Two Step Inn’s inaugural year is in the rearview mirror and with dates announced for next year’s festival, I figured it was time to finally buckle down, listen through the voice memo a thousand times, and transcribe the lone interview I was able to do at the festival this year with Ben Burgess.
Born and raised in East Dallas, Burgess’s career is following a similar path to Chris Stapleton’s. He started out as a songwriter in Nashville and has a pretty wild track record, his credits include everyone from Morgan Wallen and Dierks Bentley to Pat Green to even Lil Wayne and Martin Garrix. He released his debut solo album in September 2022 and spent most of 2022 and 2023 thus far touring with Koe Wetzel, Kolby Cooper, and Jelly Roll. I’m super grateful that he took some time out of his day to sit down and talk to me, our interview is transcribed below.
Ben Burgess: The branding for all this is so cool.
Andrew: It’s all been so neat, they always do a great job.
[Ben lights up a cigarette as I finish putting his name down in my voice memos]
Andrew: Alrighty, well thank you so much for doing this, thank you for taking some time out of your day to sit down with me.
Ben: Oh for sure, it was perfect timing brother.
Andrew: Absolutely, I’m very happy with how this shook out. The first thing I wanna bring up is this is the second time I’ve been able to see you, I caught a little bit of your set today and the first time I saw you was in Corpus Christi opening up for Koe [Wetzel], which, correct me if I’m wrong, that was your second show ever correct?
Ben: That was our second show together as a band.
Andrew: What did opening for him and getting to go on the road with those guys teach you about touring and getting into that world?
Ben: I mean, those are road-hardened road dogs right there man, you know? That band’s been together for so long, the camaraderie in it, and they’re all from the same place. Just getting to watch them interact on stage and how they move, me and the band were just watching every night and taking notes man. It was really a blessing that he asked us to come out, especially when I didn’t have any music out, that’s my f*cking boy!
[I was gonna go further about him not having any music out at that time but we got delayed and distracted by a spider crawling on Ben’s shirt]
Ben: That little thing won’t hurt cha!
Andrew: I just hate spiders man. [We both laugh] Anyways, your debut album, Tears the Size of Texas, awesome album, it’s been in the rotation a whole lot preparing for this fest.
Ben: Thank you sir.
Andrew: I know you’ve been a writer in Nashville for a long time at this point so I’m curious to know, were all the songs on the album written specifically for it or did you have some kicking around that you maybe wanted to pitch to someone and decided, “Maybe I wanna hang on to this for me.”
Ben: Yeah, probably half of them were ones that I had written just to write, you know? When we write a song, we’re just trying to write the best song we can and make it as personal as we can and hope that somebody can cut it or something like that. Kill A Man was one of ’em that I pitched to Morgan [Wallen] and he didn’t do it and I’m really glad he didn’t because that’s a fan favorite now. I love that song too.
Andrew: And I do have to ask, being a writer for so long, what was the catalyst or the biggest influence on deciding, “Hey, I wanna do something on my own.”
Ben: Dude, really it was the artists I’d written for just kept saying, “Burgess, just get out on the road with us man,” and “Do the same thing we’re doing, you can do it!” It was really the artists and the collaborators I had pushing me.
Andrew: I’m also curious to know. When you were writing and recording, what were your influences and what were you listening to?
Ben: A lot of John Anderson man, a lot of Willie, a lot of Hank. Some bluegrass in there, just trying to tap into everything, every kind. That’s where I find a lot of inspiration for songs too, it’s through other songs, you know? Without stealing them.
Andrew: Right!
Ben: You’re like, “Oh, I thought you were gonna hook it like this,” and I’m like, “Well I’m gonna write one that hooks it like that.”
Andrew: It’s always that fine line of “I was influenced by this” and “I wanted to rip this off.”
Ben: Yeah exactly!
Andrew: Something else I wanted to know is, in your time as a writer and in Nashville, what stands out to you as one of the most memorable writing sessions or co-writes you’ve had?
