Drake Milligan is a true road warrior. With a slew of tour dates on the books for this year, the rising star is showing no signs of slowing down and even has plans to release new music in the midst of a jam-packed year.
With his debut album, Dallas/Fort Worth and follow-up EP, Jukebox Songs, already out into the world, the Texas native has already proven his knack for delivering classic country music sounds and continues to find success with it. Although he admits to feeling a sense of apprehension when dropping new music.
“When we released Jukebox Songs, it was kind of my sophomore project, and we had Dallas/Fort Worth and some success with that. And so it was cool to kind of see people’s reaction because you never know. It’s like, ‘do I still have it?’ It’s like, ‘are people going to still like what I put out?’,” he shared with Country Now while backstage at CMA Fest following his performance on the Chevy Vibes stage.
Lucky for Milligan the fans have reacted to his music in the best way possible.
“They really have responded to and we play pretty much all those songs off that EP live and people will respond to every single one of ’em. So it’s cool to see and it is nice knowing that I can keep putting out music like that and that I love and people respond to it and it keeps the fan base growing,” he pointed out. “We’ve seen that kind of growth in the fan base since that EP and it makes me excited to get some new music out there too.”
Currently putting the finishing touches on a new record, the America’s Got Talent standout says he’s hoping to get the new music out “soon.”
“Hopefully people react to it in the same way they did jukebox songs,” he said.
Fans can expect more classic country sounds on Drake Milligan’s next record. The rising star counts George Strait and Elvis Presley—the King of Country and the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll—as his musical heroes so fans can also expect to hear those influences within his music.
“I don’t think we strayed too far from the more traditional country music that I love to make,” he told us. “I love to kind of pay homage to my roots and have some of those traditional country sounds in there, but at the same time it’s been so fun to go in there and make a full length record. I’ve been writing here for so many years. I’ve been in Nashville for seven or eight years now and some of these songs I wrote when I first moved to Nashville, some of ’em I wrote a few months ago.”
He continued, “And it is just been fun to kind of paint the edges and kind of bring in different influences, different country influences on these songs. And it’s just a great time for country music right now where I think the door’s open for stuff like that. So I’m excited to get it out there in the world and it’s kind of the first time I’ve been making music where I really feel like I know what I’m doing, which is a good feeling.”
So far this year, Milligan has spent time on the road with Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. With a mix of opening slots and headlining dates on the books throughout the summer, he also hopes to test out some new music on the road.
“Me and the band are starting to really work up the new songs and we’re going to start trickling ’em out and playing some stuff. So if anybody comes out to a show, come out and see us. Hopefully there will be a new one,” he said with a smile.
Most recently, he joined Luke Bryan on the Country Song Came On Tour and soon, he’ll join Lainey Wilson’s Whirlwind Tour.
“I’ve been a fan of Lainey’s for so long and she’s just so awesome. I’ve gotten to talk to her a few times and get to know her and she’s just a real deal and I’ve got to watch her at festivals and she’s such a real deal entertainer, just one of the best that’s doing it right now,” he said. “So to get to go on the road with her and really learn from her, I think it’s going to be awesome.”
For a full list of Drake Milligan’s upcoming tour dates, click HERE.
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