Earning a degree in songwriting from Middle Tennessee State University, Hardy gained a stellar reputation in Nashville, penning hits like Blake Shelton’s “God’s Country” and “Sand In My Boots” by Morgan Wallen. Inking a deal with Big Loud in 2018, the artist (whose real name is Michael Hardy) released his debut album, A Rock, two years later. While Hardy certainly knows his way around a hell-raising, beer-drinking anthem, the Mississippi native isn’t afraid to tackle more weighty materials in his work. Debuting a brand-new song during the Listening Room’s 20th anniversary at the Ryman Auditorium Tuesday (March 3), the ACM Award-winning songwriter showed off his versatility.
Listen to Hardy’s New Song “Tommy Made the News”
Titled “Tommy Made the News”, Hardy’s new song chronicles the final hours of a school shooter: Tommy woke up for school this morning / Had everything he needed in his old backpack /Ketchup and a fried egg waiting for him / And he pulled out the drive just to never come back.
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Once a terrifying anomaly, school shootings have unfortunately become commonplace in today’s climate. In “Tommy Made the News”, Hardy paints a picture that is sadly all too easy to envision: hollow-point bullets “rained like hell” in the hallway before Tommy is discovered “on the bathroom floor.”
Tommy’s mama cried / Whole damn town did too, Hardy sang. What a mess the devil made / What a hell they have to go through / Lord, ain’t it a shame / That Tommy made the news.
Country Singer Shares Surprising Pre-Fame Occupation
Before he became one of the most sought-after songwriters in Nashville, Hardy had to make a living somehow. During a recent episode of State Farm’s Neighborhood Beats, the “Give Heaven Some Hell” singer, 35, revealed he previously worked as a gravedigger in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi.
“It was really fun,” he said. “Other than this job, it was the most fun I’ve ever had as a worker.”
Hardy continued, “I just had a great boss. Our departments were so small because our town was so small. It was the cemetery department/animal control. So in the summer, when it would get really hot and all of the grass would die, we’d just chase stray dogs around. But yeah, I was a gravedigger.”
Featured image by Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage
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