Big Guy & The Very Large Men Announce soft hands, hard times EP
Big Guy & The Very Large Men Announce soft hands, hard times EP Due Out On June 26
Listen to the latest single, “Only Sin,” now; EP release show at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82 on June 26
Nashville, TN - May 29, 2026 - As a songwriter, James Droll’s pen 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.
On June 26, Big Guy & The Very Large Men will release their debut EP, soft hands, hard times. Joined by contemporaries and friends like Fancy Hagood, Maddie Medley, and swim team, Big Guy & The Very Large Men take back the power from too much hateful rhetoric, all the while keeping Big Guy’s cheeky persona and soft, thoughtful approach to the music. Pair that with his sharp and quick witted songwriting and every issue feels like a conversation between friends with a big ol’ punchline at the end.
“My ex was in the closet at the time that we dated, and for years after we broke up,” remembers songwriter James Droll, talking about the beginnings of Big Guy & The Very Large Men’s new single, “Only Sin.” “I got in way over my head and couldn’t handle the pressure of keeping his secret, living in a new city, and my feelings after having recently kicked open my own closet door.” It’s a refreshingly honest take on a version of queer love that most people will never have experienced. For that reason, amongst a few others, Droll considers it one of the best songs he’s ever written.
“Loving you was our secret
One that you were always better at keeping”
Penned with the help of Reed Berin and Louis Johnson, who also joined Droll on the recording, “Only Sin” is sparsely adorned, a simple fingerpicked guitar accompanies an intimately recorded lead vocal with dashes of strings and harmonies rounding everything out. There’s no big crescendo, no driving backbeat, just a man and his story and his vulnerability.
“I remember the first time you told me to hide until the coast is clear
Why the hell did you bring me all the way here
And that’s my only sin
Couldn’t love myself the way that I loved him”
Yesterday, Under The Radar premiered the track, writing that, “[Droll] keeps the song’s scale small and intimate, never pulling focus away from his aching vocal performance.”
Fans can stream or purchase “Only Sin” and check out Big Guy & The Very Large Men’s previously-released single, “COWBOY BOOTS,” here. Be sure to pre-order or pre-save the soft hands, hard times EP right here ahead of its June 26 release.
Nashvillians, Big Guy & The Very Large Men will celebrate the EP release that night, June 26, at American Legion Post 82. See the flier below for more details and click here to purchase tickets.
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 his family being 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 of 2026 featuring 4 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 21 Pilots, Noah Kahan, Joy Oladokun, Elohim, Greyson Chance, and Paper Route.
