Scotty McCreery has written plenty of songs in his career, including his current single, “Cab In A Solo.” The song, from his highly-anticipated new album, was written while on a writing retreat in his home state of North Carolina.

“‘Cab In A Solo’ was a fun one. It was actually the first time I had ever taken some buddies up to the mountains of North Carolina, one of my favorite places,” McCreery told iHeartCountry. “We all just hung out at the place. We were on the back porch, around the fireplace. Brent Anderson came in with this idea. He had a little bit of a work tape going on it. I just love how country that is. Love the storytelling, the heartbreak, the turn on the words. I just fell in love instantly, and we sat down with a bunch of guitars and wrote that in no time.”

The  30-year-old wrote a lot of songs on that writing retreat, but knew right away that “Cab In A Solo” was something special.

“It’s one of my favorites I’ve written in a long time,” McCreery previously told Everything Nash of the song, now in the Top 20. “We went up to the mountains in North Carolina, just me and a bunch of buddies; guitars, cold beer and fireplaces. We sat outside and wrote songs. We wrote a bunch that weekend.

 

“But when  I was driving back in the mountains, and even since then, I kept going back to ‘Cab In A Solo,’” he continued. “I kept going back to it. To me, that meant, ‘Oh, there’s something here.’ Luckily, everybody else loved it, and the label. We put it out there, and it’s been off to a great start.”

The future Grand Ole Opry member just dropped another song, “Can’t Pass The Bar,” from his next record, this one an ode to his love of ’90s country music.

“I grew up loving ’90s country music, specifically the barn-burning country music songs,” McCreery said, citing John Michael Montgomery‘s “Sold” and Garth Brooks‘ “Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up).” “So I wanted to write myself a barn-burning country music song for this next album.”

 

McCreery hasn’t shared a title or release date for his next record, but he does hint that it will celebrate his deep love of traditional country music, with something for everyone on the diverse project.

“I thought ‘Cab In A Solo’ was going to be a great first taste for folks, if they’re looking forward to the album, what the album’s going to be like,” McCreery shared at a recent media event. “To be honest, there’s stuff on this record that’s countrier than ‘Cab In A Solo,’ I would say. We dove right in on this sound and the storytelling and songwriting, in a bunch of different directions. I feel like there’s a song on this record for everybody. It’s a good first taste I would say, to be indicative of what the album’s going to be.”

McCreery also released “Slow Dance” from his next set of tunes. He will kick off his Cab In A Solo Tour on January 26, with Anne Wilson serving as direct support on all dates. Find music and tour dates at ScottyMcCreery.com.