{"id":1304501,"date":"2019-02-28T08:50:59","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T15:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1803448"},"modified":"2019-02-28T08:50:59","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T15:50:59","slug":"tucker-beathard-the-2019-qa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/tucker-beathard-the-2019-qa\/","title":{"rendered":"Tucker Beathard: The 2019 Q&A"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

by Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span> 21m ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

When Tucker Beathard<\/a> released his independent album Nobody\u2019s Everything<\/em> late last year, I knew it was the start of something<\/a> that would be the start of something. He wasn\u2019t new to me, and he certainly wasn\u2019t new to his fans, but he was on the verge of bigger things.<\/p>\n

So when he inked a major label deal with Warner Music Nashville in January 2019, it was a sign that whatever Beathard did next would be heard. I caught up with the singer-songwriter right after he released \u201cBetter Than Me,\u201d the first official single off the upcoming major label album.<\/p>\n

CMT.com: This song sounds like it came from a personal experience. Did you go through a break up, hoping she\u2019d be handling it better than you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tucker Beathard: A lot of what I write comes from my tendency to put myself in other people\u2019s shoes. So it\u2019s not necessarily from a personal break up of mine, I just feel for people in those situations. I\u2019m just a spokesperson for other people\u2019s feelings. (Beathard wrote \u201cBetter Than Me\u201d with Dan Isbell and Jonathan Singleton.)<\/p>\n

And now that you\u2019re literally taken your show on the road, and you\u2019re playing this song on your Ride On tour, what\u2019s the crowd response been like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They are the diehard, day one followers. Everything considered, that I\u2019m putting out my first real batch of music now and there\u2019s been no real radio push, everyone who comes out to the shows is there because they follow me. And they know every song, whether I\u2019ve released it or not. It\u2019s awesome to see that support.<\/p>\n

When you asked your fans<\/a> on Twitter what songs they wanted to hear on the tour, it was all you. They weren\u2019t asking for 90s cover songs or straight-up radio singles. Was that a surprise to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The songs they asked for, or the ones they yell out at the shows, are ones I forgot I even had in my song catalog. You can\u2019t get any better than fans like that. The shows might not be glamorous and we might be traveling in a van and what not, but I think despite all that, I\u2019m not afraid to grind and play for whoever shows up. When the tour is yours, they get to see the whole you. And you make make a connection with them. I\u2019m a voice for those fans.<\/p>\n

Will the major-label deal change anything for you, or for those day one fans?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For me, no deal was better than the wrong deal. So I had to take a step back and try to find the right one. Not just any deal, but the right deal. And Warner said they\u2019d let me do my thing. I made this music when I had no deal, and so there were no blurred lines when it came to signing the deal. It was just, \u201cThis is who I am. Take it or leave it.\u201d

Is your life now, at 24, what you pictured it would be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not at all. When I graduated from high school and dove 100 percent in to my music, I didn\u2019t anticipate this journey. I don\u2019t think you can. But I wouldn\u2019t change it any other way. If it went according to my plan, there would\u2019ve been a lot of holes in it. Sometimes I think God has to put His hand on the wheel do what He knows I need to do. I can\u2019t think that big. I can\u2019t see the future. I\u2019ve never felt more prepared. I even told the label, \u201cI\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t sign with y\u2019all four years ago, because y\u2019all are getting the better version of me now.\u201d I had more of a vision this time, and they gave me 100 percent freedom. It\u2019s been the perfect time for me to do this, because I know now that things happen for a reason.<\/p>\n

Beathard\u2019s next stop is in Macon on Friday (Mar. 1).<\/p>\n

Embedded from www.youtube.com<\/a>.