Will Bowen Tugs at the Heartstrings With 'That's How You Know'

Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Will Bowen brings the rawness of Lori McKenna's "That's How You Know" to life in this Taste of Country exclusive premiere.

With nothing but an acoustic guitar and stirring vocals, Bowen delivers a touching and honest performance of the haunting song in an atmospheric space, lit by soft red lights. Bowen's voice packs plenty of emotion (and some grit) as he sings the heart-wrenching lyrics about a devastating breakup: "When you don't need a cigarette / Or a pill to help you sleep / When you don't end every night / On the hard wood on your knees."

"I first discovered this song and this record of Lori's when I needed the reassurance that others had felt this way while going through a breakup," Bowen tells us. "The song had always stuck with me and when we started Bowen, we just decided to completely transform the song and see what would happen if we took a simple guitar vocal and turned it into an arena rocker. We loved it immediately and it's become one of our favorites to play live."

McKenna is one of Nashville's most sought-after songwriters, winning a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 2016 and 2017 for penning "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town and Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind," in addition to numerous other hits in the genre.

Bowen is the frontman for his band of the same name and has served as an opening act for artists like John Mayer, Maroon 5, Dave Matthews and Kip Moore in his career, in addition to scoring cuts with rising stars Devin Dawson and Kelleigh Bannen.

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