Parmalee on Backstage Country: The Stories That Turn into Songs

Representing the state of North Carolina, Parmalee, with brothers Matt and Scott Thomas, Barry Knox, and Josh McSwain, step in as guest co-hosts this week on Backstage Country alongside Elaina Smith. Who knew the band members are great storytellers?   

For the whole week, the chart-toppers will share with listeners the stories behind their biggest songs, as well as the experiences and moments that shaped their music.  

Smith congratulated the band on closing 2025 with “Cowgirl” going No. 1. The band, which is no stranger to having hits, explained that the experience was still different. Lead vocals, Matt said, “It’s been its own thing. We’ve just seen it grow all year. We released it in February and seeing how many people it's connecting with and seeing the people at the VIP meet and greets just singing it back, and everybody's dressed up, and everybody’s just in it, it’s really cool.”  

Smith followed up and asked if they started seeing a lot of “cowgirls” during their shows, to which Matt replied, “Oh, absolutely. Girls and kids as well.” He also shared a sweet story about his nieces during Thanksgiving. “So, my nieces live in a neighborhood, and they have six or seven little girls. After we eat dinner, we were notified that there was a special announcement, and the girls came, and they choreographed the whole song, and they were singing it. They did their dance, and even the younger ones had their own dance for it. So, to see that was really cool.”  

Talking about their latest No. 1 made Smith and the band nostalgic about their first No.1 hit, “Carolina.” Matt confirmed nothing much has changed since “We’re the same people, I’ll say.” He added, “Barry [Knox] said his kid was going through his voice memos and said, ‘I wanted to start from early stuff.’ It was right at [when] ‘Carolina’ went No. 1. He was playing some of the voice memos, and I was like, ‘Sounds just like the past weekend of us on the bus cutting up and doing it. It’s the same.”  

For a whole week at Backstage Country, Parmalee reminded listeners that country music is built on real emotions, experiences, moments, and real people behind the lyrics.