Seein’ Red: Dustin Lynch explains why this is his best tour ever
The country star also talks the state of country music, his first band and cowboy boots.
Q. How has it been touring with someone like Luke Bryan?
A. I’ve always been a fan of Luke, even before he had a song on the radio. I used to be roommates with some of his band mates years and years ago. I kind of know where he got his start, before he turned the rockets on. You know, I think whenever we look back on my career, this tour will be a major turning point for both of us. And I think I’ve become a lot more comfortable on stage because of the guy. There’s a reason he invited me out for a second year. It’s pretty flattering. My next goal is to get to Luke’s level — to be an entertainer of the year.
Q. Your sultry single “Seein’ Red” is blowing up. What do you owe to the success of the song? Do you “see red” all the time now?
A. I definitely see a lot of red, absolutely. Literally and figuratively. It’s funny, though. That song’s only been out a few weeks and we’ve already started seeing a lot of girls in red dresses showing up to our shows. Gentlemen: You’re welcome in advance. I like to call this song a unicorn: it’s hard to ride and hard to find, but we finally got a good one. It’s sexy. It makes you want to dance. What better way to start off an album?
Q. Your latest music has been compared to Taylor Swift or Brad Paisley. What really is country music nowadays?
A. Country music changes so fast. It’s so open. It’s so up in the air. It’s fun for me as a writer because we can literally go anywhere. We all have our boundaries sonically. As long as we’re in inside the trees, going down the fairway, we’re good to go.
Q. You’ve stated a lot before how much George Strait and Dolly Parton have influenced you. What about other genres?
A. I’ve been listening to Views by Drake a bunch. In the rock world, I’m really digging Mutemath. I’m all over the map! I mean, my first group was an Incubus cover band. Really. We were in high school, they liked to say the F word, and it was awesome.
Q. You just launched your own Stay Country clothing line, selling everything from T-shirts to cowboy hats. Do you know many pairs of boots you have?
A. Oh gosh. I don’t even know. It’s bad. I rotate among three or four pairs on stage because I’m so comfortable moving around in them. But I’ve probably got, I don’t know, twenty or thirty in the closet — some I’ll pull out for special occasions, here and there: the red carpet, the Grand Ole Opry. It’s like baseball gloves, man. You get one you’re really comfortable in and confident in and that’s the pair you rock.
