Father’s Day has officially arrived, and Aaron Watson is living the kind of life any dad would dream about. The ultimate underdog troubadour has taken his eldest son, Jake Watson, on the road with him as part of his Buy the World a Round Tour.
Already, the pair have shared the stage for numerous shows, but Jake, 18, who graduated from high school this past May, is now learning the ropes from his famous father in what Watson has described as “Honky-Tonk University.”
“It’s neat to see Jake wanting to follow in my footsteps. It’s not something that I’ve pushed on him. I haven’t ever encouraged him to be a singer or a songwriter. This is something he has pursued, and since that’s one of his dreams, I embrace that with open arms,” Watson — who has been coming off of a second vocal cord surgery — told Country Now in an interview earlier this month. “Getting to have Jake with me on stage makes my job a vacation, a hobby. It’s like playing golf or baseball with him, but instead, I’m up there on stage making music with him. I’m on the bus, hanging out, watching movies with him. So I feel spoiled rotten right now with the current setup. I’m very, very thankful.”
Jake’s main onstage talent is playing electric guitar, which serves as a thrilling highlight for fans who get to attend the live shows. But the latest occasion — a concert, which took place at The Resort at Fredericksburg in Fredericksburg, TX — gave attendees an experience they’ll never forget as it took place over Father’s Day weekend. Watson had his entire family in tow for the performance and opened up about the special plans before the concert.
“Since I have a show with Jake, the whole family’s going to drive down, and we’re going to get a little Airbnb, and we’re going to go do some fun things and then drive down and visit some Hill country towns here in Texas,” Watson shared of his Father’s Day plans. “And we’re going to have a little mini vacation this week and spend time together. And I’m excited about that.”
Watson’s Buy the World a Round Tour, presented by Shiner Rodeo, kicked off on April 5 in Waco, TX and runs through Oct 17, with its closing show taking place at Lowbrow Palace in El Paso, TX. Additional guests for the trek include Kevin Fowler, Kin Faux, Ty Myers, Jarrod Morris, Dax Davis, Cameron Wrinkle, and more. As for Jake’s musical contributions, Watson says his son will be juggling both music and college. So his slate is full.
“Jake is going to be doing music and college. He’s still a teenager, and there are a lot of teenagers jumping into the music industry headfirst. And I think those teenagers, they come in hot and they burn out quickly,” Watson, a father of three, who is also dad to young entrepreneur son Jack Watson, 17, and budding songwriter daughter, Jolee, 15, reasoned of his Jake’s decision to not go full-bore. “Jake has the rest of his life to make music. I want him to enjoy this moment where he can further his education, make friends, hone in on his craft, work on his singing, work on his songwriting, and work on his playing. So when the schedule allows, I’ll take Jake with me on the road.”
Even though Jake will set time aside for college, Watson added, “We are writing an album for Jake. We’re in the early stages of coming up with concepts, chord progressions, and melodies, and that’s exciting. It’s exciting to watch him grow as an artist, and it’s fun for me to be there to help guide him and just pass on the trade and the things that I’ve, a lot of the things that I’ve had to learn the hard way. He won’t have to learn the hard way.”
Meanwhile, Watson has plenty of music on the way as well. While he hasn’t shared a drop date, he is working on a 40-track album called Horse Named Texas.
“It’s been a very unique time in my career where I’ve had to hit the pause button a couple of times because of issues with my vocal cords and the surgeries. So I’ve accumulated all this music, and it’s been hard to find the right way to release it. So I want to put out this big project called Horse Named Texas,” Watson shared. “Horse Named Texas is the beginning of this next phase of my career. And it’s, basically, here I am, and my goal is to go for broke, to put out the best music of my career. I have a lot of things that are driving me and fueling my fire.”
“I’ve had several bigwigs in the music industry tell me that over the last couple of years, my career has become irrelevant on the mainstream side of country music. I’m always open to constructive criticism and insults because it’s good to hear those things. And sometimes those things are encouraging,” he continued. “And, then sometimes those things get me fired up and make me work 10 times harder. And that’s a lesson I’ve been able to share with my kids.”
Watson has shared some of the material from the upcoming project. He previously released “Sober Truth” and “That’s What She Said,” with “Just Like You” and “Getter Back Song” being the latest previews from the forthcoming debut.
Of “Sober Truth,” he said, “It’s a song that Jake actually helped me with. I was stuck in a rut with the chord progression and the melody, and he came in and helped me out musically and brought some fresh ideas to the table. He dotted a few i’s and crossed a few t’s. And it was fun to collaborate with Jake on ‘Sober Truth.’”
“Just Like You” — a more recent release — arrived as a two-pack with “Getter Back Song” and offers listeners the perfect parenting lyrics just in time for Father’s Day.
“I was brushing that angel off my shoulder / I was Saturday high never Sunday sober / I lost a good friend around your age so slow that truck down / ‘cause it could’ve been me that summer night / It could’ve been me running that red light / I still drive by that live Oak tree with that cross still in the ground / I know it hurt light hell when she broke your heart in two, boy I used to be just like you,” Watson sings throughout the chorus of the track.
Music aside, Watson recently launched a series on social media dubbed Tailgate Talk, where he discusses current events in country music and shares personal anecdotes.
“I did not try to do anything to inspire this series Tailgate Talk. It was a complete accident,” he shared. “A couple of young gun country singers were having a little spat, and I’m a fan of both of ’em, so I thought it’d be funny. I was at the ranch. I had been working and dropped the tailgate. I have a phone mount thing I set out in front of me, and I just started kind of being funny, and people loved it.”
“So I’ve done three or four of those so far, and every day people are like, when are we getting tailgate talk? When are we getting tailgate talk? So it’s funny that it’s turned into a thing, and it’s a great way to entertain the fans and gain new fans. So we’ll keep it up.”
While Watson is game for keeping up with his series, he says music currently overrides his other projects. But his kids remain his number one priority.
“Music. Music and more music, just musically, I am in a great place,” he said. “My kids are much older now. They can jump on the road with me. When they were small, we were having a lot of commercial success and there were a lot of opportunities that I could not embrace because I needed to be home. I’ll never regret choosing to stay independent so that I can manage my career and my schedule.”
“So the kids have always been priority number one, and they’re still priority number one, but they’re growing up and they’ve got their own lives. And there are times I come home after being gone for three or four days and I’m like, ‘Hey, y’all want to do this,’ or ‘Do you want to do that?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, sorry dad. We’ve got this,’ or ‘We’ve got this,’ or ‘We’ve got this.’ And they’re just getting really busy,” he added. “So, for me, it’s giving me more time to focus on fishing and songwriting, which is not a bad thing. So I just feel very blessed as a dad. I’m thankful that I have this opportunity to make music and also to have such an incredible fan base that they support me, my music, and my family. And as a dad, I couldn’t have asked for three more wonderful kids. I never dreamed I’d have three kids, much less three that are just amazing. So yeah, I’m blessed.”
The post Aaron Watson Talks Celebrating Father’s Day On Tour With Son Jake: ‘I Feel Spoiled Rotten’ [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.