Call him hardheaded, but Mercury Nashville singer-songwriter Travis Denning has always followed his own path. Over the years, that would lead some to predict he was headed nowhere fast. But with nearly 750 million global streams and a growing country profile, he’s proved them wrong.

From his 2018 breakout “David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs” (a Top 40 debut which has since been certified Gold by the RIAA), to his jet black 2019 hit “After a Few” (a Platinum Number One on the Billboard Country Airplay charts), three explosive EPs and a reputation for totally unhinged live shows, Denning has carved out a thriving – if slightly audacious – place in the modern Music City.

He’s “a guitar player moonlighting as a metalhead in country music,” as he likes to say. And with his first-full length album Roads That Go Nowhere, the small-town Georgia native keeps his creative heading … even when it goes against the flow of traffic. Building on a signature style uniquely his own, this is full spectrum, guitar-driven country-rock, avoiding the pitfalls of a detour disguised as a shortcut to success. Because honestly, Denning has never been one to listen to directions.

“I think if you’re chasing what’s popular, you’ve already lost,” the acclaimed singer-songwriter admits. “I mean, someone already came up with that like a year ago. I think after the success I have seen, those songs have taught me that when I stick to what my gut says, it translates. At the end of the day, you just have to go all in – or you’re selling yourself short.”

Featuring 15 songs – 12 of which were co-written by rising star himself – “all in” is an apt description of the work Denning put behind Roads That Go Nowhere. A debut album in the truest sense, it features a group of songs Denning took a decade to compile; some from his earliest days in Nashville, and some from right before he started recording. And in that time, the Marshall Tucker-loving kid who started out trading schoolwork for a new guitar has learned much about dreams turned into reality.

In fact, the story of Roads That Go Nowhere begins with the title track, written by Denning with Ben Foster and James McNair at a pivotal moment in his life. A tender acoustic-guitar ballad with sweeping atmospherics and a stick-to-your-guns theme, the track’s swaying gratitude comes with a well-earned sense of personal pride, and now serves as a mile maker that laid his debut album’s foundation.

“I was about a month-and-a-half away from getting married [in 2023], and it was a week of just thinking and reflecting and being thankful for the success I’ve had – and the success I didn’t,” he explains. “I’ve been in Nashville for over 10 years now, and I think you spend a lot of time getting to a point where you can finally lay down the words to a song you feel is truly unique to you.”

The tune opened up a project with three big goals. 1) To keep things “guitar forward.” 2) To cut great, meaningful songs. And 3) To challenge Denning vocally. So over about a year of effort, he proceeded to hit all three points.

Co-produced by longtime collaborator Jeremy Stover with Paul DiGiovanni, the diverse set pairs Denning’s penchant for low-slung power chords and thundering drums with a desire to open new creative channels. He got more involved with the project’s production than ever, not only recording virtually all of the album’s molten-hot electric guitar parts, but also tracking much of the acoustic-guitar work as well (alongside the great Ilya Toshinsky). And, he took the time to find nuance within his raspy Southern drawl – perfectly suited to songs with new perspectives on life and love.

“I just find myself more open to writing things that I probably wouldn’t have five years ago,” he says, “whether that’s about the good, the bad, the ugly, the great, whatever it is.”

Tracks like “Strawberry Wine and a Cheap Six Pack” fit that new-and-improved bill. An early release which also kicks off Denning’s live shows, romantic nostalgia gets bottled up and shaken inside a bright, circa-2000s country sound – a delightful Deana Carter reference fans can’t get enough of, judging by its nearly 5 million Spotify streams. Others like the gentle “Love You Past That” float like a quiet vow to his wife Madison (the most universal feeling love song he’s ever penned), and though “Why I’m Drinking” begins the album on a dark vocal stunner, tunes like the ‘90s-influenced “Can’t Find One” lets Denning tap back into the mischievous side he made famous with tunes like “ABBY.”

Meanwhile, the hard hitting “Southern Rock” is right in Denning’s loud-and-proud wheelhouse – but also marks the transition between “emerging artist” and one confident in his instincts. Written back in 2016, Denning says he always figured it was too heavy, too rowdy … too much. But its hard-charging distortion and crashing cymbals seem like a declaration of independence today. With friend and 2024 tour partner Hardy on the track for good measure, Denning says both know the story by heart.

“I always knew this track was going to be my ‘put-it-on-my-tombstone’ kind of song,” he says. “It’s so detailed about the way I grew up – music wise, living wise, religion wise, everything. Just a hard rock country-lifestyle anthem. But it really did make me emotional, it’s such a cornerstone of who I am.”

At this stage of his career, though, Denning knows the words don’t have to be his to hit home, and tunes like “Add Her to the List” and “Things I’m Going Through” came from other writers. Each one offers a mellow sense of slow-burning regret that proves his artistic maturity, but still others could only come from Denning’s “audacious” mind.

Popping the top on a summertime anthem for the ages, “The Sound of a Beer Getting Cracked” pairs a non-verbal hook with a country-rock spirit that’s an instant mood booster – a song with rising star Josh Ross that should do great at your next backyard BBQ. But while the deeply personal “Here and Her” tributes a rambling soul, revealing how Denning finds peace on the highways with true love by his side, the album ultimately ends looking back. On the stripped down back-home ballad “Ocmulgee River,” those Roads That Go Nowhere lead Denning to a quiet piece of land, and a well-earned sense of satisfaction.

It’s just a guitar, a vocal and some solo-written thoughts about what he’s seen, and what he’d one day like to come back to. Because no matter how much changes and what path Denning takes, the destination has always been the same. To just be himself.

“I still feel like I’ve just barely scraped the surface, but with the love and passion that has gone into this record, I do feel like I’ve taken a next step from a creative standpoint,” he says. “This was a big cohesive group of songs, and I’m just at a point in my life where it made sense to finally do it. I hope people hear it and say, that’s a Travis Denning record – and nobody else could have made it.”