We all have to start somewhere.
Like many artists, Ella Langley grew up with music stitched into her dreams. The Alabama native has been chasing this path since she was young, dropping her first songs at just 18. She’s often said that music is the only job she ever wanted — and she’s lived that truth. Before the CMA Awards, she even joked that she’s “addicted to the road.”
“I literally am addicted to being on the road and playing shows. I’ve been on the roadmap every weekend since I was 18 years old, minus COVID. I’m obsessed with it.”
It’s a funny line, but also an honest one. Touring isn’t easy — long nights, constant travel, being away from home. But Langley knew early on that this was the life she wanted, and she chased it until it became real.
Today, the “Choosin’ Texas” singer is performing for packed crowds, but her early performances looked very different. Every artist has their version of a humble beginning — Lainey Wilson once worked as a Hannah Montana impersonator, while others got their start in tiny theaters with just a few people watching.
Ella Langley, however, performed for a very different audience in her first “concert”… and they were a notoriously tough crowd.
“I kind of say my first concert ever was for cows. Yeah, that’s where I got my start.”
During a conversation with Chase Sapphire Reserve, she explained:
“We lived with a big pasture behind our house. I would steal my brother’s iPod, climb to the top of the barn, and just perform… When ‘moo’ sounds very close to ‘boo,’ it toughens a girl up.”
Honestly? Fair enough — everyone has to develop thick skin somehow. And at least cows can’t throw tomatoes.
The cows clearly didn’t traumatize her too badly, because earlier this year Langley bought a home in her hometown of Hope Hull, Alabama. She told Katie Neal from Audacy’s Katie & Company that it was her first major purchase since her career took off, and returning home keeps her grounded.
“It just brings me back to who I am at the root of me every time I go back there. And when it comes to writing songs and being in that state of mind, I think it’s important to have a place like that.”
She admits she’ll always keep a place in Tennessee — the music industry demands it — but being from Alabama means she’s only a few hours away from her true home.
“I think I’ll always have to live in Tennessee to some extent, but being from Alabama, it’s so close. It’s under four hours to get there.”
Home is where the cows you performed for still roam. Ella Langley may have come a long way since her barn-top concerts, but she’ll never forget the c(r)ow(d) that gave her the courage to sing.
And while you’re here, crank up her latest No. 1 hit, “Choosin’ Texas.”