On Wednesday, November 12th, country singer Craig Campbell performed at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and New England Country Music joined him on his tour bus to conduct a pre-show interview with Craig, along with some of his bandmates and friends, discussing everything from his introduction to music, record label troubles, and Garth Brooks recently recording his song ‘All-American Kid’ on his latest album ‘Man Against Machine.’
Craig’s music journey all began when his mother noticed him singing around the house as early as seven years old. Shortly after, she brought a piano into the house and as Craig said, “that’s when the infatuation began.” After years of playing piano in his hometown church, and playing in his first bands, his close friend called and asked him move to Nashville, so he decided in 2002 to move to the Music City to chase his dream. Craig feels that he grew up in the greatest era of country music, with superstars like Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, Diamond Rio, Mark Chesnutt, and Randy Travis that he used as influence and inspiration, and for several years he would play piano for any band that would have him and would never have a hard time finding gigs as one of the better pianists in town, even sometimes performing with artists like Luke Bryan and Tracey Byrd. He eventually returned to play the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, which he considers one of the most memorable shows he’s performed.
When the song ‘Family Man’ became his first single to climb the country billboard charts, peaking at number 14, Campbell told us, “I was stoked, man, it was and still is hard to get a song up the chart, especially for somebody who has never had a song on the radio.” Early successes didn’t change too much however, telling us that life had just become busier between traveling, performing, touring, and that the first record deal was just the tip of the iceberg.
Craig’s latest album, ‘Never Regret,’ was released in May, and just as the hit ‘Keep Them Kisses Comin’’ was taking off, his record label suddenly closed up shop. He told us that it was “a shock, something I wasn’t really expecting.” When asked how he kept his drive, he said with a lot of hard work from a lot of dedicated volunteers, and it kept the song going, all the way the to the 15th spot on the US Country airplay charts!
In November, country legend Garth Brooks released his long awaited return album, ‘Man Against Machine,’ and Craig was fortunate enough to be a part of it, as Garth cut a song that Craig wrote, titled ‘All-American Kid.’ Craig says that he still thinks somebody is pulling his leg. “I’ve never had another artist record any of my songs, so it’s just not really hit me yet. The more I listen to it the more it really sinks in- that’s Garth Brooks singing my song. It’s just unbelievable.” We discussed the current reunion tour that Garth is embarked on, and with the same excitement told me, “I really hope he reaches out to me to come open some shows, he won’t have to work hard to get me out there.”
What’s next in the life of Craig Campbell? He’s Just signed a new deal with Red Bow Records, a division under Broken Bow Records, and hopes to have some other big news in the next few weeks. He’s been working on a new album with the new record label, and in the near future hoping to have some new songs out. It was an honor to sit down with Craig and his show later on that evening certainly did not disappoint the large crowd.