“I grew up in a world where the musical aspects were run by CD players and eventually iPods by the time I hit middle school. Being from a really small town in Texas, not growing up in a musical family, and being a product of the ’90s, that meant records were a thing of the past in the world I was brought up in. I can honestly say, I didn’t see, or much less hold, a record in my hand until much later in my life.”
“After studying at the University of North Texas, I picked up and made the move to Nashville to pursue my artistry, but also to intern at a well-known, independent country label here in town. I loved that internship so much because it taught me more than I could have ever imagined about that aspect of the music industry. I still remember that year’s CMA Awards month like it was yesterday. So much mail to request votes for all these different artists came flooding in. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and each piece of mail came along with some sort of incentive to vote for that specific artist.
There was so much that most people didn’t actually want any of the things sent, so most of the mail ended up in my office. I remember the exact day that Kacey Musgraves came through my hands. It was a record—something I had honestly never held before. I had always loved Kacey’s music. Not only because her lyrics were catchy and unique and her sound was a little more traditional than was being broadcast through the airwaves those days, but also because she was from Texas and was living proof that if she could come from the same area as me and become what she became, then so could I.
The day I touched that record was slightly magical. It was something I had known about and heard about for my whole life, but had never actually really held in my hands until that moment. It was so cool to me because it had such a modern flare to it, being from an artist of my time. I loved it, and I also snagged a Little Big Town record later that month. So, that’s where my “collection” per se really began.
Later that year, I moved in with one of my best friends from Texas, who was also living in Nashville, and she was an avid record collector. It was through her that my love for these pieces of media, that were so foreign to me, really grew. She grew up in an extremely musical family, and her uncle used to own this jukebox that was in a bar at one time and had every classic record you can imagine in it. She was given all of those records, and It was just so cool to me that they had so much history to them.
I’m a huge sucker for history of anything. I remember nights where we would just open a bottle of wine and lie on the couch while listening to old Dolly Parton records and just talking about our days. Those are some of my favorite first memories of Nashville. It was with Kelly that I started exploring record shops, and while she would always gravitate to the more classic artists, I’d always gravitate to the newer artists who started releasing on vinyl again. There was just something so mesmerizing about new age artists who appreciated having their music on vinyl, and they held it so highly. It always felt like it was a way to make music instantly feel classic and timeless.
My love, appreciation, and collection have only grown over the past few years. I’ve learned that even with all of the technology and ease of listening to music these days, there’s nothing quite like hanging out and listening to a record. There’s such a unique sound and vibe to it, and this thing that was so foreign to me at one point and time in my life, has grown to be something that has become a vital part of my music-listening experience.”
—Brit Daniels
Brit Daniels’ new single, “Shadows” is in stores now.
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PHOTO: RYAN NOLAN
