In Episode 70 of Try That in a Small Town, the conversation turns practical: not whether AI will take over country music, but how working musicians are already using it — wisely, carefully, and without losing the heart of the song.
“What used to take us two or three days... we can now do in 30 minutes,” the guys explain. That might sound like a threat to creativity — but they’re not outsourcing their craft to machines. They’re using AI and digital tools to make the process faster, more efficient, and in some ways, more accessible.
But here’s the key difference: they’re still writing the songs.
AI Helps With the Demo — Not the Story
One of the clearest examples from the episode is how they use software to create professional-grade demos quickly. Instead of booking expensive sessions and pulling together multiple players, they can build out a track in half an hour using high-level plug-ins and AI-assisted production tools.
This doesn’t mean they’re letting a robot write the lyrics or press record. It means they’re saving time on the technical side, so they can spend more of it doing what matters — writing something real.
“I hate to feel like you don’t have to be creative to create,” one of them says — not out of fear, but out of respect. Respect for the process. Respect for the roots.
They’re not afraid of AI. They just refuse to let it replace the human soul that drives a great song.
Tools Change — But The Truth Doesn’t
Country music has always adapted to technology. What used to be done on tape moved to digital. What once required a studio now fits in a laptop. AI is just the latest evolution — and these guys are smart enough to use it without losing themselves in it.
They’re blending tradition with innovation, showing younger writers that it’s okay to use modern tools — as long as you're still the one with something to say.
This isn’t selling out. It’s staying sharp.
A Model for the Industry
In a time when AI is either blindly praised or completely feared, this episode shows a better path: Use it, but don’t worship it. Enhance the process, but don’t fake the product.
Because at the end of the day, an AI program can’t tell your story. It wasn’t there when your heart got broken. It doesn’t know what it's like to grow up with nothing but a guitar, a dream, and a prayer.
Only you know that. Only a human can write that. And that’s why the soul of music — especially country music — will always belong to the people who live it.