'First Love Like Speeding Down The Highway': Beth Lucas Drops New Single 'One Stoplight Town'

Beth Lucas is back with a fun new single, One Stoplight Town, about finding young love in a small town.

Written by Lucas and recorded at Airlock Studios (owned by Ian Haug of Powderfinger fame), the recording session was part of the prize for her win at last year’s Ekka Country Music Showdown. The acoustic guitar—from Riffs & Licks Music Brisbane—that features on the single was also part of the prize package.

One Stoplight Town arrives a year after Lucas’ win and will appear on her upcoming project, The Airlock Sessions. For the song, Lucas enlisted her live band: Peter Eckel (banjo), Scott Eckel (drums), Daniel Colborne (bass), and Daniel Henwood (electric and lead guitar). She recorded the song with James See, with mixing and mastering from James North.

Speaking to Countrytown about the song, Lucas shared that the writing of One Stoplight Town happened in a “little solo writing session.”

The song isn’t specifically about anyone, but Lucas says she was “intentional” while writing it. She explains, “I wanted to sing about that feeling of young love, and I wanted to relate those first-time feelings with the imagery of growing up in a small town. First love really can feel like speeding down the highway, everything moving quickly but you only have eyes for each other.”

Revealing that the song was initially called Pick Me Up, Lucas took the song to a songwriting retreat and received feedback from Australian country music heroes Lyn Bowtell, Roger Corbett, and Allan Caswell, all who agreed the song should be called One Stoplight Town instead.

Join our community with our FREE weekly newsletter

“This was pretty new for me as I had never had a song critiqued before, but I really trusted their advice,” Lucas states. “I am really grateful for that challenge, as it meant that I could extend the storyline of the song.”

Recording at Airlock Studios with James Lee, Lucas calls it a “really cool experience” and ponders what it means to record in hallowed halls: “There’s so much history there, and to have my name on the list of artists who've recorded there is a dream come true!”

This is Lucas's third song since winning the Ekka Country Music Showdown. She says that the last year has been a “whirlwind” that has brought her numerous “incredible” opportunities.

“There was a little bit of pressure to decide on what to record and also what music video to create, which was another part of the prize,” Lucas adds. “I ended up doing the video to a song I released in February [Rearview Mirror]. The hardest part was probably logistics, as there are so many people involved with all parts of each project, so getting everyone aligned to make it come together was a bit challenging.

“Thankfully, we were able to complete the music video and the recording earlier this year, which leaves me time to promote the songs throughout the remainder of the year.”

On what comes next – The Airlock Sessions – Lucas teases the release of one other song and says she’s “really excited” about the release of One Stoplight Town, as it’s a song she’s been playing live for a long time.

You can listen to One Stoplight Town below.

This month, Lucas will compete as a Top 10 finalist in the Mothertone Gympie Music Muster talent search. Here are her upcoming tour dates: