Exclusive: Nathaniel Rateliff and Margo Price Collaborate on Price’s “Twinkle, Twinkle” for ‘CMT Crossroads’

Singer-songwriters Nathaniel Rateliff and Margo Price are teaming up to relaunch the critically-acclaimed series CMT Crossroads since its hiatus, prompted by the worldwide pandemic. Backed by Price’s band, the duo is giving a sneak peek of their rendition of Price’s “Twinkle, Twinkle” with American Songwriter.  

Cutting to Price and Rateliff chatting in-between sets on the full episode, Margo shares the meaning behind “Twinkle, Twinkle,” the latest single off of her EPThat’s How Rumors Get Started, set to release on May 8. 

“It all kind of started around this conversation I had with Marty Stuart. He was in this trailer with his Manuel [Cuevas] suit and his perfect hair, and he said ‘You know you and the band have been touring pretty hard, you’ve been on the road a lot. Does everybody hate each other yet?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, no, we don’t hate each other. It’s going pretty good except, you know, our health is deteriorating, and all of our marriages are falling apart,’” Price laughs. “Then he stops, and he looks at me and goes, ‘You wanted to be a star, Twinkle, Twinkle.’”

In the past, CMT Crossroads has matched country artists with musicians from other genres with pairings that have included Stevie Nicks and Lady Antebellum, Def Leppard and Taylor Swift and most recently Halsey and Kelsea Ballerini, to name a few. Along with the performances, the artists have the opportunity to swap stories about music, and for Price and Rateliff, the conversation ventured to their personal measures of success. 

“For years I always considered success getting to a point where everybody in the band and our families were sustained off of what we were doing,” Rateliff shares. “I want the music we make to create a legacy for ourselves and our families.”

“I think success for me has nothing to do with money, but it has to do with just remaining true to myself,” Price responds. “Having freedom artistically is a really powerful place to be in.”

Watch American Songwriter’s exclusive premiere of Nathaniel Rateliff and Margo Price’s performance of “Twinkle, Twinkle” below, and watch the full episode of CMT Crossroads airing on Friday, March 26 at 10 p.m. ET