Calling all country music fans: upcoming artist Cole Swindell is coming to Legends this Friday, Dec. 5, for an intimate performance. Although he is still a little-known country artist, Legends has a way of hosting artists right before their major breakthrough (ex: Macklemore circa 2011). For the real country fans, however, this name might sound familiar.
He currently has two top hits on the radio, his breakout song “Chillin’ It” and the more recent “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” which is featured on his first self-titled album. “Chillin’ It” was named the number one single on Billboard's Hot Country Songs list, and along with "Hope you get Lonely Tonight," both have been playing on country radio stations nonstop. Cole Swindell is breaking in to the country music industry, and this is your chance to catch him before he becomes untouchable.
Although he only has two songs that are well known, Swindell has been underhandedly involved in the country music industry for quite a while. He has been a faceless songwriter for some seriously popular country musicians; oftentimes the artist gets much more credit than the songwriters, even though the writing is the hardest part of making music, in my opinion. Swindell has a long list of songs he has written for famous artists: Craig Campbell’s “Outta My Head,” Thomas Rhett’s “Get Me Some of That,” and ten of Luke Bryan’s hits, including “Just a Sip” and “Beer in the Headlights.” He also co-wrote Florida Georgia Line’s “This Is How We Roll.” Clearly Swindell has earned quite a few connections in the country music industry; it will come as no surprise when his own album becomes as famous as the albums he has written for.
Currently, Swindell is on tour around the country, and we are lucky to be one of his stops. He is scheduled to perform several nights at the famous Joe’s Bar in Chicago — one where many country singers had their start (so many that it has been named “Nashville North”). He’s also visiting other Midwestern states while in the area and, starting next year, he will be performing with The Band Perry and touring with Jason Aldean in his nationwide “Burn It Down” Tour. Swindell is on his way to becoming a major country star, doing all the right things to make it big.
His first album was released in Feb. 2014, with Warner Bros. Nashville label. The self-titled album has 12 tracks, all written or co-written by Swindell. Luke Bryan also co-wrote one of the songs, “I Just Want You,” paying Swindell back for the all the songs he wrote for him.
Swindell's album received positive reviews and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was No. 1 on the Top Digital Albums chart with 42,000 of its total sales being digital.
This is a rare opportunity to see a breakthrough country artist performing just a few feet away in a small, personal venue. Come out to Legends this Friday at 10 p.m. to catch a great country performance by one of CMA’s New Country Artist of the Year nominees. We are lucky enough to have this free show come to Notre Dame along Swindell’s tour, so take advantage and see an upcoming star in his element.
