On Thursday, August 15th, The Bluestone will proudly present Drake White and The Big Fire.

Drake White is a truly talented artist who has been gaining industry attention because of his energetic performances, honest, friendly demeanor, and serious songwriting skills. The Alabama native has toured with Willie Nelson on the Country Throwdown tour and opened for Eric Church, Kid Rock, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Aaron Lewis, Toby Keith, and others.

Following White’s performance opening for Toby Keith in Cleveland, and shortly after his debut performance at The Grand Ole Opry, the Bluestone staff was lucky enough to sit down and have a conversation about his music, and why he looks forward to being in Columbus next week! We are genuinely excited to host this talented singer/songwriter at “The Other Church” of Country Music.

Click the picture below to see a short video shout-out from Drake, then read the interview! Or, watch the video by clicking HERE

Bluestone:

Great set opening for Toby Keith! We are so excited for your headlining performance at The Bluestone! You have performed at The Bluestone before—you have opened for David Nail and Blackberry Smoke. How was your experience playing at this venue in the past?

Drake White:

It’s such a great venue. We love going out to places that hold a little bit of magic to them, you know, it’s an old church and I grew singing in church, and the soul and the gospel that we sing in our type of music–it’s just very cool to sing in a place like that because there’s a spirit there. There’s that magic.

Bluestone:

I’d like to ask about your style of performance: It’s very energetic, there’s a lot of crowd-involvement, and you and your band seem to be having a genuinely good time performing on stage. That is very refreshing to see–such a positive presence on stage. Could you speak a little bit about your performance style?

Drake White:

I think that when you wake up in the morning, you have a choice whether to be happy or sad…your attitude is your choice. My band and I are best friends, and we feed off of each other’s energy—we’re blessed to be doing this. I’ve worked 9-5 jobs, I’ve worked really hard doing other things, and this is what I have been put on this earth to do, and I appreciate it every day. The performance comes from genuine appreciation of being able to do this.

Bluestone:

Speaking of your band dynamic, how did you all meet?

Drake White:

It was always my dream to move to Nashville, but my dream was not to be a “solo guy”, it was to form a band and have a camaraderie of brothers around me. So, that’s what I set out to do. We met through Nashville. The drummer (Adam Schwind) is from Texas, the bass player (Philip Pence) is from Gainsville Georgia, the Fiddle Player (Samuel Damewood) is from Knoxville, Tenn, and the guitar player (Chris Condon) is from Jupiter, Florida. It’s just meant to be for us. I got a great group of guys and they made my dreams come true as far as finding that band I always wanted.

The Bluestone:

It’s so cool that you all come from different places and are able to create a unique blend of sounds from a variety of genres. I can hear blues, rock, country, folk, and bluegrass influences in your music. How would you describe your influences?

Drake White:

I grew up in a small town in a musical family where they introduced me to rock n roll, country, soul, blues…all kinds of influences. I love country music I LOVE IT, it’s definitely my favorite type of music, but I like everything. I never set out to be necessarily a country music artist, I just write songs and whatever comes out is what it is. Growing up in Northeast Alabama, the Appalachian mountains fall down in the top half of that state where there’s a lot of Appalachian bluegrass influence, and then there’s a lot of funk and soul that comes from the Motown area of Muscle Shoals. I also grew up around a lot around 90’s country, so I’m influenced by that as well. I literally am a fan of MUSIC; I like it all.

The Bluestone:

We love your single, “The Simple Life,” and tonight you played another great song: “Fifty Years Too Late.” What inspired you to write “Fifty Years Too Late?”

Drake White:

My grandfather was a southern Baptist preacher. He was a great hunter and fisherman and he taught me to do the same, and to appreciate the spirit of nature. “You were born fifty years too late,” was something he said to me at a very young age. He died when I was 15, but those words stuck with me, and my buddy, Leith Laughton from Mississippi co-wrote that song, and he’s an old soul as well. The song was just supposed to happen. We didn’t try to write that song, the song wrote us.

Bluestone:

Well, we can’t wait to hear that one, and the rest of your set, live at The Bluestone on August 15th!

Drake White:

We’re really looking forward to getting in that place and it being our show. We owe a lot to  Blackberry Smoke and David Nail–those guys really introduced us to Columbus and having a great time there. We can’t wait to go back and play at The Bluestone. We’ve got a lot of fans that have become friends, who we now know by name, and look forward to hanging out with!

See what Drake’s been up to with his band before the show by visiting his website: www.drakewhite.com, and facebook page: www.facebook.com/drakewhitemusic.

Get your tickets now!