Walker Montgomery was singing the lyrics to his new song years before he even heard it. "Bad Day to Be a Beer" is a wide open country-rocker that recognizes the sacrifices made by our 12-ounce friends whenever we want to have fun.

Talking to Taste of Country, Montgomery — the son of John Michael Montgomery — recalled his time as a Wildcat at the University of Kentucky. He was a communications major with a minor in history, but the experiment only lasted about nine weeks — perhaps due to his pledge to Sigma Chi, perhaps not.

“We used to wake up on Saturdays, which we called 'Cat-urdays' and say, 'Man, it's a bad day to be a beer.' And it always was," Montgomery says. "When I heard this song I was like, it's meant to be."

"It's a good day to be on the water / Sittin' on a honey hole, wettin' the line / It's a good day to roll down a back road / Shotgun blue eyes, red dirt flyin'," he sings at the chorus of "Bad Day to Be a Beer."

"It's a good day to hit the seven eleven up / Fill the tank and a 45 Yeti up / Good day to catch a buzz 'round here but it's a bad, bad day to be a beer." 

Dallas Davidson (one-third of the Peach Pickers, with Ben Hayslip and Rhett Akins) produced "Bad Day to Be a Beer," a song written by Davidson with Cole Taylor and Luke Combs hitmaker Ray Fulcher. The full songwriting team produced some of Montgomery's other songs, an idea the newcomer's boss had during the COVID-19 pandemic (Montgomery does a pretty gnarly Dallas Davidson growl in recreating the phone call).

Still, it all starts with the song for him. Even in a singles world, when every release seems like a high pressure moment to introduce a new side to your artistry, relatability is king for the 21-year-old. On hearing BDTBAB, he thought:

"I could drink on a boat to that, and I probably know about 100 other people who feel the same way."

The Kentucky Montgomerys are proving to be a real source of rising talent in Nashville. In addition to being John Michael's son, Walker is Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry's nephew and Dillon Carmichael's cousin. His oldest sister Madison also "sings like an angel," but is more interested in the business side of things and works for a Nashville public relations firm. Throw in Travis Denning (he's dating Madison) and you've got a pretty great chorus for Sunday morning hymns.

As much as anyone from that group, Walker Montgomery is focused on songwriting. His relationship with Davidson and Akins dates back several years, but beyond being mentors, they're friends with similar song ideologies. This makes it real easy to find common ground in writing rooms. "Simple Man" and "Saving for a Rainy Night" are two of his more popular songs on Spotify.

2021 promises more new music — six songs are recorded and ready for release — and, hopefully, some touring. He's hungry to chew up some highway and take the stage once again. Fortunately, all 2020 shows were pushed to 2021, and he's added a few more to fill out the calendar should COVID-19 loosen its grip, something that an artist like Montgomery can be hopeful for now that there is a vaccine.

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