When the show opens, fans can text to a number we flash up on the screen, and then we do a meet-and-greet with 60 to 80 people every night. It's something I love doing, and I would say that's probably more fans than most artists bring backstage after a show.

Alcohol is perfect for me to curb the nerves a little bit.

I'm a big sports fan in general.

I don't keep diaries anymore; They're quite incriminating. I just keep all the dirt road diaries in my head.

When you get performance slots for award shows - that's a big deal for me.

My thing is you just have to try to feel young and stay young. Obviously you get a little older, but I still want my music to be young. I don't want to sound like an old dad onstage, so you just have to write music that sounds young.

People hear me talk and they know my background and they immediately stereotype me as being a real, real country guy, and that's the right stereotype. But you also want people to know you're a little broader than that, too.