Ben Chapman, Jobe Fortner

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Zack Knudsen

Ben Chapman sitting on the floor next to a suitcase, cowboy boots, and amp and guitar.

Ben Chapman

media release: Over the past few years, Nashville singer-songwriter Ben Chapman has made a name for himself among the most up-and-coming songwriters in Nashville, with artists including Flatland Cavalry, Shelby Lynne, Muscadine Bloodline, and the Steel Woods cutting his compositions. Today, he's releasing Downbeat, an Anderson East-produced collection of 10 songs that distill what he has to say for himself with more clarity and style than ever. 

“I think this is the first record that really shows me and who I am as a musician,” Chapman told Raised Rowdy. “Not that I don't like my first two records, but it was just a little more sugar-coated, if that makes sense. This one is super raw — I mean we cut it all live on the floor. So there was just a lot more risk to be taken, but I feel like with any great art, with risk comes reward.”

Chapman nearly went to Texas to make Downbeat, but after a mutual friend introduced him to fellow lover-of-all-things-funky Anderson East, those plans fell by the wayside. A few writing sessions led to an invitation from East to record  in his newly-built studio together. Chapman, a longtime fan of East's, couldn't pass up the chance to work with him, and they tracked the entire record in three days.

Chapman has a publishing deal with Hillary Lindsey's Hang Your Hat Music, and his songwriting prowess is on full display within the infectious toe-tapping groove that permeates Downbeat. The title track is an autobiographical overview of Chapman's own search for success all along the Southeast. 

"The gritty, sparse track gives the Georgia up-and-comer the chance the showcase his rugged, evocative vocals, as he reflects on the sinister, hazy late-night goings-on..." - Holler (on “Downbeat”)

Chapman is used to songs taking time to complete — anywhere from hours to months — but several of Downbeat's 10 tracks came much quicker than usual. He and his housemate, songwriter Jon Decious, wrote “Star of Monterey” while hanging out on their porch. Chapman enlisted Decious and singer-songwriter Meg McRee, who is Chapman's long-term girlfriend, to write “Finish What You Started” during another porch hang. Even the album's final song, a cover of Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline cut “Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You” featuring McRee, developed fast in the studio. "America's Sweetheart," co-written with McRee and Sean McConnell, tells the tale of a would-be actress in the City of Dreams.

“She's definitely my favorite co-writer,” Chapman says of McRee, adding with a chuckle, “and I think I'm hers.” McRee co-wrote four songs on the album, including the sweet, simple love song “Don't You Dare” — another quick porch co-write. Entertainment Focus called it “one of the strongest tracks on the album,” spotlighting his “honeyed tones” with a slowed down pace. 

“It's a song for that once-in-a-lifetime, growing old together while sitting in rocking chairs type of love, true love," Chapman told The Bluegrass Situation. "It was one of those songs that just found us. We didn't even have to go looking. The whole thing took us about 20 minutes to write, and we both knew it was such a special song. Most of the time, the best songs come to you when you least expect it, and in this case, it couldn't be truer.”

"an eyes-closed, headphones on, worries-parked experience." - Entertainment Focus

A native of LaFayette, Ga., Chapman made frequent trips along I-24 between his hometown and his now-home for several years, attending songwriting sessions and making connections in Nashville. He moved officially on New Year's Day 2019, shortly after his 21st birthday. During years of playing up and down the highway, he honed his self-taught guitar playing and learned what would cut through the noise. 

Since 2022, Chapman has married his two homes through Peach Jam, a recurring event that's featured, among others, fellow Georgians Brent Cobb and Channing Wilson, along with Hayes Carll, Lainey Wilson, Lukas Nelson, and more. Continuing to grow Peach Jam is among Chapman's goals for the next year, but he's also focused on touring — his first headline tour, specifically, which will take him to venues he's dreamed of playing for years.

“I'm growing as an artist and a human and have a clear creative vision,” Chapman says. “I'm ready for people to hear this version of myself — my true self."

"The album is proof that really living these songs and witnessing first-hand how the stories play out has contributed to his growth as a songwriter." - The Amp