Article Contributed by Jake Bendrick
Published on 2026-04-26
Introducing: Big Guy & The Very Large Men, Spotlighting The Best Of Nashville’s Queer Songwriting Community Through His Gentle And Trustworthy Storytelling
As a songwriter, James Droll has been behind tracks now streamed well over 180 million times, including Vintage Culture’s breakout song “Pour Over,” gavn’s “Hit the Dirt,” and Joy Oladokun’s collaborative anthem “We’re All Gonna Die” featuring Noah Kahan, earning the Pleasantville, Ohio-reared artist a reputation as one of Nashville’s most distinct queer voices.
But it’s Droll’s latest venture, a project dubbed Big Guy & The Very Large Men, that provides his most creative outlet yet, highlighted by amplified expression and having the audacity to say the quiet part out loud.
The first taste of Big Guy & The Very Large Men, “COWBOY BOOTS” feat. Fancy Hagood, is out now.
The playful-but-raw indie-tinged tune finds its narrator describing the dynamics of being in a closeted relationship while being out of the closet himself—a refreshingly honest take on a version of queer love you are rarely given the perspective.
“Man of few words too scared to speak. If you’re lookin’ for love, you’ll never tell me,” sings Droll in the song’s chorus before voicing his struggle with the relationship dynamic: “No, secrets don’t keep. They crack and bleed.”
Droll’s strength as Big Guy & The Very Large Men is in highlighting the nuance and the breadth of experience in queer relationships, which he strongly believes is missing from media, music, and popular culture.
To accompany the expressive song had to be an equally dreamy music video.
“It is very much a modern-day queer fever dream,” says Droll of the “COWBOY BOOTS” visual counterpart.
The spirit of confusion runs throughout. It all feels very uncomfortable; a little scary and disorienting, and purposefully so. The music video has certainly earned its “fever dream” moniker, but like the rest of Droll’s creative output, it reveals deeper levels of commentary.
“It also highlights the struggle of failed past relationships affecting new relationships and how you carry that hurt with you and in turn could end up hurting someone else,” he says.
The “COWBOY BOOTS” music video is also the first big reveal of Big Guy in his uniform: oversized cowboy hat, belt buckle, and a dartboard t-shirt, not-so-subtly revealing the protagonist as a target.
“He highlights this perspective of ‘the bigger, the better’ as all of his accessories start to consume him,” says Droll. “After being told to just be the bigger guy his whole life, he’s taking elements from that commercialized experience and creating anecdotes out of them.”
Fans can watch the “COWBOY BOOTS” music video today at this link, stream or purchase “COWBOY BOOTS” here, and check out the premiere on FLOOD for even more insight.
On April 30, Big Guy & The Very Large Men will make their debut at The 5 Spot in Nashville, TN.
To stay up to date, be sure to follow James Droll / Big Guy on Instagram.
More About Big Guy & The Very Large Men:
Big Guy & The Very Large Men gives songwriter James Droll the platform to express the beauty, the danger, and the mess that comes with living an openly queer lifestyle in the epicenter of the Bible Belt.
Having grown up in Pleasantville, Ohio, on a llama farm and with his family deeply rooted in the evangelical church, it has been a journey to get to a place where Big Guy could even exist.
Spotify Glow launched a series in Nashville in January 2026 featuring four queer Nashville artists and songwriters, of which James was selected alongside Joy Oladokun, Medium Build, and Shane Stevens.
Even though James shines in the studio, his storytelling is best experienced live. He has opened for artists such as Twenty One Pilots, Noah Kahan, Joy Oladokun, Elohim, Greyson Chance, and Paper Route.
