While talent is surely a prerequisite to a successful music career, it’s Drake White’s hard work, drive, and most of all, passion that makes his success seem almost inevitable. In sitting down to talk with White, you can see the fire in his eyes, his energy is so contagious that you can’t help but walk away feeling inspired. We got to chat with the Alabama native before one of his last shows of 2017 at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den. He’s played the venue a few times before, and keeps returning in part because of the venue itself, including the professional, friendly, and hospitable staff, and the stage which looks much like what he would want for his own shows someday. “I’ve always had a native side of my character in it, you know, that whole Native American type of juju and vibe is my thing… I feel like I’m outdoors,” he said. But the biggest factor in his return to the Wolf Den is probably the fans. “We’ve had a lot of success up here, there’s a lot of passion for our kind of music.”

No matter the venue, Drake’s ultimate goal is to leave fans with lasting memories. “I’m always trying to figure out a different way to do things, and make a memory, make a moment for somebody like yourself or whoever comes to the show to go,” he said. “Ultimately, they don’t even know what’s really there, they’re just captivated by the moment, by the setting, by the music. They can come out and have a good time and not worry. Our fans are cool and they’re laid back and it’s a good time!”

So as 2017 was winding down, the conversation naturally moved towards reflection. It had been a pretty exciting year for White, he explained. “Playing Fenway Park with Zac, that was just a dream come true. And him coming out and singing with me and jamming with me and really developing that relationship. Then we went on our headlining tour and we sold out New York and Boston, and we got out to California and we just really had a lot of crowds. So this year, one of the highlights was to have these people come to our shows and sell out those shows. The other one was Europe – being in London playing C2C in March. I can’t say I didn’t expect it, we work really hard for what we do so as humbly as I know how to put it, we knew we were going to do well over there but man, that response we had was just amazing.”

Drake also spent some time the past year touring with Kip Moore. “Me and Kip, we’re cut from the same cloth. We love to write and we wanted to tour together for a long time,” said White. He continued to share one of the most important things he learned from Moore, building a core group of fans. “He’s done a really good job at that. He’s got dedicated fans and I would much rather go see someone that has a brand, that has a culture built around them, and knows and is true to that,” said White. Part of what’s built up that solid fan base for Moore is his honesty in both his music and live shows, a major takeaway for White. “Kip does not care, he does not ask permission. He sees the idea, he trusts the idea, and he goes with it. Now, he has a lot of hesitation in other parts of his life, but it makes him this really vulnerable, cool spirit on stage and it’s just, he’s honest.”

So has Drake ever struggled with his own honesty and authenticity? “No, I’ve never struggled with it,” he said firmly. But letting the question sink in a little he began to alter his response, “If I’m 100% truthful… Let me think about this because that’s a great question,” he paused. “I think that struggle is what makes you say, ‘No, I’ve never struggled.’ Does that make sense? I’m honest in the fact that I’ve got this sound in my head that I have through listening to Marshall Tucker Band, 311, and Sublime, and Tupac. All the way from Lynyrd Skynyrd to the Allman Brothers Band. I’ve got this sound – I love dobros, I love harmonicas. So there is a struggle in that, what is the identity? What is the Appalachian-soul-funk-country music-swagger-whatever –  What is it? Getting to that. I’ve always known what I like and I’ve always articulated that well. I was just going to be cool and say no, but honestly, it’s everyday you go in and you have these ideas and it’s up to you to trust your ideas, and you trust your god-given abilities.”

It’s a struggle that’s gotten easier as White puts in work on album number two. After seeing success with his debut album, Drake has found that making the second one is a little different, “In every good way possible,” he stated. “I mean, I’m just a normal guy. You know, you put your clothes on today and you’re dressed up and somebody says, ‘Hey, those are cool boots!’ It validates your boot choice or whatever. You put your sweat and soul into this music and people come up and react to it and say, ‘This helped me through this.’ Well, life’s hard and everybody knows it, so it gives you the confidence, it gives you the swagger to go grab the ball and throw another pitch. So I think that it’s just a more relaxed creative process.”

In addition to the finishing up his sophomore album, Drake White has a few other goals for 2018. “I’m going to learn jiu-jitsu, I’m going to start and I don’t know if I’ll finish my pilot’s license, but I’m going to do that. I’m going to run a couple of marathons…” The look of astonishment must have been clearly written on my face, “The reason I’m saying this is because I just wrote all these things down. There’s power in a yellow notepad and a pencil. I write it down, and you know I just believe it,” he said. “I always ask myself why can’t I accomplish my 10 year goals in a year. And most of the time it’s because you’re hesitating asking somebody what you need to ask them.” he said, adding a story to drive that point home. “I asked Zac after we got through the first run, I was like, ‘Hey I want to open up for you for the rest of the year, can we do that? And can we get paid a little bit more money?’ and Zac said, ‘yeah, sure.’ If you never ask, you don’t know.” Feeling motivated yet?  White admittedly listens to a lot of Tony Robbins and it shows. (And apparently it works, too.)

We all know that music has the power to make us feel something, but my conversation with White was truly eye-opening. He has a well-earned confidence, but doesn’t at all come off as cocky. If you’re not a fan, you ought to be. Check him out on social media or check out a show next time he’s around. “Bring somebody that’s never heard of us, I promise they’ll have a good time… Just be ready for a moment,” he assured. Drake’s also got some new music coming out soon, “as soon as I f*cking know how to get it out.” So keep your ears open for some new tunes. And to the fans who’ve been sticking by him, Drake wanted to give y’all a big shout out and say thank you!

To keep up with Drake, you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.