‘It’s pretty cool man’
Country star Thomas Rhett ‘dives’ into his past on Center Point Road
This time, it’s personal.
So says country music star Thomas Rhett of his fourth album, Center Point Road , due May 31 and named after the street he grew up on in Hendersonville, Tenn.
“This new album – it really just dives right back into my past,” said the Georgia-born, Nashville-based Rhett in a Canadian newspaper exclusive with The Toronto Sun.
“Looking at my 16, 18, 21-yearold self and trying to remember, ‘What was I thinking about then? What was I worried about then? What was I excited about then?’ And trying to take inspiration from the younger me.”
As 2018’s most played country music artist with 12 number one singles now under his belt, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter has a lot to live up to with C enter Point Road which features guests Little Big Town, Kelsea Ballerini and Jon Pardi.
We caught up with Rhett, currently on tour in Canada in May and returning for a July 11 date at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage, in T.O. recently.
Does the real Center Point Road know you’re about to release an album of the same name?
It’s pretty cool man. The county has posted a lot of pictures about Center Point Road and why you should come and visit Hendersonville. It’s a suburb. It’s 20 minutes north of Nashville. I grew up on a little neighbourhood on a cul-desac and played sports – football, soccer, baseball.
Will the location figure prominently on album release day?
That’s the plan. It’s cool ‘cause my parents (who are divorced) still live about ten minutes from the house I grew up in so every other week I get to go back there and kind of relive it all over again.
What were you like as a kid?
I was well-behaved. I did bad things with good kids. Honestly, I had a pretty normal childhood. The only thing that was abnormal was because my dad (Rhett Akins) was a country singer. I think from a young age I got somewhat of a backstage pass into what it meant to be in the music business. I never really thought I would do it professionally until I got to college (at Lipscomb University in Nashville). And when I got to college, I realized that me and math were never going to work out. I dropped out with 20 hours left of school. It broke my mom’s heart. But she was like, ‘I will let you drop out if you will make an A on all of your final exams.’ And I made an A on all my final exams.
C an you go back and get your degree?
I can. I’ve talked to the school quite a bit. I didn’t hate school but there were classes that I liked definitely more than others.
What does your dad think of your success?
It’s really cool that a father and son get to work together and it not be a headbutting relationship. So not only is he a great dad, but he’s a great friend and a great mentor, a great advice giver. He’s on tour with me all year, which is super cool. So it’s going to be really cool for him to open the show and bring more of that ‘90s country flair and then him get up and play with me. I’ve never seen a father and son perform shows together.
The next leg of the trek called the Very Hot Summer Tour sounds bigger than ever for you?
This will be our first time ever headlining amphitheatres and arenas all in the same year so it’s probably the biggest year of my career.
Who inspires you in concert?
Honestly, this show was very highly influenced by Bruno Mars and Drake. I got to see both of their shows last year. And watching their production and watching how each song just flowed so well into the next, I gained a lot of inspiration from those two shows.
What do you like about Drake?
I love his music and I love his vibe and his show. I mean there’s a Ferrari that comes down from the ceiling and flies. And drones follow him around. It was amazing and frustrating because I know I’ll never be able to afford what he had. But if you could take little bits and pieces of it and go, ‘What could I do to make it personal to me?’
Do you notice a shift in the audience when you perform in Canada?
What I’ve loved most about Canadian fans is that they know way more songs than just your singles. And it’s really cool to come to a place where people still love to listen to albums and soak them in.
Are Canadian fans wilder than anywhere else?
Rowdy would be the right word. Loud and rowdy. Y our wife Lauren, who you’ve known since first grade, and daughters Willa Gray, 3, and Ada, 19 months, are in your video for the first Center Point Road single Look What God Gave Her . Why have you always shared so much of your personal life?
Ever since me and Lauren got married (in 2012) we’ve really been open books on social media, really kind of let the fans into our lives, and how we live our lives. And obviously since we’ve had kids there’s more boundaries now that we try to protect. But sometimes the pictures are just too cute not to post.
You adopted Willa Gray from Uganda in May 2017. Will you go back one day and show her where she’s from?
I think we’ve planned on when she turns five, we’re going to take her back over there. We want her to be immersed in her culture, know where she came from. It’s been incredible man. She has changed my life completely. I never thought I could love someone as much as I loved my wife and ever since I met Willa Gray for the first time — I met her in a little orphanage in Masindi, Uganda — my heart just shattered when I met her. She was like nine months.
How do Willa Gray and Ada get along?
Amazing. Willa Gray acts like a mom.