Travis Denning on New Song 'Strawberry Wine and a Cheap Six Pack': 'It's Different Than Anything I've Done'

John Shearer Travis Denning

Travis Denning is throwing it back to the early 2000s.

The country singer dropped his latest track "Strawberry Wine and a Cheap Six Pack" on Friday, and while 2023 is already shaping up to be his year (he kicked off January with a headlining tour, and in May, he's getting hitched to longtime girlfriend Madison Montgomery), Denning says if he did his job right, this song will make you feel like it's the summer of '00 all over again.

"I think the best way I could describe the song is if you could go back in time to 2004, 2005, and you were listening to the radio, spring is done, summer's kicking in, you're off school or work," Denning, 30, says. "This song could easily be in the mix of old Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert."

He adds, "This song, the energy of it is different than anything I've really ever done. It's very nostalgic as far as the production. It just feels like something you want to listen to with your windows down."

Windows down, car speakers up, in fact. Denning is feeling good about his new release — not one to get nervous the night before a big day. Maybe it's because he's "put out a lot of music," he says, or maybe it's just because he can't wait for the fans to hear the song.

"March 16th will be five years since my debut single came out. I just still get excited. I think that the whole thing from writing the song to recording it, to having it mixed and mastered, and living with it and playing it for friends and radio folks and getting everybody's perspective, that kind of hypes you up a little bit," he says.

"And then, ultimately, the most important thing is it coming out to the fans, the people who truly matter. I just want to see people go, 'I want to turn this up in my car.'"

John Shearer Travis Denning

Despite having been enjoying his steady rise to success over the last five years, "Strawberry Wine and a Cheap Six Pack" marks the first time Denning is leaning into his own guitar-playing skills.

"I started playing guitar when I was 11 years old. It's always been a part of my music, but early on when I was recording songs like 'After a Few' and 'David Ashley Parker,' I was so green and so new to the process of recording and making a record that I really was like, 'Look, I can get on stage, I can play a guitar solo, but I want to trust the experts in the making of the music.'"

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Today, however, is a different story for Denning and his guitar, which he affectionately calls his "first love."

"I've just learned now it's like, hey, life's too short. I'm going to play guitar solos. And that might bore some people, but I've learned a great balance of having the guitar drive the music but not abandoning the song — not making it actually hurt the part of the music that's important."

One notable name who also rocks a guitar on the long list of fellow country singers Denning admires (Lee Ann Womack takes the top spot as his favorite female voice) is Keith Urban.

"It's hard not to have him as such an influence being a guitar-playing, country music singer," Denning admits. "I think the thing he mastered was exactly what I was describing: I can listen to his songs and connect to the guitar, but the songs were just so damn good, and the guitar didn't overshadow the lyrics. It was a perfect marriage of both."

Paul Morigi/Getty Keith Urban

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In true country fashion, Denning drives home his point with a good old-fashioned, liquor-filled metaphor: "It was like if the song was Jack Daniel's, the guitar was Coca-Cola. It was just a perfect piece. And that's usually what I drink when I'm listening to Keith Urban, so it works out."

And, speaking of the "perfect marriage," there is one special day Denning won't be relying on his guitar skills.

"I'm thinking Madison would whoop my ass if I did that," Denning jokes when asked whether his wedding will feature his own music. "And I don't want to. If there's any day I don't want to work, it's damn sure my wedding day."

Denning and Montgomery, who have been a couple for more than three years, will head to Switzerland for their honeymoon, where Denning says they can't wait to "eat chocolate on a mountain for 10 days."

He also notes that he was the "perfect mix" of a fiancé when it came to helping Montgomery plan the wedding, while still letting her take the lead.

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"There are obviously certain things where you make the decisions together, but when it comes to the aesthetics, that's all her," Denning says of his fiancée. "It's not that I don't have an opinion — it's that I know her opinion is going to be better than mine when it comes to that stuff! She's classy, she's got taste. I trust her on that," he says.

Katie Kauss Travis Denning and Madison Montgomery

"But I helped pick the food, which was fun. And the alcohol and the venue," Denning adds with a grin.

The bar will certainly be serving vodka sodas, as Denning's most recent hit "Buy a Girl a Drink" was inspired by his fiancée, and the very true story of how they met over that one beverage.

"If you wanna spend the best $7.50 you can, buy a girl a drink," sings Denning on the popular track.

"It's very cool when you realize that your love story is not too much different from everybody else's. I think that helps connect a lot of people. It's also been a long time since a drink was seven dollars and fifty cents, so that's how you know we've been dating for a while," he quips.

Katie Kauss Travis Denning and Madison Montgomery

Wedding aside, when it comes to looking ahead, Denning usually tries not to (unless Dierks Bentley is involved).

"A song down the road with Dierks would be a lot of fun. He's just someone that I've been able to get to know. And I've already sent him the song I want him to sing on," Denning reveals. "Dierks, if you're listening to this, you're singing the second verse. Or else I'm going to mess with your boat."

So, while Denning raises a glass from one of his favorite six-packs to the release of his new song ("If I'm just popping into a gas station and I grab something, I do love Miller Light, ice-cold Bush Light. And then if I'm getting a little fancy, I love Sierra Nevada Pale Ale," he says), he's also ready to just enjoy the ride.

"It's easy to go, 'Well, I want to be a superstar and play arenas and stadiums.' And of course, yeah, who doesn't want that? But also, I don't want to skip steps. I want to see it just grow naturally and continue to," Denning explains.

"Ultimately, I've been extremely blessed. At the end of the day, I'm on a tour bus with my friends playing country music and making a living. I can't ask for a whole lot past that."