John Morgan’s debut album Carolina Blue is more than just a long-awaited project, it’s a deeply personal collection that reflects the real-life stories of the North Carolina native and his journey of carving his own path in country music.
Out today, the project features 12 songs that Morgan has been compiling and saving for the perfect time to share with the world. Some were written just last year while others may have been waiting in the wings for over six years. Regardless of how long he’s been holding onto them, these stories continue to find new ways to resonate in his life, and now hopefully they will do the same for his fans.
“It feels like it’s been a long time coming, but over the last four or five years, this project’s just a combination of songs that I’ve stuck in my back pocket,” he told Country Now. “I’ve been writing for a lot of different artists, and it’s been really fun. I love that side of what I get to do, but every time I would write something that felt like me, I would just kind of hang on to it. And so yeah, this album is just a collection of songs like that. Some of ’em are five, six years old, some of ’em I wrote last year. So really exciting to finally have my debut, a full album out.”
Taking A Hands-On Approach
A large portion of Morgan’s career has involved writing hits for other names such as Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Jon Pardi, Dustin Lynch and more, but this album is the chance for him to finally show fans who he is as an artist. In order to do that in the most authentic way, he took a non-traditional route to cutting the songs for this project.
Instead of going in with a full band and recording the tracks, he got to step back into his first love – being a musician and did the majority of the guitar work himself throughout the record. That, on top of paying a close attention to detail as a co-producer alongside Brent Anderson, made the process take a lot longer than it usually would.
“For me, as the artist and co-producer, it just required a little bit more time than it normally would if we would’ve done it the traditional way. But I hope that that shows through. I hope people can see the hard work that’s put into it and the attention to detail. I love getting to do that and be in the studio as much as anything else. So I hope that people hear that and I hope they hear all my influences on this album. There’s a lot going on, in a good way.”
Pulling From Personal Experiences And Lessons
Morgan also co-wrote every song, allowing him to pour years of real experience and raw emotion into every tune. He seamlessly incorporates sounds of his roots through bluegrass, various guitar tones and more of his present-day influences, all while intertwining the overarching theme of hard work, because there’s no doubt that that’s what it took to get this project done.
The singer/songwriter admits his personal life has seem some drastic changes since moving to Nashville. For starters, he’s become a husband, a father and has had many experiences that have shifted his perspective on the kind of songs he writes. On this record, he’s made a strong effort to push himself to wear his heart on his sleeve a bit more than he’s used to, even if that means having to reopen old wounds of his past.
From the rowdy “Way Out Would,” to the emotional “One More Sunset” and blue-collar anthems like “Long Ride Home,” Morgan wrote Carolina Blue with a clear mission: to explore all the layers of love, life, and moments that have shaped him as a man.
Carolina Blue Tracklisting:
1. Way Out Would (John Morgan, Will Bundy, Randy Montana)
2. Long Ride Home (John Morgan, Tully Kennedy, Kurt Allison, Lydia Vaughan)
3. Friends Like That (feat. Jason Aldean) (John Morgan, Brent Anderson, Will Bundy, Lydia Vaughan)*
4. One More Sunset (John Morgan, Will Bundy, Michael Dulaney)
5. I Know Better (John Morgan, Rocky Block, Will Bundy, Lydia Vaughan)
6. She’ll Always Be (John Morgan, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Lydia Vaughan)
7. Carolina Blue (John Morgan, Smith Ahnquist, Will Bundy, Jeb Gipson)
8. Kid Myself (John Morgan, Tyler Hubbard, Jordan Schmidt)
9. Crickets (John Morgan, Zach Abend, Lydia Vaughan)
10. A Lot To Say About You (John Morgan, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Edwards)
11. Without ‘Em (John Morgan, Austin Goodloe, Ben Hayslip)
12. How To Get Her (John Morgan, Brent Anderson, Will Bundy, Hunter Phelps)
Produced by John Morgan & Brent Anderson
*Produced by Jason Aldean, Kurt Allison & Tully Kennedy
Finding The Perfect Album Title
The album’s title track, “Carolina Blue,” also offers a sentimental tribute to the place that raised him. It was written on a retreat in Gatlinburg, TN years ago and he has held close ever since.
“It was one of the few that I immediately put on hold. I was like, this is me. I didn’t know at the time obviously that it would be the title track, but when we started talking about putting a full project together, I immediately was like, this feels like what I want this album to be portrayed as ‘Carolina Blue.’ And so from the beginning of putting the project together and actually going through songs and stuff, I definitely made it known that I thought it would be a good title track song.”
Reflecting on the message behind the song, Morgan thinks back to when he first moved to Music City and the uncertainty that came with wondering if Nashville would remain his home or if he would one day return to North Carolina. He now realizes that he never got an official “goodbye” to the place and the people that raised him, so “Carolina Blue” is his opportunity to tip his hat to everyone back home.
“It’s one of those songs where it’s like, I haven’t been back in a while, but I can still tell you what’s probably going on right now,” he added.
Lands First No. 1 With ‘Friends Like That’
Just days before the album’s release, John Morgan’s rowdy “Friends Like That” featuring Jason Aldean rose to the top of the charts. This accomplishment marks his third No. 1 as a songwriter and his first as an artist.
From songwriting rooms to rising to the top of the charts and now releasing a debut album that’s full of honesty and resilience, John Morgan is proving that authenticity—and a little hard work—goes a long way.
He has been tapped to join Kane Brown and Chase Matthew on select dates in 2025 in addition to making his Stagecoach Festival debut on April 25, the same day his debut album arrives.
The post John Morgan Reflects On His Musical Journey And The Making Of His Debut Album ‘Carolina Blue’ [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.
