with them. They’re legends in our profession, but they’re extremely generous. I call them “my Nashville mom and dad.” I don’t know if they know that [laughs].
We recorded out of their home studio. Tammy is from Texas, so she got it. She understood the vision of the record as a cohesive project. And Jeff is a savant on the guitar. Their perspectives together were amazing.
PC: What do you hope listeners take away from Run of the Mill after listening all the way through?
GA: I hope that they slow down a little bit. Even if they’re living somewhere really big. I hope that they remember to get out of town and go look at a farm! [laughs]. I hope they ground themselves a bit and remember that there’s a lot of life that’s lived out there.
PC: Earlier this year, you were selected as the Texas Songwriter U ambassador by songwriting giants Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Jack Ingram, as well as being named winning Tractor Supply’s Emerging Artist Program. What have those honors meant to you as you’ve seen your craft be recognized?
GA: I’m so grateful to be surrounded by incredible people in our industry who are always opening doors behind them. I applied for the Texas Songwriter U program for five years. I was in the program in 2025, and I went back and won this year.
I’ve been praying for a champion in this industry. You’d think it would be a manager or a publisher, but it’s been Tractor Supply. They are huge country music fans. Their slogan is “For Life Out Here.” They find people in small towns, and they lift up their voices. I’m so grateful to be a part of their team.
PC: We first met with your first single releases, “Yours” and “Like She Does,” in 2021. With five years having passed since those releases, how do you feel you’ve grown in that time?
GA: It’s crazy that it’s been that long!
I feel like I dove back into the Texas writing scene. When you’re in Nashville, people stress co-writing, which is so important for developing your craft and seeing how somebody else’s mind works, but when I went back to Texas, I found amazing artists that write by themselves. It was inspiring for me to reconnect with the younger version of myself that started writing songs in my bedroom. I hope that my record reflects that and stays true to myself without the Nashville noise.
PC: You’re about to play CMA Fest for the first time. How much are you looking forward to taking the stage in about an hour?
GA: I’m so excited! I’m playing the Tractor Supply Spotlight Stage in Fan Fair. It’s going to be so fun. I’m excited to have family there. And, it’s in the AC, which is so much better! [laughs].
PC: With Run of the Mill now released, what do you have planned for the rest of 2026?
GA: We’ll be releasing the “Tractor Version” of “A Little Bit of Cowboy.” I might be scheming up a couple more singles for the fall. I’ll be going to the UK in July for the first time ever. I’ll be playing eight shows out there, and I’m very excited for it! I hear that they love some country music over there.
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