Carter Faith looked to a failed romance ― and an episode of “Yellowstone” ― as inspiration for her latest single, “Cowboys & Dreamers.” When it was time to shoot the song’s video, however, she knew she wanted a more solitary interpretation.
The clip, unveiled Friday, shows the 21-year-old country artist twirling in a field of horses and acrobatically crouched atop a bar in a saloon. The end result, she said, is a wistful paean to self-love.
“It’s a song about a relationship, but it’s also about the two sides of people,” Faith told HuffPost in an interview. “You can be the steady one, or you can be the one up in the clouds. We have to love both sides of ourselves. Both are needed. That’s what love is about.”
Catch the “Cowboys & Dreamers” video above.
“Cowboys and Dreamers” is the second single off of Faith’s debut EP, “Let There Be Love,” which dropped in August. About a month before the EP’s release, Faith gave her first performance at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium ― a venue favored by Dolly Parton and Sheryl Crow, among other stars ― as part of Whiskey Jam’s 10th anniversary concert.
Faith was introduced as “the future for the next 10 years of Nashville” by the evening’s organizer, Ward Guenther. Her live set, as well as the six new songs, drew praise from artists like Mickey Guyton and Charles Kelley, along with glowing features in People and American Songwriter, among other publications.
If Faith has her way, she’ll return to the Ryman “a million more times,” and eventually play the Grand Ole Opry. She’d also love to collaborate with 10-time Grammy nominee Eric Church. Before she can do that, however, the North Carolina native has to finish her studies at Tennessee’s Belmont University, where she is slated to graduate with a bachelor’s degree next month.
Growing up in Davidson, North Carolina, Faith discovered a talent for music early on. As a child, she’d be driven to preschool by her grandfather, who would let her climb into the front seat and select which songs she wanted to hear.
“That was the best part of my whole week, remembering songs all day and then going around humming them,” she recalled. By 16, she began setting some of her poetry to music, and after catching some of Taylor Swift’s early performances on TV, she felt she “had to pick up the guitar.”
Naming Kacey Musgraves and Fleetwood Mac as influences, Faith is quick to acknowledge the challenges of launching a music career during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, she has found some positive aspects in the unexpected downtime ― namely, the ability to focus on honing her songwriting prowess.
“I’m grateful I came into my artistry at this time, because I don’t have anything to compare it to,” she said. “I don’t have the memory of going on tour and missing that. I find creativity in dark places, hard times and intense emotions, but I also love the escapism aspect. So I’ve felt glad to have been able to keep it rolling.”