Ben: Flower Shops man. Me and Ernest wrote it in his truck on the way to the write dude. Just cruising around and getting lost and that was one of the easiest songs that just fell out man. I’ll always look back on that and love that moment.
Andrew: So I was looking through the notes that your publicist Jess had sent me and one of the things that I saw is that you’re listed as a writer for Lil Wayne’s song Dreams. How in the hell did that happen and what was that experience like?
Ben: I mean that was a dream come true man, he’s the greatest rapper of all time that’s alive right now. I’m a huge fan, I’ve always been one. So, we were at a writing camp out in Vegas and they’re like, “Writing for rappers,” and I’m like, “How do I write a song for a f*cking rapper?” or just a hook, you know? So the concept came to me just like, “I had a dream I was broke, no diamonds and no gold, saddest story ever told, I had a dream I was a fool, no mansion and no pool, I woke up and I screamed, thank God it was a dream.” And then, yeah, Wayne was in the studio. Like, the same studio that night. We wrote it during the day and I heard Wayne was gonna be in there and I’m like, “This would be a perfect song for him.” And then it took like two months of me telling people to send it to him and they finally sent it to him and he cut it that night. My favorite line is the first one, “I lived the American dream, foreign everything.” C’mon! What a genius!
Andrew: Yeah I have vivid memories of when that album came out just driving to school blaring that in my car and the back-to-back of I Do It and Dreams just floored me and I told myself, “This album could be really good.”
Ben: It’s a great one man. He actually played the other night in Nashville. I wasn’t able to go but I hope he’s playing it.
Andrew: I’ll go check out his setlists when we’re done here and find that out for you.
Ben: Ha! Go do it!
Andrew: So being at a festival like this, there are tons of awesome artists you get to share the bill with. Are you gonna be able to go check out any other sets today and if so, who’s on your radar?
Ben: I wanted to go see Nikki Lane but we played at the same time! But I got to see her for a little bit. Niko Moon and Midland are friends of mine so I’m gonna go see them and chop it up. Maybe try and come up with a song or two in between.
Andrew: I’m super excited to see Midland again.
Ben: Yeah I’ll try and wrestle a song out of them.
Andrew: Alright, for this last question I have to give a little bit of a backstory. Our former music director Dyan used to ask this question to all the bands and artists she would interview so I figured if I was gonna do some interviews, I might as well carry on the tradition…
Ben: Carry on the legacy man, let’s do it!
Andrew: So if you could redo the soundtrack to any movie or take a movie soundtrack and replace it with your music, what movie would you choose and why?
Ben: Oh Lonesome Dove. Lonesome Dove just because it’s got that lonesome western to it, man. I feel like the soundtrack to a lot of it is just strings, sh*t, also Crazy Heart. Just because I love that f*cking movie and the soundtrack is so great but I’d love to take a stab at it you know.
Andrew: That would be sick. Well, thank you so much for your time once again, I hope you’ve had some time to cool off. I gotta commend you for wearing all black on stage on a day like today.
Ben: DUDE! I had a ghillie shirt I was gonna wear but I left it in the car!
Andrew: Oh no!
Ben: ‘Cause it was cloudy when we showed up.
Andrew: Yeah it was cloudy when I was walking all the way around to the box office too but it sure isn’t now.
Ben: Yeah that’ll getcha going. Well, good luck to you man. Keep doing what you’re doing, I’m sure I’ll see you around.
Andrew: Absolutely, just make sure you sneak a Lubbock date on the tour schedule somewhere and I’ll be there!
I want to send a giant thank you to Jess Anderson of Big Loud for making this possible and a bigger thank you to Ben’s tour manager Braden for not getting Ben and leaving while my phone service wasn’t great in the middle of Charles Wesley Godwin’s set. Ben’s debut album, Tears the Size of Texas, is available everywhere you buy or stream music. For the nerds like me that enjoy physical music, vinyl and CDs are available for purchase on Ben’s website or at your local record store. On a similar note, Two Step Inn returns to Georgetown on April 20 and 21, 2024. More info can be found at twostepinn.com.
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