Jason Aldean: Locked In & On A Roll

An Exclusive Interview With One Of The Most Outspoken Voices In Country Music 

Jason Aldean has become one of the most outspoken voices in country music. And he’s fine if not everyone gets it. 

I didn’t expect to see Jason Aldean’s face pop up on my computer screen at 4 in the morning. Not that country music’s biggest name was randomly throwing me a pre-dawn FaceTime. We’d scheduled this ridiculous hour for an audio-only Zoom call, but to my surprise, Aldean seemed to have decided he’d rather talk like the Jetsons. 

When his face appeared on the call, it wasn’t at all what I expected. Not that one ever really knows what to expect when video chatting with a world-famous musician, but the guy on the other end in a t-shirt and baseball cap looked more like a suburban dad than a country music icon. The multi-platinum artist was content relaxing on his couch, holding his phone out in front of him and shooting the proverbial breeze on a lazy Tuesday morning. 

“Thanks for getting up so early,” he said earnestly. I gave him a tired smile. He seemed genuinely grateful I’d made time to chat at such an odd hour, and it is exactly that kind of humility and relatability that has made Aldean more than a successful musician. It’s made him a favorite among millions of country music fans and helped keep him grounded as he’s become a household name. While some of that notoriety is, well, notoriety, Aldean is in as good of shape as ever and proud to be an outspoken voice in the country music world.   

Aldean’s Roots 

Like many country musicians, Jason Aldean got his start in the South. He was born in Macon, Georgia, but his parents separated when he was young. His father was subsequently stationed at Homestead Air Force Base, about an hour south of Miami, and Aldean split his time between the two locations as a child. 

When his father returned to Georgia for the holidays, the pair would escape into the deer hunting woods sometimes with Aldean’s grandfather as well. This is where his love affair with hunting began. 

“My dad lived in Florida, so he would come up to Georgia every Thanksgiving and stay for about a week, 10 days, and he would hunt the whole time he was there,” he reminisces. “He would just take me with him as a kid. Him and my granddaddy.” 

Later, a chance meeting with Adam LaRoche of the Atlanta Braves would get Aldean into the world of bowhunting, and a group of celebrity hunters known as Buck Commander. “LaRoche is the one who got me started with bowhunting,” Aldean recalls. “He said, ‘We got this Buck Commander thing we just started,’ and he sent me a couple of videos to watch. And I thought, ‘Man, this looks like a blast.’ 

“The encounters you have with deer [bowhunting], you’re closer. You get to see ’em at 20, 30, 40 yards instead of looking at ’em 200 yards away. There’s more skill involved with a bow, and you gotta be quiet. It’s just a little bit more of a challenge, and I like having ’em closer in like that.” 

Over the years, the Buck Commander’s squad of musicians, athletes, and executives have explored fields and mountains all over the world. One of Aldean’s favorite locales was a ranch in Texas filled with unusual game, where he and his crew had the chance to hunt kudu, sable, and bongo. “It looked kinda like Africa,” he says. “It was crazy.” 

Today, he bases his tour dates around hunting season, wrapping things up around early November so he has plenty of time to visit Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and his other favorite hunting spots. 

On Singing & Writing 

Aldean also discovered his passion for country music in Macon, the hometown of Little Richard and Otis Redding. The boy, who’d later become a superstar, got the bug by listening to Garth Brooks and other top artists of the time. He convinced his mother to get him a gig with some local musicians she knew. 

“I remember telling my mom, ‘I wanna go on stage and (sing),’ so she took me to a VFW hall where she and my aunt used to play bingo,” he says. “She knew some of the guys in the band and asked them if I could get up and sing. I sang, I think, a John Anderson song and a Merle Haggard song. I was probably 14 years old.” 

From there, teenaged Aldean was hooked, playing and winning talent contests around Macon, then graduating to sing in nightclubs on the weekend. By 2005, he’d signed with a major record label and released his self-titled debut album, which got all the way to #10 on Billboard’s country charts. It included his first single, “Hicktown,” and his first #1 hit, “Why.” 

Over the 20 years that followed, he’d win two CMA Awards and notch 28 #1 singles. As his career matured and success became commonplace, Aldean began to feel his lyrics should be more than the usual country cliches. So, he co-founded Triple Play Music with bandmates Kurt Allison and Tully Kennedy. The idea, Aldean says, was to make songs with a point, songs people could get behind and appreciate for more than just a catchy melody. 

“Our mentality was to be a little more mindful, writing songs that have a little more meat on the bone than just these sorts of easy songs that’ll get played on the radio that don’t really say a whole lot,” he says. “We concentrate on writing songs that say something, whether that be about relationship stuff or, even ‘Try That in a Small Town.’” 

