Songfacts®:

• This nostalgic ode to fans that attend the summer festivals across the country is sung by Niemann through the eyes of a girl that travels to the outdoor music events. "Being a music fan, I know that girl in the song," Niemann told Rolling Stone. "['Blue Bandana'] is a story-song and a tip of the hat to those people who drive all over the place and spend their money to let us jam with them."
• The wandering country travelogue was penned by Ben Goldsmith, C.J. Solar and Andrew Scott Wills, three writers who have never had a song cut by another artist, until Niemann recorded this tune. "I have really enjoyed finding songs by some of the newer songwriters,"the singer told Billboard magazine. "Nashville always has talent coming here, and that makes it so special, but there's three writers on the song that have never had a cut. It's so great to hear that fresh and untapped talent straight off of the bus."
• The song has a very earthy tone, much like Niemann's debut album Long Hard Road, which he released independently in 1999. "We just stripped it down," the singer said. "I told Jimmie Lee Sloas, who produced the record, that I wanted to get rid of all the effects and compression. We turned it all off and really deadened the sound like they did in the classic rock and Southern rock days. I feel that it really allows the record to breathe a little bit."