A Thousand Horses is an American country music band formed in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band is composed of Michael Hobby (lead vocals), Bill Satcher (lead guitar), Zach Brown (guitar and vocals), and Graham Deloach (bass and vocals). Their first EP, A Thousand Horses, was released under Interscope Records in 2010. In 2014, the band signed with Republic Nashville of Big Machine Label Group and released its first single “Smoke”, which set a record for the highest debut by a new act when it opened at number 28 on the Country Aircheck radio chart.
Sweet Talk Publicity, a boutique PR firm, represents some of the biggest names in country music including Florida Georgia Line and Trace Adkins. They also work with Better Than Ezra and Robin Thicke. The list goes on! A few weeks ago they introduced me to A Thousand Horses, an American country music band.
They have a new single titled “Another Mile” available everywhere now! I first heard their single “Another Mile” before they released their new artist album Broken Heartland. It is SO good; I can’t stop listening to it. Too bad we live on the West Coast. The band is on the road stopping at venues in Kentucky, Georgia, Massachusetts and headed north to to play Avalon Theatre | Fallsview Casino Resort. I hope they make it over here; I’d love to see them live.
After listening to Broken Heartland (several times!) and watching several videos on YouTube, I wanted to learn more about this up-and-coming talent. It is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to A Thousand Horses!
Tell me more about A Thousand Horses. How long have you been together, where are you based and where did the name come from?
We formed in 2010 and we are based in Nashville, Tennessee. Back in 2010, we were making an EP in LA with Dave Cobb and one of the songs that was written and recorded during that session was called “A Thousand Horses”. We didn’t have a band name yet, so after throwing away a lot of other options, we asked a stranger on the street what he thought of it as band name and he said it reminded him of the Steve Miller Band. We laughed and thought, “Perfect! Steve Miller Band is badass!”
Tell me about your new album Broken Heartland.
Broken Heartland is our second full length album and our first release on our own label, Highway Sound. We couldn’t be more excited to release this album and continue to spread the gospel of our country, rock & roll sound.
There are 10 tracks on the new album. How do you decide what songs and how many to release?
We usually arm wrestle but with this album we just tried to pick our favorites and see how they fit together.
Tell me more about the giveaway you are doing… A signed guitar, handwritten lyrics AND a merch bundle? You guys are giving away the house here!!!
Yeah, man. We wanted to do something cool for our fans to celebrate the release of this album and try to come up with some really unique items that will be special to Broken Heartland. This album is just the beginning of a lot of new music we plan on releasing on Highway Sound, so we hope that our fans enjoy this giveaway. We are always trying to think of new ideas and unique items for our fans to have access to and we are stoked to get these items and more out to the winners.
Fans can subscribe to your email newsletter to receive announcements, tour updates, and merchandise deals. How many subscribers do you have and how often are you emailing folks?
I’m not sure how many subscribers we have right now off the top of my head but I will say that we don’t typically email out unless we have some news worth sharing like new music or merch.
Tell me more about your work with Sweet Talk Publicity.
Jensen and her team are at the top of their game and very passionate about their work and the artists they represent. We share the same spirit and drive for our music and work as they do with all they do for their clients and beyond. We are happy to have them on our team for A Thousand Horses and Highway Sound.
Of the 10 singles on the new album, is it possible to pick a favorite?
I think our favorites are always changing. For me, I know I go through phases. Right now my favorite is “Don’t Stop”, but next week it will be something else.
You guys are on tour right now. I’ve not seen you live yet. What can fans expect from a live performance?
Our fans can and expect a real Country Rock & Roll concert with real instruments played by real people live on stage. We love to bring the party to town and keep it rockin’ but also like to have some special and more intimate moments during the show as well. Come on out and throw down a good time with us.
Do you ever make a mistake on stage? If so, how do you power through and not let it stop you in your tracks?
If you make a mistake, play it twice and call it jazz!
There are a lot of good bars in Nashville. Where is your favorite place to grab a beer?
The Underdog on the East side is where we just shot our music video for “Broken Heartland”, and they host some of the best music in town right now.
There are also a lot of good live music venues. Where are some of your favorite places to see a show?
Probably at our annual festival, Southern Wilds Festival, in Lawrence, Georgia. We have been putting it on with a local family brewery there for a couple years and love the celebration of music and community.
Broken Heartland is your second album. How has your sound changed since releasing Southernality?
I think it’s probably matured as we have all grown up in our playing and writing a little. But it’s still Country Rock & Roll as ever.
You released an EP in 2018. Tell me more about Bridges and how an EP compares to an album. Curious about your motivation there.
We were so busy touring that year that we didn’t have time and we didn’t want to wait to finish a full album to get music out to our fans. We had an EP’s worth of songs done and we were just ready to get them out.
Speaking of that EP, I love the single “Weekends in a Small Town”. I am from a small town… Where high school kids drove John Deere tractors to school. Jack & Coke, too! Tell me more about that song and are you all from small towns? The lyrics sure make me think so!
Michael and I grew up in Newberry, South Carolina – very small town. That song was definitely written with our hometown in mind. I think Michael wrote some of the lyrics verbatim to people he knew and things he did growing up.
What is your songwriting process like? Do you sit down with a yellow pad or do lyrics just come to you?
It depends. Sometimes songs start with a concept; sometimes they fall right out. Or sometimes they take a couple years. Biggest thing is you have a set aside time to do the work. If you aren’t disciplined in that practice, life will distract you from creating art easily.
What else can you tell me about A Thousand Horses?
Even though we are taller than most folks, we all suck at basketball.
Besides releasing Broken Heartland, what’s next for A Thousand Horses?
We have a lot in the works. We are recording two different projects right now. With Highway Sound, we are fully in control of our release and recording schedule and we plan on taking full advantage of that. Fans can expect more music a lot more often and our main goal is to get more music directly to our listeners.
Thank you guys for doing this. That was fun! In all of the interviews I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.
Broken Heartland is out August 26th! We can’t wait for you all to hear it and see you out on the road!
Appreciate your time Ricky! Thanks!
For more information about A Thousand Horses, go to:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon Music | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music
