Out On The Town – Aaron Pritchett Interview and Tour Preview
There isn’t much that Aaron Pritchett hasn’t done in country music, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t new experiences to be had and new things to do.
We caught up with Pritchett to talk about his 2019 headlining tour, his next album, and his career, and we also took a few minutes to play a round of 5 Quick Questions while we had him on the phone.
In a more than 20 year career (so far) Aaron Pritchett has landed nine singles in the Top 10, released eight albums (with a ninth on the way), and has taken advantage of the opportunity to bounce back and flourish in part two of his career. And through it all, he remains as humble and grounded as you could possibly expect from a Canadian and country music singer.
The overwhelming takeaway from our phone conversation is that Aaron Pritchett is still full of energy, enthusiasm, and love for his career. His Out On The Town Tour will hit no fewer than 32 cities across Canada in January and February. And he can’t wait to get started.
We talked about getting ready to hit the road and the cities and towns along the way. Pritchett told us that he’s played every one of the markets at least once before, but some, like Thunder Bay, were years ago, and he’s excited to get back. And whether it’s Lloydminster or Bloomfield, it’s clear to us that the CCMA winner is ready to put on a show. At 48 years old he knows that he’s not as young as tourmates Kira Isabella and David James, but he still feels 25 everytime he gets up on stage to perform.
In his own words, it’s pretty nuts to think about headlining across Canada after years of playing clubs with multiple sets a night and then getting out on the road in his career as an opener. It’s a step that he’s pumped to be taking, and a big feather to put in his cap.
As we spoke about the tour, we touched on Kira and David being along for the ride. Aaron told us that he looks forward to working with them both and that he hopes that there are chances to use his career insights as advice and mentorship for the opening acts. With mentorship being something he hopes to continue for a long time.
Note: We spoke with Kira Isabella about the tour during our recent interview, and she’s got all kinds of excitement about joining Aaron to cross Canada in 2019!
Aaron Pritchett knows that he won’t be making albums and releasing singles forever (though he has no plans on stopping any time soon), but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to be involved and active. To hear him talk about wanting to mentor young artists, to share his stories and struggles and triumphs is something special. There is a genuine desire in this singer/ songwriter/ performer/ father/ friend to pass on what he knows so that others might smoothly navigate their careers in the industry.
It’s admirable.
Along with the tour is the upcoming EP, Out On The Town. The album is scheduled for release on day one of the tour, Friday, January 11, 2019.
The EP release will mark the ninth time that Aaron Pritchett has released a selection of songs to the world. The lead single from the project, Worth A Shot climbed as high as #6 on the Canadian country music charts and has racked up more than 2 million plays on Spotify. And the follow-up, Better When I Do has made a strong impression with nearly 15,000 spins in the first few days since its digital release.
Aaron told us that the full album will include a diverse mix of songs, with upbeat tracks and slowed down ballads to give fans something to dive into. That diversity itself is a mark of Aaron Pritchett’s country music career.
In 2006, fans across the country got loud and fell in love with Hold My Beer as it went to #9 on the charts. It’s a fun song that’s a huge part of his career and still gets the crowd fired up. And then, in 2017, he released When A Momma’s Boy Meets A Daddy’s Girl, another song that will stay with him for a long, long time. It’s about as opposite as you can imagine, and as it rose to #5 on the Canadian country music charts (his highest entry to date), he proved to everyone in the industry that he’s more than capable of being the party song guy and the slowed down, sweet story guy in country music.
While we talked about live shows and his career, we asked Aaron about the feeling he gets when the crowd starts singing along at the tops of their lungs. He told us that it’s crazy that makes him feel like he knows that he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing in his life. He also told us that the first two times he really experienced it was with Hold My Beer. The first was at Dauphin’s Countryfest when the song had just come out, so it caught him off guard, to say the least. And the second was in Halifax to end his set before Keith Urban came out to headline. He can still remember more than 30,000 people taking the song and turning it into a choir number in the crowd. We have a feeling he’ll remember that for the rest of his life.
Those feelings together, the crowd singing, the youthful energy, and the loyalty of country music fans, all add up for Aaron Pritchett. And the way he speaks about his experiences so far, and his upcoming tour across Canada, it’s easy to see that he loves every piece of it. It’s a hard road sometimes, but he does it with that love.
So if you’re anywhere near a city or town that the Out On The Town tour is coming to in 2019 (more dates could be added, stay tuned), we highly recommend getting tickets and being there to experience it with him.
Before we finished our call we asked Aaron if there was anything he wanted us to make sure we passed on to his fans. He told us that he wanted to make sure people knew how much he loves the opportunity to engage with them on social media. The comments and messages with his fans are a big thing for him, and he is happy that he is able to have that connection with people that love his music as much as he loves making it.
We also got Aaron to play a round of 5 Quick Questions with us. Have a look and learn a little something about the Canadian country music star from beautiful British Columbia.
5 Quick Questions with Aaron Pritchett
Q1. If you’re on a long drive and have to choose an album to put on and play all the way through, which album do you choose?
AP. Garth Brooks, No Fences
Q2. Do you have a dream duet partner
AP. Aaron told us that he’s always wanted to sing with Faith Hill and loves her voice.
Q3. Do you have a dream venue you haven’t had the chance to play yet?
AP. BC Place Stadium in Vancouver tops Aaron’s list of venues he’d love to play for a packed crowd.
Q4. Do you have a dream vacation spot you haven’t visited yet?
AP. Hawaii was the first sunny vacay spot that came to him.
Q5. Is there an artist that you think people should be paying more attention to?
AP. Sturgill Simpson. While he’s not new by any means, Aaron thinks that Simpson deserves more ears on his music. And we agree.
Note: Aaron Pritchett also told us that he’s excited for people to hear the country music that his son Jordan and his partner Danielle Marie have been working on.
Photo Credits: Trish Cassling, Canadian Country Music Week 2016 / Ray Williams, Boots & Hearts 2016
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