When singer/songwriters Tommy Townsend and Darryl O’Donnell first met they couldn’t have known how similar their paths to Nashville were. Both were raised in small rural towns. Both began performing in their family bands at age five, and as teenagers they both set their sights on Nashville. Once in the Music City, they both paid their dues by playing whatever gigs they could to pay the bills. “I met Tommy one night when we were both playing at a club called, The Turf,” recalls O’Donnell. “We started playing some shows together and it clicked.” The two formed the duo, Townsend O’Donnell, and quickly became known around Nashville for their distinctive tight harmonies and rocking performances.
They soon caught the attention of music veterans including, Raul Malo, the lead singer for the multi-award winning group The Mavericks, and Grammy Award winning songwriter/producer, Bobby E. Boyd. Working with Malo and Boyd, Townsend O’Donnell began to write and record their debut album. The first single is the rollicking anthem, Cowboys Want It. “The idea for the song came from co-writer Tom Colwell,” Townsend says. “The more we worked on it, the more fun we had, and it was obvious from the first time we played it on stage that the audience was having a ball, too.” And, not only did the fans love it, but when Lofton Creek Record’s, Mike Borchetta, heard the song, he offered Townsend O’Donnell a recording deal with his label. “Though we had talked with some other labels, seeing Borchetta’s enthusiasm for our project, and knowing his track record in launching the careers of Tim McGraw and Craig Morgan, along with the fact that the label had just had a number one record with the group Heartland,” explains O’Donnell, “Well, Lofton Creek seemed like the right place for us.”
