Highway Home may be relatively new to the country music scene, but Eamon, Conner, and Stanton are making up for lost time. After meeting on Music Row, the trio went from playing for crowds of 15 to performing at CMA Fest in just one year, eventually signing with Warner Records in June. Built around three lead singers and a distinctive three-part harmony, Highway Home pairs the influence of ’90s and classic country with a sound all their own. With songs like “No More Drinkin’ Songs,” “Never Grow Up,” and “Never Had Nothing,” plus a forthcoming EP produced by Ryan Gore, The Country Note caught up with Highway Home to learn more about the friendship, harmonies, songs, and whirlwind journey behind one of country music’s emerging trios.
CN: For our readers who are meeting Highway Home for the first time, introduce us to Eamon, Conner, and Stanton. What does each of you bring to the group—musically and personally?
Highway Home: (Stanton): I’m really focused on the performance side of things. Whether on stage, in the studio or on camera, I try to push all of us to go for that high note or the hard guitar part that elevates a song!
CN: Take us back to the beginning. How did the three of you meet, and when did you realize there was something worth pursuing together?
Highway Home: (Eamon) We all moved to Nashville a little over 5 years ago pursuing a solo music career. We all met at a bar in Midtown called Live Oak. There were a bunch of great rounds that all three of us would play, and also just go there to shake hands and start networking. Over the first 3 ½ years in town we all became very close friends and would already be singing harmonies on each other’s songs at writers rounds. Conner had a trio acoustic shift at The Valentine on Broadway with 2 of our other buddies Mac Eason and Hunter Holland. They both had other gigs come up and Conner needed 2 guys to fill in. Eamon and Stanton ended up being those full ins, and after our first couple shows we noticed the entire bar would come up and ask what our band name is. It took a little time but we soon figured out that forming a trio might be what we were meant to do. We started writing songs and from that point everything just fell into place!
CN: Who or what has had the biggest influence on the sound Highway Home is developing?
Highway Home: (Eamon) I would say our bringing up had the most influence on our sound. We all grew up loving harmonies in group country from bands like Restless Heart, Rascal Flatts, and Diamond Rio. It felt almost like a right place at the right time kind of thing when we started Highway Home, because we didn’t have to find a sound. The sound that came out in our songs were all the same due to the kind of music we loved listening to back then and now!
CN: You’re three singer-songwriters and three lead singers. When you bring a song into the room, what does the songwriting process look like between the three of you?
Highway Home: (Eamon) The songwriting process can look a lot of different ways. Majority of the time one of us will have a melody, a verse or chorus, or a guitar riff that will catch our ear. From there we all just look to write the story that song has to tell. We all lean on each other for melody and lyric ideas.
CN: What part of each of you do you think shows up most often in Highway Home’s music?
Highway Home: (Conner) our unique influences show up in the ideas that each of us bring to a song. Whether it’s the rockin’ guitar lick from Stanton, soaring melodies from Eamon, or quick witted country lyricism from Conner. If you know us well, you can tell whose brain the song was born from!
CN: Of the songs you’ve released so far, is there one that feels especially representative of who Highway Home is right now? Why that one?
Highway Home: (Stanton) That’s a tough one, but “Never Grow Up” comes to mind since it’s really autobiographical and we all take a section singing lead and harmonies!
CN: You’ve described a pretty incredible trajectory—from meeting on Music Row and playing for 15 people to CMA Fest and the Ryman in a remarkably short period of time. Is there one moment when the three of you looked at each other and realized, “This is really happening”?
Highway Home: (Eamon) No More Drinking songs is highway home through and through. From the moment that we showed that song to our team, they fell in love with it as much as we did. Furthermore our fans also clung on to that song more than others. It represents an early 90s/2000s but modernized feel.
There have been a lot of “This is really happening” moments so far. From signing a record deal, to being on stage with Artists like Sara Evans and Cole Swindell, I think we have that feeling a lot. The one that really made us realize that was playing the Ryman. It is a place that we have all dreamed of playing, and after we got off the stage I think we all thought we were dreaming.
CN: Three-part harmony has become such an important part of Highway Home’s identity, but you’re also three lead singers. How do you decide who takes the lead on a song and where each voice belongs within those harmonies?
Highway Home: (Eamon) Crazy enough there has never been an argument when it comes to who is singing the song. We all understand the minute we start writing who that song is for, and all of us love singing harmonies as much as we love singing lead!
CN: Ryan Gore was one of the first people to give you an opportunity after seeing you play a four-hour cover set, and now he’s producing your upcoming EP. What did he hear in Highway Home that night, and how has that relationship shaped the music you’re making now?
