Singer who made history with self-funded No. 1, ‘She’s Somebody’s Daughter,’ performing Sept. 28 in Nauvoo

NAUVOO, Ill. — Sometimes a person must take matters into their own hands.  

Singer Drew Baldridge did that and soon became the first country singer to have a self-funded, self-promoted song, “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” hit the No. 1 spot on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart. It also landed third on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

No agents. No manager. No record label. Just Baldridge.

Baldridge will be the host of the third annual BIG Baldridge and Bonfire Music Festival in Nauvoo on Sept. 28. The outdoor festival also will feature singers Dylan Wolfe and Brandon Davis. Baldridge’s wife is a Nauvoo native.

Baldridge grew up in Patoka, a small farming community with a little more than 500 people 75 miles east of St. Louis. He worked on the family farm.

He had success playing to standing-room-only crowds around the Patoka area. A year out of high school at age 19, Baldridge took off for Nashville.

“It was so scary,” Baldridge remembers. “The first time we drove down there, and we had a trailer. My mom and dad dropped me off. We moved a bed, a couch and a TV into my apartment, and then they left. And I remember just sitting in my apartment by myself, crying and thinking, ‘What am I doing?’” 

He found work and paid the bills, but Baldridge realized after a few years that he had to make changes.

“I was getting my chops in,” Baldridge explained. “Learning how to perform for people, learning how to play when nobody was in the room. But for your career, it really doesn’t do a lot … people aren’t coming down there to discover artists.”

Baldridge hit the streets, looking for a record label or promotional outfit.

“I feel like sometimes Nashville, it’s just who’s going to outlive the next person,” Baldridge said. “Yeah, there’s enough opportunity for everybody, but it’s not about talent. Ninety percent is just being there and working hard. Just being present in the room, present on the day, can make you a winner.”

Baldridge signed a record deal and produced music, but had little success charting songs in the top 50. Then the label folded.

That was followed by the pandemic in 2020.

“I lost my record deal, and I lost my manager, my booking agent,” he said. “So I just took to social media.”

It was the best decision Baldridge ever made. 

“We just started posting songs,” he said. “They started getting millions of views. And I was like, wow, this is where our music can be discovered. Our music is working. I’m watching it in real time. I’m watching people connect to it. This is what I need to do more of.”

He then had an idea, saying on social media he would play in anybody’s backyard if they would have him.

“If it didn’t work, I will figure something else out,” Baldridge said. “I thought we get five or 10 requests.”

He was wrong. He toured the country for three years and played in more than 300 backyards as part of the Baldridge and Bonfire Tour.

“Every family had their own little bonfire,” he said. “There would be 20 families, and they’d all build bonfires back in the fields, and they would all be socially distanced. Then I would sit on the hood of a car and just bring music to people.”

He spent several nights in the back of his van. The experience, however, changed how Baldridge viewed his music.

“I met the people who I was making music for,” he said. “I realized I’m not making music for Nashville. I’m not making music for country radio. I’m making music for people and human hearts.”

A year or so into this journey, Baldridge married Katherine Kraus of Nauvoo.

“‘She’s Somebody’s Daughter’ was a song that I recorded earlier. It was just sitting there,” he said. “It really wasn’t doing anything. It was always my wife’s favorite song. And I thought, ‘I’ll do something special. I’ll create a wedding version so she can dance to it with her dad.’”

While on their honeymoon, Baldridge recorded a TikTok video showcasing a new version of the song.

“I woke up the next morning and had almost 10 million views on it,” Baldridge said.  “We’re freaking out, you know? We had a top 25 viral song in America.”

After the honeymoon, Baldridge continued the Bonfire Tour and played a large picnic outside St. Louis in June 2023.

“I played ‘She’s Somebody’s Daughter,’ and everybody was singing every word,” he said. “I was like, what is happening?”

He couldn’t get any radio play back home in Nashville despite the song’s popularity. He gambled on himself and put his savings into a new game plan.

Baldridge made calls and found respected radio reps who loved the song. He created his own promotional and sales team. 

“My goal was to just get it in the Top 40.” Baldridge said. “That would be awesome. That would be really special. But dude, it just kept going.”

The rest is history.

After a stop in his hometown of Patoka, Baldridge heads to Nauvoo.

“It’s kind of just something to support my wife’s hometown and a community I just really love,” he said. 

Tickets are at his website.

With upcoming dates in places like Las Vegas, he will never forget the small towns that offered him a chance to sing around their bonfires.

“I like the simple life. I like simple things,” Baldridge said. “I know I’m not the best singer. I know I’m not the best performer. I know I don’t have the best songs. But I’m not gonna stop until I hopefully one day get there.”