Jason Aldean Talks Luke Bryan, Launching New Country Sound: Ram Report
Jason Aldean, the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year, recently sat down with Rolling Stone Country for a wide-ranging interview in which he discussed the origins of his career, his overlooked album cuts and what he hopes to be remembered for.
The singer, who just released his new single “Any Ol’ Barstool,” invited Rolling Stone Country out to his home an hour south of Nashville and weighed in on everything from the surprise outcome of the presidential election (“Anybody just wants to feel like they’re being heard … You saw that in a huge way this time around”) to his special bond with Luke Bryan (“He and I … can pick up the phone and say, ‘This is what’s going on. Have you experienced this? How would you handle that?”).
Aldean also touches on the influence he, Bryan and other young gun country singers have had on the sound of the genre. “There was a changing of the guard,” he says, citing Bryan, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert as peers who’ve helped change the direction of country music. “And we were at the forefront.”
Aldean wrapped up a busy touring season that found him playing everywhere from amphitheaters to Boston’s Fenway Park. He’ll return to the road in the new year.