Highway Home: (Conner) I got called in to fill a solo acoustic spot at the 12:30 club. A four hour, dinner time set. Ryan came in and dropped $20 and his card in the tip bucket. I didn’t really think anything of it, until something in me told me to look him up. When I did I was blown away! I couldn’t believe he actually saw something in me. We met up at Waffle House and from that day forward we have worked together. We were about halfway through recording my debut solo album when highway home became something we were interested in pursuing. I brought him the idea and a couple of rough work tapes we had put together and he didn’t even skip a beat. We got straight to work on Highway Home and haven’t looked back. His belief in us is unwavering, and we truly wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are without him! He is a blessing and a friend.
CN: “No More Drinkin’ Songs,” “Never Grow Up,” and “Never Had Nothing” each show a different side of the group—from honky-tonk to nostalgia to falling hard for someone. What do those three songs tell us about what we can expect from the upcoming EP?
Highway Home: (Stanton) There’s definitely a range of themes on this record, and that comes from our personal influences in the songwriting. We all bring different styles, and that adds a layer to the project! That’s what we love about bands, there’s this collaborative element that creates a diverse sound. It’s all centered around the harmonies and lyrical collaboration at the end of the day, though.
CN: You signed with Warner Records in June after everything moved very quickly for the band. How do you hold onto the chemistry and sound that got you noticed while navigating this new stage of your career?
Highway Home: (Eamon) We are very lucky and fortunate to be a band together. The root of starting this band was us 3 being best buddies, and as we have progressed we have gotten closer and closer. Leaning on each other and being able to hold each other accountable has been huge. It makes the experience of taking on the music industry so fun, and also makes it easier to not get lost in all of the craziness.
CN: What has surprised you most about pursuing music professionally—something none of you expected when you started?
Highway Home: (Conner) one thing that I am so grateful for that I didn’t see coming when I set out to pursue music is how much of a team effort it is. Other artists are not competition, they are an incredible resource and collaborator in your journey. We each found our people early into being in town, and when one person wins, everyone wins. Our community continues to challenge us and help us grow! The biggest proof of this is how we all started as individual artists and have teamed up to create something much bigger than ourselves.
CN: What’s something about each of you that fans would probably never guess from listening to Highway Home?
Highway Home: (Conner) I love riding and racing Dirtbikes!
CN: When you’re not writing, recording, or performing, what does a perfect day look like for the three of you?
Highway Home: (Stanton) Put us on a golf course, in a duck blind or on a dirt bike trail! We’ve all shared our hobbies over these last couple years and had some great times together. When it’s warm, it’s fishing, riding and golf. When it’s cold, we’ll be hunting or talking trash over football, haha!
CN: Highway Home gets one dream collaboration—artist or group, past or present. Who are you calling?
Highway Home: (Conner) Give me Restless Heart. Yeah there would probably be 9 of us on stage or in the studio but I pull so much inspiration from their harmonies, composition, and songwriting!
CN: What was the first concert each of you ever attended?
(Conner) I believe it was Alabama in 2002!
(Stanton) Keith Urban
(Eamon) Eric Church
CN: What’s one song by another artist that you wish Highway Home had written?
Highway Home: (Conner) Dirt cheap immediately comes to mind. Josh Phillips just had lightning in a pen that day when he wrote such an impactful song, all by himself.
CN: If we opened the Highway Home group playlist right now, what artist or song would surprise us most?
Highway Home: (Stanton) Probably “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing”. You’ve got the original by Aerosmith, and the country version by Mark Chesnutt that are both great. We think that speaks to how well written the song is!
CN: What’s one piece of advice that has stayed with you as everything around the band has started moving so quickly?
Highway Home: (Stanton) To keep moving forward, making music true to us. It’s easy to worry about the future and where we might land, but many folks we look up to have shown us that authenticity shines through.
CN: Finish this sentence: People would understand Highway Home better if they knew ______.
Highway Home: (Conner) Our true, deep appreciation for the presence of Group country and harmony groups through the decades.
CN: If each of you had to describe this chapter of your lives in one word, what would it be—and why?
Highway Home: Dream. (Eamon) We have all wanted to have the opportunity to do this for a living since we moved to town. Not only are we able to do that, but we get to do it with our best friends. That kind of thing isn’t something we will ever take for granted and just can’t wait to work hard together to push Highway Home forward!
CN: Finally, what’s ahead for Highway Home? What should fans be watching for next?
Highway Home: (Stanton) People can expect a lot more music, and an ever-improving live show! We’re booking into next year, and are so excited to keep building on our set and performances. All-in-all, we’re just looking to connect with as many people through country music and 3 part harmonies as possible.
Check out Highway Home’s Latest EP “No More drinking Songs” and more at https://www.highwayhomeofficial.com/
