Ben Gallaher returns with ‘Time,' a sophomore album that cranks up his signature guitar fire and emotional depth to arena-ready levels. Raised in small-town Pennsylvania, the self-taught guitarist grew up on a blend of ’90s country staples like Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw and BlackHawk, before hitting the road in his teens chasing music. Since relocating to Nashville, he’s built a reputation not just as a powerhouse guitarist but a triple threat—singer, songwriter and performer—earning praise for his raspy vocals, riff-driven energy and a viral ‘Stomp' riff that racked up over 36 million organic views.
‘Time' is produced by Neil and Patrick Thrasher and backed by an all-star cast of Nashville players like Tom Bukovac and Adam Shoenfeld, balancing raw rock vigour with country storytelling. The album doesn’t shy from big sounds or introspective moments—from opening tracks like ‘I’ll Take You' reminiscent of Bryan Adams meets Rascal Flatts, to moody cuts like ‘Love Is Hard' and a faithful cover of ‘Cuts Like a Knife.' Our review stated that ‘Time' “mixes muscle and heart,” and proves that Gallaher isn’t chasing trends—he’s forging his own lane in country rock. You can read that review right here.
We caught up with Ben recently to talk all about it.
Lovely to talk to you Ben, thank you for your time today.
Thank you, man, I've gotta say I was blown away by your album review. Holy cow, man, I really appreciate your words, it had a great impact on me.
You grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania listening to 90s Country and Bryan Adams. How does a boy who grew up there end up in Nashville? Give me a little bit of the Ben Gallaher origin story if you would?
It was nothing but a god thing. My folks got me a guitar when I was six and it sounds crazy but from then on I felt like this was what I was called to do. I had a few lessons early on and I got the bug from 90s Country and then Bryan Adams and Skynyrd a little later on. You can here that influence in my music.
I've been in Nashville for a minute now and I feel like everything I've done up to this point has got me, now, to this point! It's all about this record, it's the record I've always wanted to make.
They say Nashville is a ten year town. Tell me about the grind you've had to go through getting to where you are today.
Yeah! Definitely. You have to do it because you love it! You never stop climbing the ladder but it's dangerous to be always looking for the next thing because you can lose track of where you are and what you've achieved. It's good to sit back and enjoy the moments of where you are at right now and I'm trying to do that more.
I've put everything into this album – from writing it, to playing, to singing on it, to even creating the font for the album title. I had my hand in everything.
What guitarists, in particular, did you grow up admiring or do you admire now?
Great question man. Growing up on 90s Country a lot of the studio work was done by Brent Mason. That chicken-picking thing, it really came from James Burton. Throw in some Vince Gill, some Mark Knopfler, throw in Gary Rossington, Joe Walsh, Keith Scott – a mix of all those guys. I did not want to rewrite that guitar solo in ‘Cuts Like a Knife' at all, man, you have to do it the way Keith did! (laughing)
Mix all of that together – it's a little rock, a little country.
You had some awesome players in the studio recording the ‘Time' album as supporting guitarists and musicians. Guys like Tom Bukovac, Jedd Hughes, Justin Ostrander and Adam Shoenfeld – did they help you and give you advice?
It was awesome! Those guys are in a different league, man. I've worked with Tom and Adam for almost 10 years now and they bring out the best in me. Just being a room with players like makes you a better player. I'm watching them do their thing or they go, ‘Hey man, that's cool but why not try this note here?' and it changes everything, right? You never stop learning around guys like that.
‘Stomp' went viral on social media – the riff went wild! What was it like watching that ripple?
Overwhelming! It was such a huge blessing. I wrote that riff 5 years prior to me posting it on Instagram. It was a cool riff that really took off and had a life of it's own. That's the beauty of music – how a 20 second riff with no lyric at all can make people feel a certain way.
On the album you've chosen ‘Stomp' to finish the project but I could see it as an opener as well. Where does it fit in your live sets?
Right now we're closing with it. ‘Stomp' has been out for a couple of years now and it was never part of a bigger project so we thought it should go on the album. It's been a big part of my career so we thought it was a good way to close down the whole album and this part of my life with it.
