When I first started, you could go to a college campus and it was not cool to wear a country artist's shirt on campus. It was taboo, and there was a stigma involved. In the time from then till now, I'm amazed at how much things have changed. It's young now, it's cool, it's hip

When you play the bars, you pay your dues. It does matter that you know those things [songs]. And the great thing for me, too, is that I draw on that stuff as influences. It's also stuff that you put in the tank that you pull from to make records.

The most important thing for me as an artist is having an identity.

I think a lot of times, artists and albums can become formulaic. You're known for a certain thing, and you continue to do that. You just change the subject matter, but it's the same song. And that's what you do.

It's always the roughest path, but I think it's got the most reward at the end.

If I was concerned about my legacy, there’s no way I would ever sit there [and be a reality-show judge]. Once your career becomes about some¬thing other than the music, then that’s what it is. I’ll never make that mistake.

Everybody always tells you what an awesome and unique experience being a parent is. Words can never do the feeling justice.