Red Bull Jukebox songwriting competition: Gary Frost wins the grand prize
Red Bull Jukebox Nashville 2024
© Natalie Somekh / Red Bull Content Pool
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Tell us about your songwriting background and personal history. How did you get to this moment?
I moved here two years ago from New Jersey. I did the Jersey Shore cover band scene and decided I wanted to write songs. I knew one person besides my fiancé before moving to Nashville, so I started meeting people, playing anywhere I could. What got me into country was one of my good friends. They took me to a Florida Georgia Line [show] at 14. I was hooked on their melodies. I slowly transitioned from Ed Sheeran into country, like Eric Church. Now, I’ve started my own writer’s round at Tailgate Brewery in Midtown.
Gary Frost at Red Bull Jukebox Nashville
© Nathalie Somekh
How did it feel out there, when you realized you won the songwriting competition?
It felt great. It was such a rush. I saw my family — I saw them start to cheer. They started pointing at me. I was like, “I think I won.” That felt great. I didn’t feel nervous. I told them,”If I win I win, if I don't I’m happy to just be here.”
Tell us about writing your winning song “Reason That I Love Life.”
The song came from the prompt, and it’s all about my fiancé. Why do I love life? Because of her. The song is all about her — the little things she does that go unnoticed. That girl can’t go a day without Starbucks in the morning. The ultimate reason I love life is because I love her.
What are your career goals?
I definitely want to get signed. I've been putting music out, transitioning into a Tucker Wetmore, Morgan Wallen style. I’m writing three or four times a week. I would love to hear a song of mine released through a major record label, maybe by an artist like Chase Rice or Luke Combs. Between getting signed and getting a song with a major label, I want to know I’m the reason people are feeling things. I want to write for other people, and work my way into being an artist. I think my writing will get me there.
Gary Frost at Red Bull Jukebox Nashville
© Catherine Powell
How will the Red Bull Recording Studios trip further those goals?
I’ve never been to LA before. I think it’ll get me to a different audience, get me exposed to a different environment. I’ll make better connections, and have a better quality of production. It’ll open doors in ways I didn’t think possible. Red Bull is universal, not just a country music brand. A lot of what I’m putting out now is pop country but it could go either way. Those different avenues definitely help.
How do you think Red Bull’s work in Nashville is impacting the songwriting community?
I think it’s great. People that pay to come to these shows, like Priscilla Block said during the concert tonight, they get a say at a Jukebox show. That culture, impacting Nashville, could bring in not just country fans. If people know they have more control, they will request songs. They get to hear them. Instead of coming to a show to hear one or two songs, it’ll expose more from each artist and cater toward what people want to hear.
Do you hope to become more a part of the Nashville writer’s community?
I love it here. I definitely love writing during the day, networking at night. Meeting people, writing songs — before I started co-writing, I did all my writing by myself. With co-writing, you can see different experiences. It opened me up to a bunch of different ideas from other people. I’m locked in. There’s nothing like it, nothing like tonight. This wouldn’t have happened at the Jersey shore.
Gary Frost at Red Bull Jukebox Nashville
© Catherine Powell
What was your favorite part of the Jukebox show?
I’m a really big Tucker Wetmore fan. He popped onto the scene within the last year or two but I have known his name for longer. I try to cater my style of music toward what he’s doing. Muscadine Bloodline singing “Porch Swing Angel,” that was my song for years. It takes you back.
What’s your advice for new songwriters?
Write with everybody you can. Network with everybody you can. Don’t sit home and watch football on Thursdays like I did in the beginning. You have to go out and meet people. You have to rise with your class. It’s a lot more than just writing. You can have all the talent in the world, but staying at home is not gonna get you anywhere.
What’s next for you?
Keep putting out music, writing songs, hope the right person hears. My new single, “Days Like Today,” is out now. I just want to write songs people want to listen to.