Ah yes, “Try That in a Small Town,” the song that brought Aldean from a country music star to a household name. Aldean says he never had any intention of starting a national discussion with the song or its corresponding video; his lyrics were meant more as a reflection of what he felt was going on in America at the time. 

“I don’t think that song came about because we were trying to step out there and do something that really moved the needle,” he says. “It was never intended to go in and specifically write something that was gonna stir the pot. It just came from a place of, this is on our mind. I’m 47 years old now, things change.” 

The controversy, he said, was created in large part by people who didn’t understand—or didn’t like—his message. But with the confidence that comes with being a wildly successful man in middle age, Aldean doesn’t much care. 

“If you got it, you got it,” he says. “And if you didn’t, you didn’t. But to me, it is exactly what I wanted it to be.” 

Keeping His Kids Grounded 

Above all else, Aldean is a family man, a father to four children—two with his current wife, Brittany Kerr. He’s made a point to engrain in his children that the lifestyle they lead is unusual and that his family is blessed to have the fortunes that they do. 

“As parents, it’s our job to tell them this is not normal,” he says. “I didn’t grow up like this, my wife didn’t grow up like this. And it’s tricky because when you have kids who haven’t experienced anything different, it’s all they know.” 

To drive the point home, Jason and Brittany actively involve their children in charity work and have an annual tradition of bringing gifts to less fortunate families during Christmas time. 

“We try to show them the difference between how we live and how a lot of Americans live, and that we’re very fortunate,” he says. “As parents, you gotta stay on top of that.” 

Three of his children seem to have inherited the music bug too, as Aldean describes eldest daughter Keeley, 21, as “a great lead guitar player.” His second generation of children—Memphis, 6, and Navy, 5—are also musically inclined, as much as early grade-schoolers can be. 

“My son, he’s been wearing us out,” he laughs. “He wants to take piano lessons, so he’s got this little thing on his iPad he plays, like a piano teacher. My daughter, she wants to be center stage, singing with the microphone. Memphis is more, just let me stay in my corner and play my instrument, and I’ll be fine.” 

What’s Down The Road For Jason Aldean 

Whether his children ever join him on tour like the Bronny James of country music still remains to be seen, but for now, Jason Aldean’s career is going about as well as it could possibly be. He’s set to release a new album next year with 10 new tracks, one of which he promises will be another iconic Aldean anthem. 

“We got a new one on the album, it’s just a powerful type of song that people are going to relate to,” he teases, then quickly adds, “and it has nothing to do with politics or any of those things.” 

Off the road for now, the rest of Aldean’s year consists of hunting, resting through the holidays, prepping for the expansion of Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar franchise, and getting ready for the album release/tour cycle for 2025. There’s no question that he’s as ready as ever to keep the party going. 

“You kinda get locked in sometimes where it feels like you’re just on a roll. That’s kind of where everything’s at right now,” he says. “I do things now the same way I always did. And if there’s something I wanna say, you know, I’m never gonna say anything that I would be scared to say again.”  

CRANK UP THE ALDEAN IN 2025: Jason and the band are currently working on their next album which will drop in Q1 of 2025. Tour dates, music videos, and more information can be found at jasonaldean.com.  

Ready For A Jason Aldean-Kinda Party? 

Live foot-stomping music, crazy good food, and great times with friends and family are what’s on tap at Jason Aldean’s joints. As a way to stay creative and give back to his hardcore music fan base, Jason Aldean launched his namesake eating, drinking, and partying establishments that all feature live music and good times! 

Jason Aldean’s first Kitchen + Rooftop Bar opened in Nashville in June 2018 in partnership with TC Restaurant Group. The 27,000-square-foot site features four levels of good times (six bars worth), southern food (Chef Tomasz Wosiak created the menu), and live entertainment designed to make each visitor a part of the Aldean Army. 

Located at 307 Broadway in the country music mecca of downtown Nashville, Jason Aldean’s main restaurant level features a large bar with a 1961 4020 John Deer tractor. It’s a tribute to Jason Aldean’s number-one song, “Big Green Tractor.” 

In 2023, the second Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop bar opened at 644 Parkway in Gatlinburg, TN. It features a rooftop bar, a sit-down restaurant, a gift shop, and a diner. 

Aldean’s ventures continued in March of 2024, when his first Kitchen + Bar opened at 393 N Shore Drive in Pittsburgh, PA. The 10,000-square-foot venue sports a live music stage, a main dining area, two bars, and an outdoor patio. 

“My Kinda Party” spots are growing. The coming Kitchen + Bar Vegas location at 63 CityCenter (Las Vegas Blvd. & Harmon Ave.) will feature a huge outdoor patio space, staples like the Big Green Tractor Bar, and authentic food items from Jason’s childhood including his Mom’s Peach Cobbler and Grandmother’s Pot Roast. Visit jasonaldeansbar.com for more info.