Restless Road — the rising country trio of Zach Beeken, Garrett Nichols and Colton Pack — are celebrating their signing to Kane Brown’s 1021 Entertainment with a brand-new single. “Took One Look at Her Momma” celebrates the women we love, and perhaps more importantly, the people who made them that way.
The protagonist of Restless Road’s new song is smitten: His love’s “got a heart of gold … [and] lights up every room she walks in,” and it seems, as the saying goes, she got it from her mother.
“Where she got it from, I was dying to know / Well, it all made sense when she brought me home,” they sing over a steady, guitar-driven melody that’s got a throwback edge. “I took one look at her momma / I took one look at the woman that raised her up right / I knew that I was a goner / Soon as I saw where my baby done got that smile, oh / The pretty in her genes / Gonna last a lifetime it seems / I knew that peach didn’t fall far from the tree …”
Restless Road co-wrote “Took One Look at Her Momma” with Lindsay Rimes and Andy Albert, based on a bit of “dad wisdom” from Nichols’ father, who told his son to look to a significant other’s mother as an indication of what she’ll be like in the future. Beeken, however, was the one to suggest it as a song title.
“We all looked at each other, and we were like, ‘Yeah, that could be pretty cool,'” Nichols remembers. The bandmates say they’re excited to share the song’s “fun vibe,” and that Brown is a big fan of the song as well.
1021 Entertainment is Brown’s new venture with his label, Sony Music Nashville. Restless Road are his first signed act, and they are also signed to the Sony/ATV publishing company. Brown was already acting as a mentor to the trio; he, Beeken and Pack met during tryouts for The X-Factor‘s third season in 2013, and Beeken and Pack later found Nichols via social media.
“We all look at [Kane] as an old brother. He has great advice on music stuff, but even personal matters; he’s always there to help, and he’s always looking out for us,” Restless Road say, noting that Brown’s fans have also been receptive of them and their music. “And he’s been there, so he knows what to expect … Yeah, he’s just really a good guy.”
Restless Road spent years working on their career after their turn on The X-Factor, but when Brown reached out about working with them in mid-2019, they’d actually gone their separate ways. Sensing the opportunity wasn’t one to pass up, they officially reunited and began crafting some new music.
The trio previously released a self-titled EP, which features “Take Me Home,” a modernized, reimagined version of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” that received the blessing of Denver’s estate. Dann Huff and Rimes co-produced the EP.
“Up until this point … people really don’t know who we are as a band, and so we’re really excited to show them this year,” Restless Road reflect. “It’s going to be a big year for us.”
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