After several years of hard work and anticipation, Opp native Martin McDaniel’s debut EP “Just The Beginning,” will be released this Friday, Sep. 7.

“I wrote all of the songs across a wide span of time,” McDaniel said. “The earliest was probably ‘Over Me Now,’ which I think I wrote in 2013 or 2014, but then I wrote a couple like ‘Loving Me Lonely’ and ‘Rehab’ just months or weeks before releasing the EP.”

McDaniel said that this EP has been a long time coming and he is hoping to release another EP in a couple of months.

“I have been writing every day,” McDaniel said. “Usually two times a day. We are hoping to release another EP in a couple of months, so we are working hard in the studio to record and put out all of this new music.”

The EP will have six songs including his first single “About Last Night,” and McDaniel said that by accident, the songs all tell a story from the beginning of a relationship to the end.

“We will be recording videos for all of the songs on the EP,” McDaniel said. “And I didn’t do this on purpose, but if you listen to all of the songs, it sounds like a story. So we are going to record all of the videos and if you watch them in order it is kind of like a movie.”

McDaniel hopes that the songs will be relatable for all of his listeners.

“As an artist, you want to put out content that is relatable for your listeners,” McDaniel said. “And this EP covers a wide array of emotions. Whether it’s a break up that you went through, if you should have done something differently in a relationship or going out having fun with your friends, this EP will probably cover all of it.”

McDaniel said that one of his favorite songs to perform on the EP is “Turn Up the Night.”

“It is tough to narrow it down to just one song,” McDaniel said. “But have been opening up shows with ‘Turn Up the Night,’ and it has been so much fun to perform. Either way, it is always fun to perform songs that you have written and see people having a good time.”

McDaniel said that he is planning with his band to set up release shows for the new EP and is thinking about having a couple in the Covington County area.

“We are still trying to figure it all out in the next months,” McDaniel said. “We are hoping to have a couple in California, Tennessee and back home in Alabama.”

The past couple of months since McDaniel performed in Andalusia for July Jamz and at Charley’s Place in Opp has been a whirlwind, he said.

“It was great seeing people back home,” McDaniel said. “I had a blast at both performances.”

In the past months, McDaniel has played to sold-out audiences in Nashville.

“It is always such a great experience to play sold out shows,” McDaniel said. “Especially at the BlueBird Café in Nashville. There have been so many legendary people to perform there and still perform there, so it is an honor.”

McDaniel’s EP “Just the Beginning,” will be available on all platforms Fri., Sep. 7, and also available for pre-order now. Listeners will receive the single “Loving Me Lonely” immediately when they pre-order.