Hailing from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Cooper Alan has quickly emerged as one of country music’s most exciting new voices — a songwriter and performer who can make you laugh, cry, and raise a glass all in the same set. His debut album, ‘Winston-Salem,' (our review here) plants both boots firmly in the red clay of his Southern roots while capturing the electric, unrestrained energy of his live shows. The record’s unique two-part concept — ‘Winston' representing the heartfelt and reflective side of his artistry, and ‘Salem' embodying his rowdy, good-time spirit — offers a full-spectrum portrait of who Alan is, both on and off the stage.
Across ‘Winston-Salem' Alan blends small-town storytelling with modern flair, pairing faith and family values with a dash of honky-tonk mischief. From the raw emotion of ‘Hard Acre' to the raucous fun of ‘Crazy Shady Uncle,' ‘Plead the Fifth' and ‘Drunk Drink,' his songs are loaded with personality, humour and heart. It’s an ambitious, fearless debut that proves Cooper Alan isn’t just another viral country star — he’s a fully realised artist with something meaningful to say. If ‘Winston-Salem' is any indication, this is only the beginning of a long and unpredictable ride from one of country’s most authentic new storytellers. We were thrilled to catch up with Cooper to talk all about it.
Thanks for your time today Cooper, it's great to touch base with you – we are such big fans of this album! We don't give out full five star reviews often but ‘Winston-Salem' is going to be one of them.
Oh man! C'mon! I love that. I appreciate that and thank you for taking the time to do this interview and listen to the music, it means a lot.
As well as the album we have a UK tour next year to look forward to as well!
I've been wanting to announce UK shows for three years now – we're finally making it happen.
‘Winston-Salem' is named after your home town. Can you share a little about what it's like there, what we could expect if we visited and how it has shaped you as a person and musician?
You know, don't sleep on Winston-Salem! Krispy Kreme doughnuts started there, Winston cigarettes, Camel cigarettes, Texas Pete hot sauce, if you've ever tasted that. Moravian Sugar Cake – that's some good stuff – is from there too! (laughing)
There's about 250,000 people and it was the best place to grow up. Everyone says it's a great place to raise a family and we're likely going to go and raise our family there eventually. It's a community that is there for each other – even in my early days of playing music back in high school, we weren't really any good but a lot of people showed up and made sure we were supported! It's one of those places were you drive in and immediately feel a warmth from the people that live and work there.
When did you first know you wanted to play music for a living?
Dude, I saw Kid Rock in concert when I was in eighth grade with my parents and my brothers and I watched what he was doing on stage and I wanted to make people feel like he did. As I grew up and went to see people like Tom Petty, ACDC, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church I was inspired by those artists and wanted to have that same impact.
I never really had a plan B after that. I went to college because I always knew I wanted that experience but I also always knew that it was music that I wanted to do after.
You moved to Nashville a couple of years before the pandemic to chase that dream. Did you have imposter syndrome when you first arrived because everybody there is so talented?
I think what happens to a lot of people, it certainly happened to me, is that you think you are really good. I was great in my hometown, great in my college town – pretty good at putting on a bar show – and then you move to Nashville and just get your ass kicked! (laughing) It's harder than any schooling or college you've ever been to – it was a truly humbling experience!
Then the imposter syndrome kicks in! Luckily for me, social media happened and gave a lot of opportunities to a lot of people to connect with fans in new and different ways.
Yeah, so ‘New Normal' explodes on TikTok – tell me about the importance of that platform to you.
It's been everything, really. Who knows if I would have reached the people that I have if it wasn't for that platform? It allowed me to a build such a great relationship with awesome people that have been so supportive. ‘New Normal' was the first time that people sought out one of my songs – we went from getting 75,000 streams a year to the equivalent in just one day! It was crazy.
The 615 House collective in Nashville also gave you a boost. Every artist has a class of peers that emerge at the same time as they do. Who would you say your class of artists or peers are?
