Chapel Hart’s Glory Days album is out. The trio, made up of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and cousin Trea Swindle, wrote all 11 tracks on the record, teaming up with hit writers like Jim Beavers, Leslie Satcher and more to co-write some of the songs.
Chapel Hart rose to fame by earning a golden buzzer on America’s Got Talent last year, catapulting them from being a local Mississippi band to worldwide appeal. Once the show ended, with Chapel Hart landing in the Top 5, the three singers got to work, both making music and hitting the road. The result is Glory Days, 11 songs that represent both their past and their eagerness and excitement about their current place in country music, and the possibilities that the future holds for them.
“I don’t even know if we expected from us what we got out of this album,” Danica tells Everything Nash. “Our fan base, it’s so wide and broad, but we have a lot of our seasoned fans who would tell us, ‘Listen y’all, it’s gonna go fast. So y’all make sure that you enjoy your glory days. These are gonna be some of the best times of your life. Make sure you take a moment to take it in or else you’ll just look back and be like, ‘Those were the days.'”
Even ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, whom they lovingly refer to as Uncle Billy, reminded Chapel Hart that 50 years can fly by. For an act that’s just getting started, those words may seem premature, but the three women hold his sage advice like a beacon.
“He was like, ‘Take your time and make sure you take it in, and that we’re kind to each other,” Danica recalls. “And he challenged us. He said, ‘Listen, ZZ Top did 50 years. We’re at 50, so my goal is that y’all top us.'”
Glory Days might be Chapel Hart’s first full introduction into country music, but the songs, as well as the production, portray a maturity and a presence that belies their humble beginnings.
“I tell people that there are fun songs on this album,” Danica boasts. “You’re gonna put it on. You’re gonna dance around your living room. There are songs on this album that you may listen to and you may cry your eyes out, because we say during the glory days, you’re not exempt from loss and you’re not exempt from heartbreak and hardships. You’re not exempt from that. Those still happen during the glory days.
“So you’ll cry a little bit with us, you’ll put on some of those songs and we’ll laugh together, ’cause you’ll get a chance to go back to your childhood when you walked around barefoot and running around,” she continues. “Those are times you didn’t have a care in the world. Nobody cared if you stepped on a rock. It was a much different time when we were growing up, and I think somehow we captured that in an album.”
When Chapel Hart began working on what became Glory Days, they had no idea they would end up co-writing all of the songs together. Instead, the realization that they could indeed pen all of the tracks came about over time, as they worked on the project.
“These are songs that we wrote throughout the last year or so,” Devynn shares. “And as we’re trying to come up with what we want this album to say, the, the combination of the songs that we have on this album, it’s incredible how it all came together, and how they tell the story of our glory days. We didn’t even intentionally do it. I think that’s super cool about this album.”
Chapel Hart is currently on their headlining Glory Days Tour, but when they are off the road, the three women return to their large, expanded family in Mississippi. It’s where they were born and raised, and where their music career as a trio began, and where they still feel the most like themselves.
“Our Mississippi family, it’s like that southern backbone,” Trea says proudly. “And I actually have to rewind it because it’s not just Mississippi, because we’re born and raised in Mississippi, but we had our musical raising in New Orleans. So it’s that Mississippi, Louisiana combination, but it’s the best southern backbone. It’s like that aunt you have at the baseball game that cheers way too loud and will probably fight another little kid if they hit you too hard. But it’s support like you would not believe. … It’s like that extended family support that you didn’t know that you needed until you’re off in Iowa and somebody from Louisiana or Mississippi shows up.”
Some of Chapel Hart’s earliest memories are singing in Hart’s Chapel, where their talent was first on display. Now that Chapel Hart has had their time on AGT, made their Grand Ole Opry debut, and earned praise from Dolly Parton and the late Loretta Lynn. the threesome is ready to share more of who they are with the rest of the world.
“I think this album will get to bring everybody along with us back to Hart’s Chapel,” Danica says. “You’ll hear it in songs like ‘Home Is Where The Hart Is,’ and you’ll hear it in songs like ‘If You Ain’t Wearin’ Boots,’ ‘Fam Damily.’ It’s exactly our relationship with our family, but also the things that we grew up on. We grew up on friendship. We grew up on loyalty. We grew up on community. I’m so excited for it.”
Purchase Glory Days and find all of Chapel Hart’s upcoming shows at ChapelHart.com.
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