The EP “was named after Baffin Bay, an area of Texas not far from my grandparents’ farm,” the country artist tells us.
Chase Bryant will never forget his late grandparents’ pool house.
“I grew up shooting pool in there with the guys that would come up from Mexico to work on the farm,” remembers Bryant, 31, during an interview. “If you couldn’t beat them, you didn’t get a tortilla or taco or whatever. So, we grew up busting our teeth in there trying to become good pool players.”
In 2024, the “Little Bit of You” hitmaker returned to the cherished location during the pandemic to not only reside there, but also to create his new EP, Cayo del Grullo. This EP is the third in Bryant’s five-part kaleidoscope of music, which is being shared with the world. Each EP is named after a place that has been significant in Bryant’s life.
“Cayo del Grullo was named after Baffin Bay, an area of Texas not far from my grandparents’ farm,” Bryant told.
In 2024, the “Little Bit of You” hitmaker returned to the cherished location during the pandemic to not only reside there, but also to create his new EP, Cayo del Grullo. This EP is the third in Bryant’s five-part kaleidoscope of music, which is being shared with the world. Each EP is named after a place that has been significant in Bryant’s life.
Bryant was devout about developing Cayo del Grullo in Texas for several reasons. “It was a big come-to-Jesus for me in the sense that I knew I loved Texas, and I knew I loved that house, and all I wanted to do was make one record into it before I said bye to that house,” recalls Bryant, who relocated to Nashville in 2022 and Charleston in 2024. “So, I did just that.”
Cayo del Grullo was designed to be simple and natural. “This record was my first chance to work with Chad Cromwell, Craig Young and Bryan Sutton,” Bryant explains. “All three are heroic characters in the studio, musician and touring world alike.”
Since Bryant and wife Selena Weber Bryant are expecting their first child, EP cuts like “Love You My Whole Life” seem to have changed since Cayo del Grullo was recorded two years ago.
“[Selena] and I had only been living together for a couple weeks when I played her [“Love You My Whole Life”], and I just remember how much she loved it,” recalls Bryant. “I don’t know if I’ve noted her on the record, but Selena should be, because I think she was the tracking engineer on that song.””
Bryant laughs, explaining: “I was in another room by myself, and I would have her press record and make sure levels were all goo. I taught her how to do that and how to get drum sounds.”
Cayo del Grullo includes Bryant’s longtime favorite “Small Town.” “That one has been around since Broken Bow,” Bryant adds of his former label. “There were certain people there that loved it, but yeah, that song kind of always stuck around.”
Bryant, Bob DiPiero, and Chris Loocke wrote the contemplative “Where the Good Ones Go,” which Cayo del Grullo allowed Bryant to record with his hometown buddy and country music star Jake Owen.
“Jake Owen has always been the absolute nicest, most stand-up guy to me out of any artist in the business, from every level, from anyone I’ve toured with or anyone I’ve ever known,” says Bryant. “He was just so gracious to come in and be on that song with me. And I have the utmost respect for Jake. I think he’s one of the most underrated artists there are in the genre and a walking encyclopedia of country music.”
Bryant believes he felt his grandparents’ spirits throughout the EP’s creation.
“It was like talking to ghosts in a way,” says Bryant. “I feel like I owe that house and those memories in that house, as much credit as I do anything else.”
