Rippavilla is scene for country video

Country music duo The Wrights shot their debut video for their first single "Down This Road" at Rippavilla Plantation Tuesday.

Husband and wife Adam and Shannon Wright of Atlanta, Ga., who currently reside in Nashville, spent a 12-hour day on the set with the crew for the 3-minute, 6-second song.

The Wrights, Adam and Shannon Wright, sing the last lines of their single "Down This Road" while the band jams in the background during Tuesday's video shoot at Rippavilla Plantation. The single will be released to radio stations on Jan. 31 and the video will apear on CMT and GAC by mid-February. Staff photo by Ashley E. Bone

Adam Wright's uncle, country music star Alan Jackson, flew to Maury County on his private airplane for a cameo appearance in the video.

"We're both writers and musicians, and I wanted to try to help him in Nashville," Jackson told The Daily Herald. "I wish I had someone I was close to when I was trying to make it."

Country music star Alan Jackson poses for The Daily Herald, at Rippavilla Plantation on Tuesday. Jackson arrived in Maury County by plane for a short appearance in his nephew Adam Wright's music video. Staff Photo by Ashley E. Bone

The Wrights have made appearances with Jackson, performing "If Love Was a River" on the Today Show last year and "Strong Enough" on David Letterman. They also played on stage at The Grand Ole Opry last summer.

Adam, 28, and Shannon, 30, who have been together for seven years, said they are excited about the upcoming video and album.

"It's our first video," Shannon Wright said. "So we're pumped."

"Down This Road" and the 11 other tracks, which is produced by Alan's Country Records/RCA, are written entirely by The Wrights. On Jan. 31, "Down This Road" will be released to radio stations nationally. The video is expected to appear on Country Music Television and Great American Country channels by the second week of February, but with its scheduled release in May, the album has yet to be named.

Adam Wright said their songs are a combination of straight country and blues.

Shannon Wright gave her husband the credit even though she solely wrote "Down This Road" while they were in Atlanta.

"He's the true-blue writer," Shannon Wright said. "He's the real deal."

Adam Wright said he is excited about taking the next step in their music career. The "Down This Road" video is all he has ever wanted.

"It's all I've done since I was a kid," Adam Wright said. "I started on piano and guitar and then saxophone and harmonica."

He added Jackson has always encouraged Shannon and him.

"He is good about advice, listening to our music and encouraging us," Adam Wright said.

Video Director Steven Goldmann, originally from Canada and currently residing near Los Angeles, Calif., said Rippavilla seemed the perfect place to shoot "Down This Road." He has directed nearly 300 country music videos, including Shania Twain's music video for "No One Needs to Know," at Rippavilla before it was restored.

"(The Wrights) wanted southern elegance. Being from Georgia, their roots are important to them," Goldmann said, adding Rippavilla's restoration captured that image.

He said the video is poetic, "With Shannon singing lyrics of 'I've been down this road a million times,' we're doing a video where the same thing happens over and over and over again. She keeps reentering the room - in and out. She keeps going down the same road, making the same mistakes."

Rippavilla Plantation was closed to the public Tuesday for the video shoot, but Executive Director Pam Purdue said she didn't mind because this is a slow time of year.

"We appreciate the revenue and, it's a different industry to take a peek at," Purdue said.

The Wrights are scheduled to go on tour this summer with Jackson and Sara Evans.