Everybody in that house is a dear friend of mine. Priscilla Block, Ashley Cooke, Chris Rudiger, Alexandra Kay. I talk to Thomas Mac about five times a week, still! That whole group was so special to me. Nashville is such a collaborative town which means you make friends along the way naturally anyway. Bailey Zimmerman is, like, the nicest guy in the world – he's been so cool to get to know.
Do you think you have managed to get past that suspicion from traditionalists that ‘TikTok artists' (even the phrase itself can be pejorative) aren't as talented or as valued as ones that have grafted for a decade in a ten year town?
I know people were hesitant at first and I don't blame anybody for that. It was a crazy thing that happened in and around the pandemic but it's tough to be a ‘normal' artist now, whatever it is that that means, without having a presence and some success on social media. It's the biggest way to reach the most people now, it's become part of the accepted business model now.
At the end of the day it's better for the fans, it helps them discover what they want to discover and there's a whole lot less gatekeeping.
Songs like ‘Alive' and ‘Damn in Me' would be a good starting point to jump into talking about the album because they are such defiant and empowering songs, the latter even might be a middle finger up to the traditional music industry.
We kinda went crazy on ‘Alive.' It was inspired a little by what Eminem used to do! I'm not even in the same universe as him, obviously, but it's what we were shooting for. We were up in the mountains, me, John Pierce and Micah Wilshire and we had had some drinks and we decided to do something insane! There's an acoustic 90s feel to it like bands like Everlast used to have too.
They are the most angry songs on the album and I'm so not an angry person! (laughing) I'm a happy dude. We went after the record industry on ‘Damn in Me' but I've never been done wrong by anybody and I hope it doesn't come across that I think that I am entitled to anything in this business. It's more of a ‘Hey, stick to your guns and don't let anybody change who you are or what you do' kind of song more than anything.
You've gone to great pains to explain that ‘Winston-Salem' is an album of two parts. ‘Winston' being the heartfelt family-leaning side and ‘Salem' is the rockier, rowdier, raucous side. Was that always going to be the idea or did it evolve organically as you began to put the project together?
It evolved organically. Originally it was just going to be the ‘Winston' side. I had about 10 songs that we listened back to – If you've seen my live show it's a very high energy, rowdy experience that has some heartfelt stuff mixed in too – and it felt like me but it only really felt like half of me. That's when we pumped the brakes and said, ‘Let's write some crazier stuff, some off the wall stuff' to try and capture that other side of me.
My team trusted me and believed in the vision. Hey, at the end of the day, you have to go follow your heart, right?
Is there a track on there that you see as the emotional centre piece of the album?
‘Starting to Show' is certainly my favourite because of what that song is about. I love that it is a kinda continuation of ‘Take Forever.' As life has developed to the point where we are having a daughter in December now, that's the song that brings the feels and the tears.
When you write a song like that, or ‘5×7' which is also a very personal song, is it hard to get the tone right because it is such a personal song or do those type of songs just pour out of you?
Those are the easiest to write because they are so real. You are writing about things that are happening directly to you. I think the social media age has encouraged artists to really dig deep and share their personal stories with a wider audience, which is a good thing. At the end of the day, you have to write about what you know, right?
I'm not afraid to tell you that I teared up the first time I heard ‘Hard Acre'……….
Oh wow! I love that song.
…. the story, the older guy passing the land and the mantle down to the younger one. Is that based on a real life story or did you take some creative licence there?
There's some creative licence for sure. I wrote that song with Derek Bahr, Zachary Kale and Joseph Patton and one of them had the title, which is a clever title in the context of how it sounds and the meaning. We then generated the story and the theme of the song, which is very representative of where I am in life right now, about to turn 30.
You spend your twenties rushing from thing to thing and trying to build a life and a career that those years can rush by. ‘Hard Acre' is a reminder to slow down and cherish the moments that really matter as they happen.
