Cole Goodwin has come a long way in just three short years.
After the release of his debut EP, Soon Enough, in 2023, Goodwin notched a handful of independent releases before inking a deal with Big Machine Records. After another handful of single releases, today, Goodwin has unveiled his first major label EP, Howdy, and sent his first single, the title track, to country radio, where it earned 56 first-week adds at stations across the country.
As he prepares for a busy summer on the road, we chatted with Goodwin all about Howdy, signing his record deal, his favorite sad country song and more!
Pro Country: Just over a year ago, it was announced that you’d signed with Big Machine Records. Can you talk about how you came on to their radar and the courting and signing process?
Cole Goodwin: My publisher, Courtney, at Concord had lunch with Allison Jones at Big Machine. They were just catching up as friends, and my name got brought up. Allison said she wanted to meet me, and Courtney set us up a meeting. I went to her office and played a couple songs, chatted and told her about myself. Courtney told me that Allison texted her saying, “don’t show him to anybody else!” [laughs]. Courtney said that was her queue to show me to everybody!
We did the label song and dance and met with a bunch of labels across town. I kept going back to Big Machine. Once I met with Scott [Borchetta] and the whole team over there, it seemed like they were really interested in doing what I wanted to do. They were supportive of my ideas and of the direction I wanted to go. I’m super tickled about landing with them.
PC: Your first release for Big Machine was “Girlfriend’s Got a Boyfriend.” Why did you and the team feel that was the right song to kick off the relationship?
CG: We had just come off “Women Want Me, Fish Fear Me.” I wanted to keep hitting it hard with good, upbeat, fun songs. That’s one that I really loved. I told them that I wanted that to be the first one, and they were super supportive of it. We kicked it off with a good ol’ cheatin’ song!
PC: Your single, “Howdy,” was sent to country radio this week, and was the second-most added single of the week. How excited are you to have a song out at radio and to see what it can do for you?
CG: Man, how crazy is that? I just play guitar, sing and write songs. It’s incredible that I can turn on the radio in the truck, and my song might come on. I never dreamed that would happen. I always dreamed that I wanted it to happen, but those things are so out of reach for little ol’ me. It doesn’t happen for guys like me, but when it does happen, it’s hard to believe.
PC: Have you had a chance to hear “Howdy” on the radio yet?
CG: I haven’t had the “ah-ha” moment of hearing it myself, yet. I’ve had plenty of people send me videos of it and tell me they heard it on this station or that station across the country, but I haven’t had the experience yet. I’m waiting on it!
PC: It’s been just three years since you released your debut EP, Soon Enough. What do you think it’s going to mean to you, just a couple years later, to hear your song on country radio?
CG: I’m sure I’ll have to pull over on the side of the road to take it in. I’ll probably call my mom and dad. It’s going to be really special.
I hope it surprises me. I hope they don’t say “here’s ‘Howdy’ by Cole Goodwin,” I hope it just comes on. That would be incredible. I haven’t been listening to a lot of FM radio, but I will be now!
PC: In just three months since its release, “Howdy” is quickly becoming your most-streamed song to date. What has it been like, even before the song was sent to radio, to see the life that the song has had?
CG: It’s crazy. Playing it live every night, I’ve seen so many people singing along to it. Even if they don’t know the song, it’s the song in the set where, if we lost anybody throughout the show, we get them back when we play “Howdy.” It’s hard to not have fun playing that song or experiencing it live.
PC: You released the fantastic heartbreaker, “Where She’s Coming From,” in April. Can you tell us your favorite sad country song?
CG: “Charlotte’s in North Carolina” is one that I really love. Keith Whitley and Gary Stewart had the really good, sad stuff.
“Where She’s Coming From” is a song I wrote with Wyatt McCubbin and Erik Dylan. That was the second song we wrote that day; it fell out in 30 or 40 minutes on accident. It ended up being possibly my favorite song we wrote last year.
PC: Your last single, “Girl That’s How,” was written by Kevin Denney, Tom Botkin and Mike Rogers. Can you tell us how you heard the song and what drew you to cut it?
CG: I’m a huge fan of Kevin’s writing and artist career. I’d been going to The Local and hearing him play on Saturday nights. Ms. Kim, his girlfriend, sent me that song. I kept going back and listening to the demo, and finally, I asked if I could cut it. They let me, and I love it! It’s become my new favorite to play lately. It’s an easy-listening song that’s easy to connect with for any ol’ country boy.
PC: The new song releasing with the Howdy EP is “Keep On Rainin’,” which you co-wrote with Jessi Alexander and Jonathan Singleton. Can you take us in the room and talk about how the song came together?
CG: I had the title going in that day. I wanted to write a song about rain that wasn’t sad. I told them “let’s write something that Ricky Skaggs wouldn’t hate” [laughs]. The goal was to write something rippin’ and upbeat, and why not make it a love song? It’s super hard to sing and super hard to play, and I think that’s what I like about it! [laughs].
PC: “Keep On Rainin’” has a great bluegrass feel to it that Ricky Skaggs would certainly love. How much do you enjoy showcasing that side of your influences?
CG: I’m no grasser by any means, but I’m so jealous of those guys and how talented they are. I’m friends with a bunch of those guys. Carson Peters is an incredible bluegrass player. He was a writer on “Howdy.” Zach Top is an incredible bluegrass guy, as well. I love tapping into that sound. I grew up listening to that stuff, so any time I can fake it a little bit is fun [laughs].
PC: What do you hope listeners take away from Howdy after listening all the way through?
CG: I hope they understand that it’s authentically me. These are songs that I truly connect with and care about.
PC: You have a busy summer of shows lined up, opening shows for Dierks Bentley and Jordan Davis. How excited are you to stay busy on the road and bring Howdy to new people?
CG: My favorite part of doing this is playing shows. That’s how I started, and I think it will always be my favorite thing to do. Any time we get to play for people, whether it’s 20 people or 20,000, I’m all in.
Ricky Skaggs is on some of the Dierks shows, too! I’m super excited, but a little intimidated to play before Ricky’s band and before Dierks’ band. They’ve all been so great to me already.
PC: With Howdy now released, what do you have planned for the rest of 2026?
CG: We’ve got a ton of new music that we just cut! I’m just as excited, if not more excited, for people to hear that. On top of that, I’m excited to keep beatin’ the road down and playing shows.
*All images courtesy of Big Machine Records
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