On a chilly winter morning, Ella Langley sits down for the Pupdate high above Music City in a suite at the JW Marriott Nashville. Bundled up in a chic brown winter coat, she settles onto the couch as her two adorable dogs, Crue and Bee, eagerly jump up to join her. With treats in hand to ensure they follow her commands, Ella entices the pups to calm down a bit for her to introduce them.
Meet Crue and Bee
With a big smile, she first introduces us to Crue, her ride or die. She took in the now six-year-old Spaniel in 2019 when she was a sophomore in college at Auburn University and he’s been right by her side (quite literally) ever since.
“He’s been everywhere with me. He has literally been, he’s toured every kind of venue I’ve played…So he’s my road dog for sure,” she shares, adding that he’s “too smart for his own good.”
Bee, her one and a half year old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, is her “silly girl.” Still learning the road life, Ella says Bee is a “funny dog” who’s “kind of slinky.”
“She has fox in her heritage,” Ella points out.
With Crue and Bee by her side, Ella recalls growing up surrounded by animals, which is where her love of dogs stems from.
“I always loved animals…I grew up on a farm, cows, horses, chickens, all kinds of stuff,” she shares.
The Pawsitive Rescue Division
Taking her love for dogs one step further, Ella recently became a founding board member of The Pawsitive Rescue Division, a nonprofit rescue center that aims to help find dogs “fur-ever” homes. Her involvement with the non-profit happened very organically after meeting fellow founding member Lauren Misunas, who ran a small boarding service and cared for rescued dogs. Wanting to help, the singer/songwriter started making videos to find homes for the rescues, leading to six adoptions. Lauren then invited her to join their newly established nonprofit. Ella eagerly accepted and has since helped with several adoption and fundraising events, with plans for more in the future.
“I didn’t really set out to, during the busiest time of my career to be like, ‘let’s do a nonprofit too,’ but that’s just how the cookie crumbles, I guess,” she says.
Ella has even bigger dreams for the future. In addition to her music, she hopes to leave a lasting impact by opening an animal sanctuary in Alabama and advocating for mental health and addiction recovery.
“That’s my goal. I have a lot of long-term goals when it comes to this stuff regarding animals. I want to open a sanctuary one day in Alabama for bigger animals. And then another thing that I’m really wanting to push is mental health. That’s just the disease [close to] my family is mental health and addiction,” she explains. “So trying to combine the two where it’s a facility where you go and you get up and you work the farm every single day. And when you really realize how precious life is when you see these animals who want nothing more than to have a great life, and a lot of them don’t get that. And to see how when you just walk up and you get to hug a horse or just pet a dog that doesn’t get that all the time, it definitely gives you a different perspective on life and what we’re grateful for and what we take for granted.”
Ella finds fulfillment in giving back, especially since a career in music can often feel self-focused. As she explains, “This job is just, it feels pretty selfish a lot the time. It’s a lot about me and talking about me and doing things for my career. So to give back in this way…it makes me feel good.”
Recently, Ella’s love for animals and her love of music collided when Miranda Lambert’s Muttnation Foundation donated to The Pawsitive Rescue Division with a $5,000 grant.
“It’s just been really cool…First of all, I get to hang out with Miranda Lambert all day, and then we get to get dogs, homes? The coolest thing ever,” she assures us.
Writing With Miranda Lambert
This won’t be the last time these talented artists cross paths. Ella tells us they’ve written several songs together and that “one or two” of them will be on an upcoming project of hers.
“We have a lot of writes in our future, so who knows? I would love to write some for her. But I think right now it’s just enjoying where I’m at in my career right now,” she says. “Not really putting a rush on it and just the fact that I get to go sit down and write a couple songs with Miranda. It’s crazy.”
Getting to work with Miranda—who Ella says is “absolutely” one of her heroes—is a dream come true. She appreciates trailblazers like Miranda Lambert who have made it possible for artists like her to follow their dreams.
“I mean, just growing up listening to Miranda Lambert, she hates when I say that, but she’s been an inspiration for me. I think Miranda has always just done what she wanted to do and the way that she’s wanted to do it. And she doesn’t really take a lot of crap and she kind of just is herself a hundred percent of the time,” she notes. “And I look up to women like that and we definitely need a lot of ’em like that. And so definitely somebody I would say that I’ve looked up to. The same thing with Lainey [Wilson]. It’s really special to have these two women to go before me and then now be friends with them and get to ask them questions and kind of feel not so alone in some of the things you experience as an artist.”
Ella Langley wrapped up 2024 on a high note, celebrating her first No. 1 single and a CMA Award to top it off. It was a whirlwind year, and she definitely earned a break. Though she admits to being “terrible at relaxing,” Ella made herself slow down, spending time at home painting, coloring, and reading a few books.
“This Has Literally Been My Dream My Whole Entire Life”
She hit the ground running in 2025, with a new single, “weren’t for the wind,” at country radio and a schedule jam-packed with shows. Her entire headlining tour sold out and at every show, fans are singing along to every word. With this, Ella is witnessing her dreams come true right before her eyes.
“It’s crazy,” she marvels. “Like I said, this has literally been my dream my whole entire life. The only thing I’ve ever daydreamed about was playing shows and what that would be like. And I’ve been playing shows straight out of high school. I was 18 when I first started playing shows, so I played a lot of shows for no one who knew who I was, there was no one in the room or I’ve had people be like, ‘Can you turn it down?’ It’s like, if I turn it down anymore, I’m going to turn it off. It’s literally low enough where if I turn it any more down, it’ll just be off. And so with this past year and seeing all the work we’ve put in to having a live show where people want to come see it, where they leave that show and be like, ‘Oh my God, I have to put on that artist just so I can feel that again.’ It’s always what I’ve wanted and have started to see that happen.”
“This Is Just The Beginning”
After years of hitting every stage they could, Ella, her band, and her crew are now witnessing the payoff of their dedication.
“So for us to experience this last fall of headlining shows, and every one of ’em sold out, the room is slammed. And not only are they singing the one song that you would think they’re coming there to sing, they’re singing all of it, and they’re singing songs that I put out years ago,” she reflects. “So you can tell that we’re growing real fans and people are connecting to it and it’s just crazy. I’m just excited. This is just the beginning and I’m having a blast.”
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The post Ella Langley Reflects On Her Dreams Coming True, Shares Her Passion For Animals All While Hanging Out With Her Dogs Crue and Bee appeared first on Country Now.
