The emotional tug between chasing dreams and staying close to home is one so many country songs have been written about, perhaps none as sweetly as Cross Atlantic’s “Dear Hometown,” a love letter to the places and people that helped raise the duo’s Karli Chayne and James Sinclair-Stott.

Missouri native Chayne and England-born Sinclair-Stott met at a Nashville coffee shop in 2015 and soon began writing songs together. Their chemistry worked, creatively, professionally, and personally. Later, they formed Cross Atlantic, and married in 2019.

They penned “Dear Hometown” alongside Porter Howell and Brady Seals (best known as members of the group Little Texas), and today, they premiere the video for the song, which was directed by Jon Karr.

The song is filled with nostalgic lyrics of rocking chairs and old gravel roads where her papa let her drive his truck when she was just nine, while the video is filled with personal photos from the duo's childhoods.

The duo gave cmt.com the details behind the making of the video.

What do you remember most about the day/night you shot this video?

Karli: We remember feeling very excited and lucky to have the team around us that we did to shoot this video. It’s hard as an independent duo to have the means to create a great-looking video that will showcase the song you pour your heart into – but we felt really good about the concept/idea and look we were going for and we were very confident in our team. Jon Karr ended up capturing just what we were looking for. I also remember not eating when everyone else did because I was in a very tight dress.

How does the video bring your song to life?

Karli: The video quite literally brings the song to life with our own childhood pictures. Going through old photos for this project was a very emotional and special time for us as a couple. We had seen old pictures here and there but to be able to dive into albums and reminisce about each memory was something we won’t forget. I loved seeing James and his little brother Jack in their very English school uniforms. It was so British and made my heart melt.

What message do you hope your fans take away from the video?

James: We hope that they see we are proud of growing up where we did and that they can be proud of their hometown as well, whether they stayed or left. We think it’s important for us all to realize that wherever we grew up, those memories, whether mostly good or mostly bad, it made us who we are today. We want the dreamers to be able to chase their dreams without feeling bad about leaving – because just lately we’ve come to realize that those people you love, who are still there, ARE proud of you if you’re doing what YOU love.

How did it feel to see the finished product for the first time?

Karli and James: We were overwhelmingly happy and proud to see the actual memories and pictures in our minds come to life. As we get older we realize how much of where we came from made us who we are and you can see us embrace that in this video.