By Tabitha Evans Moore
Editor & Publisher
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — Country music artist Blake Redferrin is in Lynchburg so often that he ought to pay taxes. So, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see him sitting at the local Mexican restaurant a few weeks ago with a table full of characters including Jack Daniel’s own Barrel Man Kevin Sanders.
“Hey Blake,” I smiled as I walked by saying hello to the group. The crooner and I aren’t BFFS, but I’d interviewed him back in 2025 prior to his Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Bash performance. He knows who I am.
As I walked over to give him a hug, I asked what he was doing in town — knowing full well that he could just be hanging out. He loves it here and visits often.
“Oh, just redneck, stuff,” he smiled as Sanders shot me a knowing look. I knew there was more to the story, but I let the man eat his tacos.
Turns out, he was in town to shoot a video at the distillery at the Sander’s farm to support his new song, If I Was California. The track serves as the first release off his upcoming 2026 project and shows a new side of the Tennessee native as he leans into the classic 90s and 2000s country sounds that first inspired him.
Redferrin & Lynchburg
Redferrin’s success and Lynchburg are intertwined. Back in 2023 he released a song called Jack and Diet Coke. It eventually surpassed 705 million global streams and launched his career.
Jack Daniel’s Marketing Director Greg Luehrs spotted Blake Redferrin on Instagram one day. He says there was instantly something about him that resonated, so he reached out and invited the country crooner to visit Lynchburg. Eventually, he’d spend a long weekend writing songs in an Airstream up on Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Hill.
It’s now one of his favorite places to write and record music.
If I Was California tells the story of a girl who chose the West Coast over the sticks. It juxtaposes the fast, Hollywood life for the slow backroads Redferrin prefers. The song’s written by Redferrin, Pete Good, Brinley Addington, Scott Stepakoff, and Jake Saghi. It’s a twangy, up-tempo love-gone-wrong that namedrops Lynchburg. The video features Redferrin riding shotgun in Sanders pickup while cruising down a local backroad. He’s also featured strumming his guitar in front of a pile of whiskey barrels. You can check it out here. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a couple of locals. •
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