Matthew Berinato
Many aspiring songwriters receive this oft-used bit of advice upon arriving to Nashville: “Find your camp.”
It’s no taboo that some of country music’s biggest artists mine the same group of writers, often their longtime friends, again and again for dependable and suitable songs. These relationships are built on years of trust and collaboration, so, if a songwriter wants to be a part of “camp,” their best bet is to start forming their own.
For singer-songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny, who was born and raised in Nashville, many of the friendships he made organically ended up serendipitously bolstering his music career—his live performances with artist Brett Young date back to their days in the up-and-coming writers’ rounds; he grew up with songwriter Dallas Wilson (Jimmie Allen, Kelleigh Bannen), with whom he co-penned his song “Bitches”; and his younger brother, Rafe, plays bass in his band. Tenpenny’s album Telling All My Secrets arrived on December 14 via Riser House, and in many ways it’s a conceptual testament to his lifelong Nashville story.
“I just wanted to tell the real story with this first record,” Tenpenny says. “The lyrics hold on to that traditional, blue-collar storytelling, and obviously I grew up with country music, but I also grew up with pop and rock. Luckily, in this day and age, people allow you to experiment with that stuff.”
In October, his 2017 breakout single “Drunk Me” hit the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number seven, and it’s achieved gold status. A rousing but plaintive tune, it rings true with what he says about experimental country-pop. It’s sung from the standpoint of someone realizing that alcohol makes heartache worse (a well-worn theme in country music), but the track is enforced with modern production tactics, like programmed drums, ambient synths, and reversed reverb builds. Along with his undeniable knack for country songwriting, with credits like Granger Smith’s popular “If The Boot Fits,” and Jon Langston’s “All Eyes on Us,” Tenpenny has a canniness for slick, innovative studio work.
“I think the world and our culture are growing to accept change,” he says, “and obviously that’s going to affect music. I mean, there’s people who wanted me to be Willie, or Hank, or Merle, who I all totally respect, but there’s nothing more unauthentic than trying to copy somebody else when you’re inspired by newer things. And we live in a time where people want to hear new things.”
As he says, Tenpenny grew up with various genres of music. However, country was undoubtedly the avocational focal point of his home life. His grandmother, legendary Sony/ATV Music Publishing CEO Donna Hilley, sparked his interest in songwriters Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman at a young age.
“I got to see the culture,” Tenpenny says of his youth in Music City. “I mean, my grandmother was meeting these incredible songwriters, and I just felt like they were the coolest people in the world. No one knew about them, and they were the faces of these songs.”
While attending Lipscomb University in 2010, where he played football, Tenpenny’s father was diagnosed with cancer at age 54. After a long four years of chemotherapy and radiation, he died in 2014, just a year before his son’s debut album Black Crow was released. It was a staggering event for Tenpenny, but he has emphasized that it was a formative moment. He expresses pride in the similarities between himself and his father in Secrets’ uplifting dénouement “Walk Like Him,” which was released as a single in October.
In similar fashion, Tenpenny is equal parts ruminative and plain-spoken on Secrets. He co-wrote every song, using thoughtful, and sometimes hilarious, witticisms to get his points across. With help and support from his songwriting friends—Devin Dawson and Hillary Lindsey have writing credits—he’ll cap his life in Nashville so far with an album of honest songs, retelling the stories that he grew up with and grew up living.
“You know, I’m powerless to a lot of things,” he says. “Especially the people I love and the people I’ve opened up to. This is all the vulnerability coming out, and being as honest as I can.”