After years of opening for other artists, like Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Dierks Bentley, and headlining his own annual Down Home Tours, Swindell is getting ready to kick off his very first headlining tour, when he begins his Reason to Drink Tour on Feb. 15 in Allentown, Pa. While Swindell will be playing for bigger crowds than he has on his own, his plans for keeping his fans entertained are pretty simple.
“There’s some kind of energy in these bars,” Swindell tells CMT. “I know it’s hard to duplicate that, but I want to take that same feeling into the arenas I’m going to be playing next. I want to make that last person in the back feel like they’re up front in the pit with me.”
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Swindell just wrapped his fourth annual Down Home Tour, which alone is bigger than anything he once dreamed for himself.
“When I moved to Nashville, all I wanted was to be a songwriter. I never even imagined having my own tour, and having my name on the ticket,” Swindell says. “I’m so used to being in that sweet spot, you know? Just doing my 45-minute set, and then going backstage to hang out. Now, it’s different. Now it’s up to us. It’s pressure, but I think that means I really care.”
It’s Swindell’s fans that inspire everything he does, from the songs he writes to the way he performs.
“I think we do have a relationship,” he tells PopCulture.com. “Those people spend their hard-earned money. It isn’t the people that might not like your stuff; it’s the people who spend their money to come see you,and support you from day one. Country music fans are the best, and I think as long as I get to do this, they’re going to be a huge, huge part of everything I do.”
Swindell will be joined on his Reason to Drink Tour by Chris Janson and Lauren Alaina. Dates and ticket information can be found on his website.
Photo Credit: Instagram/ColeSwindell
