The Josh Abbott Band recently inked a new record deal with Atlantic Records, and the Texas country group, who released their last three albums on their own Pretty Damn Tough Records, say they welcomed the opportunity to get their music on a major label.

“I think for us, the main thing was, we didn't want to change anything," Josh Abbott told The Boot during 2014 CMA Awards week. "You know, we've seen some of our friends from Texas sign the record deal, and then they kind of had to change the way they looked, or maybe the songs they had to sing, and we were kind of like, we appreciate the offer, but if we have to change who we are, then it just wouldn't be right."

And the singer-songwriter says the band's patience finally paid off.

"We were waiting for the right deal, and when Atlantic came to the table, they were like, 'Just straight up, man, we don’t want to change what you’re doing,'" Abbott recalls. "You keep writing your songs, you and your band, you all play on the album, and you don’t have to change any members, you don’t have to change the way you dress, we’re not going to make you record a certain song. We just want you all to keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ll market it. So it’s been awesome."

JAB's independent releases included 2012's 'Small Town Family Dream,' which landed in the Top 5 on the charts. Their success earned them plenty of attention, but none of the other offers felt like a good fit.

"Our actual talks with other labels were very short because until we hit a certain point, there wasn't tons of interest," he says. "Atlantic was by far the most interested, so for us, it was definitely paying attention to who’s showing the most interest."

The band's major-label debut single, 'Hangin' Around,' from their newly released EP, 'Tuesday Night,' is already climbing the charts, which Abbott says is proof that they made the right decision.

"We’ve had a few albums on our own, independently, and that’s been an amazing career for us already, so getting to launch the single with Atlantic and Warner’s radio team has just been, it’s been honestly a huge blessing," he says. "It’s fun to see the benefits of that already start to come out."

Download 'Tuesday Night' here.

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