There's a whole bunch of atmospheres and vibes on ‘Time.' Songs like ‘Bullet' and Mistakes' lean heavily into that late 90s early 00s post grunge rock era of bands like Hinder and The Calling, maybe even The Goo Goo Dolls. Were you a fan of bands of that era?
Oh yeah, man, big time. I was a huge fan of 90s Country then classic and southern rock and then those bands of the early 2000s. Hinder, The Calling, Lifehouse, Three Doors Down, Switchfoot….. Nickelback, dude! You can hear those influences in my songs.
Balances against that are songs like the title track, ‘Time' that has a more country texture. Do you ever record a song and then sit back and say ‘I need to make that more country' or ‘I need to make that more rock' or do you just let the muse do what it's going to do?
I think some of that is done in pre-production and post-production so that you have it all ironed out before it goes to be mastered! (laughing) We spent a lot of time on pre-production for this project, working out where these songs we going to live and what journey they were going to take the listener on.
We wanted to nail down how they all married together. You don't want 13 songs to sound the same but conversely, you don't want some way out in left field and others way out in right field so that you can't figure out what the album is saying or is about, right? I feel like we did a good job of that.
I think my favourite track on the album is ‘Love is Hard.' Have you got a favourite or is that like asking you to choose between your kids?
That and like asking me to choose between my favourite guitars, man. (laughing) I go back and forth. I love ‘Time,' it's why I named the album that. I do love ‘Love is Hard' also – when that hook hits….. wow! ‘Whiskey on a Wound' has been a favourite of mine for five years now. ‘Bullet,' I wrote about my wife…… I wrote them all for different reasons but it probably be ‘Time' right now.
Is there a designated focus track on Friday when the album comes out?
‘I'll Take You.' That song was originally a ballad, as ballad as you can get. We were in pre-production and I started playing that riff and we were, like, wait a minute, this could make ‘I'll Take You' an uptempo song!! It felt like it was always supposed to be an uptempo song!
That double whammy opening of ‘Ill Take You' and ‘Rearview' really opens up the album in fine style.
It does! A lot of that came from the live show. Nobody ever left a live show saying, ‘Man, that sure was great but I sure wish that they had played more ballads!' (laughing) You definitely need them and they have space but when can you go wrong with four-on-the-floor uptempo songs that make you wanna put your hands up in the air?
You've got this raspy, Bryan Adams-style voice. Do you have to do anything special to take care of it?
I do feel like I have a gift from God but that's not to say that I don't have to take care of it. It's not that difficult for me to blow it out at times so I'll do my warm ups and stuff before shows and I've learned over the years that hydration is so important to keeping it good. If I blow it out, is there a sure-fire cure? No. There's not.
Your voice is a muscle, it's a tool and I can't do what I do without it so I try not to abuse it.
Would you ever be tempted to say yes if a Luke Combs level artist came knocking and asked you to be the guitarist in his band or are you solely focused on being a frontman for your own career?
I'm solely focused on that. As much as I love playing guitar it's just one part of what I do. I love the whole package of writing, playing guitar and singing live. I've never, honestly, had a time where I thought that I would set the artist thing aside and just be a player, it wouldn't be the same for me.
If you were writing for your next project and you could work with someone who you haven't worked with as yet who would you choose?
I think a really cool collab would be a song with John Mayer. He is an unbelievable guitar player and it blows my mind watching and listening to his touch and his feel. Our styles are so completely different but I feel like it would work, it would be such a cool thing if we melded it together in the right way.
What's the plan for the rest of the year and into 2026 to try and get this music out to as many people as possible?
I've been on the road for a long time now. We're just wrapping up a tour now that started in the summer and finishes later in the fall so more of that will be on the cards. Man, I just want to get this music out online – it exists there just as much as it does playing live. I've never played over in the UK – I'd love to do that at some point, you've got some wild country fans over there!
Listen to Ben Gallaher's new album ‘Time' which is out TODAY (September 26th) in all the usual places.
