Country band Parmalee rides a wave of success into 2023: Interview
What could Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silk Sonic and Imagine Dragons share in common with tenured country band Parmalee? An award nomination that caught a few by surprise — including Parmalee's co-founder Matt Thomas.
The "Take My Name" group competes this year against Måneskin, Black Eyed Peas, Glass Animals and more as the only country act nominated for Best Duo/Group Of the Year at the upcoming iHeartRadio Music Awards. In its 10th year, the award show returns to Los Angeles on March 27 to celebrate artists who received the most spins on iHeart platforms.
When Thomas saw the nomination, he asked himself a question: Is this real?
"My sister-in-law sent me a picture and I was like, 'What?'" he said. "It's pretty awesome. Bruno Mars-Silk Sonic? Red Hot Chili Peppers? Just being in that category is humbling."
The nomination comes during a wave of success for Parmalee unlike any seen by the band — a decade after first breaking into the country radio charts. Parmalee's 2021 single "Take My Name" topped Billboard's year-end Country Airplay chart, while new radio single "Girl In Mine" continues to gain airwave spins.
In a new Tennessean interview, Thomas discusses "Take My Name," the up-and-downs of life in music and what fans can expect in 2023. Read on for highlights.
On Parmalee topping the country charts and earning award season recognitions after years of start-and-stop success in Nashville:
"Our motto is to just keep it going. You gotta keep it going," Thomas said. "Especially in country — if you're not really on the radio, [people are] like, 'Where'd y'all go?' We've been right here, working just as hard as we've been working. Even harder. It's just showing up for work and gettin' at it and trying to stay as positive as you can."
On when he knew "Take My Name" — a tender-hearted country-pop song now considered a go-to in the band's discography — would become one of Parmalee's best-known radio hits:
"Honestly, the first time we posted a clip of that in TikTok, we got hit up [by] people, like 'I need this for my wedding,'" Thomas said. "We kinda felt like it was something then. When we were on tour, every show we played we would give people [a chance] to sing it back. It was like, 'Oh, wow. Everybody in here knows the song.' And then my sister sends me a video of her shopping in Wal-Mart and it's on. ... That's mind-blowing."
On the story behind the band's next single, "Girl In Mine":
"It follows right along the same lane as 'Just The Way' and 'Take My Name,'" Thomas said. "There's a trilogy to that. ... It just felt good for the next single. It's up-tempo, it's fun. It's definitely our sound."
On plans for 2023:
'We're doing the 'Take My Name' headlining tour," Thomas said. "That's the first thing on the agenda. And obviously writing for the next project. This iHeart thing's pretty awesome, too.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Parmalee rides a wave of success into 2023: Interview