‘Winston' is full of heartfelt songs like that and ‘Fourth of July' but then all of a sudden ‘Salem' explodes with ‘Plead the Fifth,' an Irish drinking song that repurposes the melody to ‘Auld Lang Syne.'
Dude, is there anything better than Irish pub rock drinking songs? (laughing) I don't have any real reason to love that stuff, Scottish music, Newfoundland sea shanties – it's all freakin awesome. ‘Auld Lang Syne' is public domain, right, it's up for grabs for free! (laughing) Let's use it!
We were just sitting there and my buddy had a title and the tune to ‘Auld Lang Syne' just appeared and our first thought was, ‘Is this even legal?' Turns out it was! (laughing)
Have you ever stumbled over the lyrics singing it live because the delivery of it is furious!
Once. Yeah. When you flub one word with a song like that there is no coming back or recovery. It might be fun for an audience to see it when it does happen, at least, that's what I hoped! (laughing)
Talking of fun – ‘Dale Dickens RIP' is a lot of fun too. Dale gets a mention in ‘BOS' as well – he's like a little through character or easter egg. Was he real or is he a cypher for the songs?
He's fictitious! Luckily I didn't know anybody like him growing up. There is no-one like Dale in ‘Winston-Salem,' obviously. (laughing) It was fun to bring him back in ‘BOS' because that guy just sucks!
You are going to have a problem with your live set lists because I don't know which of these 20 songs you are going to have to leave out!
You know, I hope we have that problem and people love the songs so that we do have that headache but I'm not taking anything for granted! There certainly is a lot to choose from.
I'm excited that the UK and Ireland will be one of the first places that will hear these new songs live next year. We have a few gigs before that tour but it will be really cool to air the songs for the first time over there.
The album is very intentional in terms of it being two very distinct and different sides. Have you given any thought, as yet, as to how you will integrate them into one cohesive live show?
The album is two sides but my live show has always reflected that I think. I always start with some high energy songs and then we have more of an emotional section in the middle of the show before you end on a set of bangers! ‘Plead the Fifth' has always been the perfect last song in the set all year now and I don't see that changing any time soon.
You can't have too many slow songs in a row but you've also got to do some ballads – it's fun, it takes some figuring out but if everybody is drinking we'll get there somehow! (laughing)
Were there any songs that were left off the project because they didn't fit the ‘Winston-Salem' idea? Songs you might have tucked away for a future project?
There were a few but, honestly, no, not really. We put out a couple of teasers that weren't necessarily well received whereas so many of these songs meant so much to me that we soon pivoted and focused on those.
All artists are the same – the second you are done with an album you're instantly moving onto the next one and that's where we are right now!
Congratulations on the upcoming arrival of your daughter in December. How are you feeling about it right now and, more importantly, how's your wife?
My wife is a champ, an absolute warrior. She's the backbone of the whole thing. I have no idea what I'm doing although I know I'm emotionally ready and so as long as I just follow her I know that we will be more than fine!
A new album, a new baby! How are you going to manage getting the music out to as many people in 2026 as you possibly can?
(laughing) I haven't a clue! Dude – luckily we don't start up playing again till the end of March so there will be some good time to get on top of all the baby stuff. From then on? We'll figure it out as we go. I can imagine that the baby will come along with us a lot initially and there also might be some times where my wife, Hally, stays at home. When the foundation of the relationship is so strong I believe that you can figure it out together and it will be the best that it can be. I'm excited!
What would be the best thing for you next year? A huge arena tour supporting a bigger artist or playing smaller but longer shows to your own fans?
I love the idea of playing to my own people. We started playing in 300 capacity clubs and now we're up in the 1250 range and I love how those rooms feel. I hope the record helps things to continue to grow and I'll never take for granted the support that people show me but to be able to play for people who have spent their money on coming to see you and not someone else is the best feeling their is.
Check out Cooper Alan's new album ‘Winston-Salem' which is out today. Our review is right here.
