“Raised on Country,” the song from which the tour shares its namesake, is the 15th top-10 single for Young. The single, alongside his new emotionally personal song, “Drowning,” will serve as the two leadoff tracks for his newest studio album. Young says the goal is for the album to come out before the end of the year, but fans shouldn’t be surprised to see the new record drop sometime in the fall.
While fans of the country star have to wait just a little longer for the new album, Young is making sure to visit as many cities as possible to tide them over. He won’t be doing it alone, as he’s getting help from his new tour sponsor, USAA, to bring entertainment to the men and women of the armed forces and their families.
“I’ve got a lot of military in my family," Young says. “A lot of friends that are military. Over the years I’ve gone and played in Iraq, Kuwait, Japan and all over the world. There’s a huge connection there with USAA and the military as well, so it just made a whole lot of sense for us to partner together. And they’re doing some really cool things where we’re able to invite a lot of military and their friends and family.”
Young is selling out his stops in the U.S. with ease, but his fan base isn’t limited to just stateside. The country artist has developed a strong following in the U.K., recently wrapping up dates that included performances in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London as part of his Losing Sleep Tour.“I’ve got a lot of military in my family. ... Over the years I’ve gone and played in Iraq, Kuwait, Japan and all over the world." — Chris Young
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You wouldn’t be alone in thinking that the U.K. and country music don’t sound like they necessarily go together, but the Tennessee-born Young is quick to assure naysayers that the fans across the pond take their country music very seriously.
“One of the first times I went over there, I was touring with Brad Paisley,” Young says. “He goes, ‘Be careful about walking out onstage and saying, What do you guys want to hear? because they might pull track eight off of your first record.' And they are die-hard. It’s been awesome just to see over the course of my career, the growth and the love of country music over in the U.K.”
With an almost tireless touring schedule and long hours spent on readying the new album, it would appear there’s nothing that can slow down Young’s dominance in his field. Not even Texas heat at Dos Equis.
“It is what is is,” says Young with a laugh. “Once you know you’re going into summer and playing amphitheaters, you know you’re going to get some of those days. We played the other day right outside of Omaha, and I was like, it’s 114. When I went onstage at 9 p.m. it was still 100 degrees. And it was like, well, I guess I’m going to be sweaty today.”
