Dustin Lynch Takes Fans on 'Emotional Roller Coaster' With Headlining Ride or Die Tour

Dustin Lynch is one of the most versatile artists in country music, especially when it comes to live performances.

The singer, who has opened for artists like Luke Bryan, Keith Urban and Florida Georgia Line, among others, served as the opening act for Brad Paisley earlier this year, during Paisley's recent Weekend Warrior World Tour, before launching his own current Ride or Die Tour.

Although being both an opener and a headliner allow Lynch to do his favorite thing, which is to perform, he says the two roles are actually quite different.

"I think as an opener, my job is to get everybody up to play the hits, and be super, super high octane," Lynch tells PopCulture.com. "I kind of keep the show at a max on those dates. We have enough hits now where that's all I do. I've been playing hits. When I'm headlining, I get to take folks on a ride, on a little emotional roller coaster. Bring them up, bring them down and bring them back up. Have a few more moments that I guess are visually compelling in a sense. I have a little bit more stage room to use, and the guys on stage can goof off together and do some things."

With Lynch's recent Current Mood released in September that includes the No. 1 hits, "Seein' Red" and "Small Town Boy," the record gives the 32-year-old even more opportunities to play album cuts while on his Ride or Die Tour.

"I get a little more time to play music that isn't on the radio, and interpret those songs visually, and that's fun for me, because all year long, until the tour started, I haven't had a chance really to do that," adds Lynch. "So with the new album out, I get to play all these new songs, and see the crowd reaction, and make adjustments."

Lynch might love to sing, but not necessarily over the holidays, in spite of his family's best efforts.

"My grandma plays piano in church, and now playing one song has turned into a program, a family program," shares Lynch. We have to do all these goofy games. My granddad is a preacher. He does a little sermon, and then she gets on the piano and bosses us around and makes us sing. She'll yell at us if we're not singing and participating. It's a blast. I've got to be honest, the two weeks I have off the road, I don't want to sing, so I kind of stand back and let everybody take the reins on that."

Lynch will wrap up his Ride or Die Tour on Dec. 17, and then hit the road with Paisley again, for the 2018 leg of Paisley's Ride or Die Tour, which kicks off on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles, California.

A list of all of Lynch's upcoming shows is available on his website.