TNB - Your debut album "A ROCK" is out today. Going into this project, what were you hoping to accomplish? Do you have a lyric or musical moment that you are most proud of?HARDY -  Going into the project, I definitely knew what I wanted to say - I wanted to show a different side of who I am as an artist and dive into the personal side of my music. I'm so proud of the whole album, but if I had to pick a musical moment or a song I'm most proud of it would have to be "A ROCK," the title track. I think it might be my favorite song I've ever written and I think it represents who I am as an artist and a writer perfectly.TNB - This project was co-produced by Joey Moi and Derek Wells. What was it like working with both of them together? Did they each bring different elements to the table?HARDY - We put the majority of this album together under quarantine/social distancing restrictions, so I didn't get to spend too much time actually in the studio with them. They definitely bring different elements to the table; they're amazing at what they do and I learned a lot making this record with them. I've admired Joey as a producer way before I was signed to Big Loud because I love the way his stuff sounds; it leans rock but it's definitely still country. And Derek played on nearly every track on the record while he was also producing, and just seeing them both slot things together and make this record sound the way I had hoped it would was really cool to watch.TNB - When you write a song like "One Beer", do you know right away that it's going to have such a great response? How did that song come together?HARDY - I knew it was a special song but I didn't, no. I wrote it with Jake Mitchell and Hillary Lindsey. I had the idea for just the title "One More Beer" way before we wrote, like I just sat with it for a while trying to figure out what that song could be. Eventually it went from "One More Beer" to "One Beer," and I brought it into the room with them that day and the rest is history. I think what makes it special is that everyone has seen or heard this story before so it's relatable and familiar, but we twisted it and made it a little different from what you'd expect when you read "One Beer."TNB - When you are writing a song, how do you tell if it will be for you, or if you will let someone else cut it? How did you decide to let Blake cut "God's Country"?HARDY - When I'm going into a write, I try not to think too much about who I'm writing for. I stay away from pigeon-holing myself into "oh this is going to be for whoever" or "this is for me" - I did that a couple of times for this record with really specific ideas but usually I just want to write the best song that day."God's Country" was a crazy story - we wrote it in my first write of the year last year (2019), me, Devin Dawson and Jordan Schmidt. We finished it and I really liked it, but we went ahead and sent it to my publisher. A day or two later he sent it to Scott Hendricks - within a week, Blake had cut it.TNB - What is one thing fans might be surprised to learn about you?HARDY - I'm a pretty good golfer.