“Chapter & Verse” is Gabby Barrett’s second full-length release, but in some ways it feels like her debut.

During a phone interview on her tour bus as she tried to find the best place on the vehicle for cell reception, Barrett said her 2020 debut “Goldmine” was finished during the COVID-19 pandemic with recording sessions in home studios and lots of communication via messaging.

“It was so much different the second time around with me co-producing this recent album and then also being in the studio, getting to make live adjustments and edits to the songs and instruments,” she said. “It’s a whole different experience, and I really enjoyed that.

“With the second album, I wanted the material to be a little more consistent. With my first album, a lot of those songs were just songs that I enjoyed writing when I first got to town, and I just kind of picked my favorites and threw them on an album. So this one, ‘Chapter & Verse,’ feels a bit more consistent and just a step up from the last one in that way.”

Barrett, who grew up outside of Pittsburgh in Munhall, Pa., first gained attention with a third place finish on season 16 of “American Idol.” Her first single, “I Hope,” which she performed on “Idol” the following season in 2019, topped the country charts and made it to number three on Billboard Hot 100. It was the first of three Top 10 country singles that appeared on her debut album “Goldmine.”

The songs on “Chapter & Verse” reflect where she is now, an established artist with a very different life compared to the teenager who appeared on “Idol.”

“I personally am somebody who just really enjoys writing where I’m at in life, and right now where I’m at, it’s so busy, and there’s so many fun stories and details to write,” Barrett said. “I’ve been married for almost five years. I have three kids under the age of 4. And with touring … .”

Her current single, “Dance Like No One’s Watching,” is one of the only tracks she didn’t co-write on “Chapter & Verse,” but it resonates just as personally as the ones she did. It was a gift that came from current stadium-filling country superstar Luke Combs.

“I was home in the bathtub, and I got a text from Luke Combs that he had just sent me a song,” Barrett said. “He talked about how him and Emily Weisband and James McNair, they wrote this song together and thought of me. … I heard the first verse and the chorus, and even the first time through, I just fell in love with the song. I love the melody. I’m a sucker for melodies. I love the lyrics. I love the story and it was a perfect fit for me and the kind of content that I talk about within my songs.

“I grew up a very daddy’s girl, and now I watch that relationship unfold between my daughters and my husband, and it’s something that’s very special.”

Combs not only gave her the song, but he contributes backing vocals on the track, something that didn’t seem possible initially.

“He was very, very slammed and very busy, but he kindly was able to throw some vocals on it at the last minute, and we’re really thankful for that,” Barrett said. “I think it’s what that track needed. I really enjoy him vocally. He has a very powerful grit in his vocal, which I think is complementary. I’m really thankful that he was able to jump on that and do that.”

After touring for a couple years on the “Goldmine” songs, Barrett also is happy to have new material to share on her current headlining tour.

“We’re touring that new music and (playing) the favorites as well,” she said. “We’ve switched up our production. We have a cool campfire moment in the middle of the set. We have some new cover songs. It’s just really fun. It’s exciting for me to be able to perform new stuff for people and then also see them enjoy it.”

Over the years, Barrett has shared stages with Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Toby Keith, Keith Urban and many others. The one who made the most lasting impression is Thomas Rhett.

“Something that always will stick with me, he was extremely kind, coming and talking to us,” she said. “At the time, I was not the direct opener, I was the first of three (acts). And sometimes you just feel like a chump, like you’re just grinding it out. You’re normally in a van still, and you just feel like you stay in your corner and nobody comes to talk to you. You just do your work and leave. When I was on tour with him, he was just so kind to myself and my husband, and took the time to always just talk with us for more than 30 seconds. He would just sit and talk, and talk about real stuff. It was different from a lot of interactions I’ve had with a lot of different A-list celebrities.

“And for several of my shows — again I was the first of three opening — he came right on the side of the stage, and he would watch like half my set. He would watch the first half or he’d watch the end half. And I remember somebody telling me he was dancing and jumping up and down and jamming at the end of the show. It’s just so cool. It’s very humbling, and that’s something I will take from him. Hopefully, if I get to that level (with multiple opening acts), I want to give them that same respect and courtesy.”

If you go …

WHO: Gabby Barrett.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Aug. 22.

WHERE: Packard Music Hall, 1703 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren.

HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $39.75 to $89.75 and are available at the Packard box office and through Ticketmaster.

Have an interesting story? Contact Andy Gray by email at agray@tribtoday.com. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @TribToday.