2022 was a year of change for the man behind hits like “Buy Me A Boat,” “Drunk Girl” and “Good Vibes.” The year opened with him still on the label that brought his career to new levels and ended with him discovering talent, creating a new record label imprint (Harpeth 60 Records) for that talent (Shane Profitt) and by the end of the year joining Profitt on BMLG Records and working on a follow-up to his final Warner Records album, 2022’s All In.
Taking the leap to a new label partner was set up in many ways by the Warner Music Nashville regime change with “Espo,” John Esposito retiring. And, after the experience of working with BMLG with protégé Shane Profitt, Chris and his team amicably parted ways with WMN and joined BMLG saying, “ I saw the great things that were happing around (Shane) and knew this is where I wanted to be; And they wanted me too.”
Immediately working with BMLG’s A&R executive and producer Julian Raymond, Chris went to work to start making the songs for his next album. “We jumped right into the studio, he says. “Six on six, a 12 song album, recorded in two days.”
Working with Raymond allowed for Janson to bring an element back to the music which fans have long clamored for: his harmonica playing. For an instrument with a long history in country and rock music, it is still rare to find someone with the instrumental acumen Chris Janson has for the instrument, playing it like it’s a lead guitar or a fiery fiddle. It’s always been part of his live show but now, on the forthcoming record, fans will be able to hear it more.
As for the current tour, Chris promises fans a lot of new music. “I’d play the whole record,” he says with excitement about the new music. “If I had time to do it in one night, plus the hits. It’ll be a little more rowdy.”
You can definitely expect Chris Janson to play his new single “All I Need Is You” on this tour. The song, which Janson co-wrote with Ashley Gorley, Brad Clawson and Mitch Oglesby, is one he’s passionate about. “The subject matter, it’s obviously about Kelly,” he says. “And (she’s) my favorite thing to sing about and write about. In all honesty, It’s a great love song. I loved it when we wrote it, I loved it when it was just a demo and when it was recorded.”
The first track released from the label, in meetings at the label, “All I Need Is You” kept leading the way when the decision was made to release a lead single. “Once we cut it,:” says Chris. “I felt like it was a smash. We started letting it around the label and the song was ‘raising its hand’.”
When you have a no-doubter song like that, it makes sense to release it. The song, like the future tracks to come this year, featured a who’s-who of country music studio aces recording the song with Chris and producer Julian Raymond. The team consisted of guitarist Tom Bukovac, steel guitar legend Paul Franklin, bassist Jimmy Lee Sloan, Tim Lauer on Keyboard (and string arranger), Kristen Wilkinson as the strings conductor, Victor Indrizzo on drums, George Doering on acoustic and a second electric guitarist in Sam Hunter. Blake Bollinger also contributed harmony vocals.
Along with the new music and label, Chris also has joined a new booking agent to help bring his brand of country music to a whole new level and if the new music he’s making at BMLG is any indication, the next chapter for Chris Janson (and subsequently his fans) is off to a red hot start.
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