Ed Earl has spent the better part of his adult life balancing service in the US Navy, and now as a US Navy Reserve Lieutenant, alongside his family, and a burgeoning career as a country music artist. As Ryan Labee of Military.com remarked, “It’s not every day you meet a rising country artist who can also assemble a torpedo tube – but then again, Ed Earl isn’t your average Nashville newcomer”. Having enlisted in the Navy straight out of high school, Texas-born Ed Earl kept on writing songs and playing shows, right throughout his military career, and eventually studied music in Santa Fe, while continuing to serve.
Now based in Tennessee, Ed Earl’s style, classic and animated, takes inspiration from the dance hall culture, along with the working-class perspective, and country music he grew up with. His new single, ‘HonkyTonk Degree’ is an irresistible anthem, that takes his real-life experience, and sprinkles it with a generous dose of traditional country music storytelling.
The song, written with Alex Dooley and produced by Dean Scallan, is a playful but heartfelt homage to down-south tradition, and all the lessons learned outside the classroom. The track comes to life at 5 pm on a Friday, when working people across the South jumpstart their weekend with cold beer, neon lights, and loud country music. As Earl explains, “People go out to let loose and have fun. That’s always been a thing in Texas, and honestly, Navy people do the same thing”.
With a Southwestern swagger that feels like it’s come straight out of a 90s country music radio playlist, with its spacious fiddle and driving rhythm, there’s a raw authenticity that’s been purpose-built for two-stepping, singing along, and kicking off the weekend in exactly the right way. ‘HonkyTonk Degree’ was released during Veterans Day week, and continues to gain traction at country radio, landing on more than 40 stations nationwide and additionally, charting on Europe’s Hotdisc, and New Music Weekly country charts.
The music video for ‘HonkyTonk Degree’ sees the self-proclaimed Professor of Party – with his qualification in Barstool Chemistry, and a Two-Stepping PhD – taking viewers to his favourite haunts, moving between AJs Good Time Bar, and Legends Corner, hanging out with the real life patrons who inspired the song. Staying out until closing time, dancing and laughing the night away, having a blast, and forgetting the responsibilities back at home. It’s a good time fun song, and a step in the right direction for Earl’s ambition to one day perform at the Grand Ole Opry.
Get your Two Step on with the music video for ‘HonkyTonk Degree’ below, and find out more about Ed Earl and his music online on his official website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
