Drake White on Opening for Kip Moore, Eric Church: ‘I’ve Been Taught Well’

When Drake White released his debut Spark album in 2016, he had no idea his career was about to explode. The record, released on Big Machine, boasts three Top 40 singles, including “Livin’ the Dream,” which landed in the Top 10.

More importantly, the music introduced White to not only new fans, but also fellow artists eager to take White out on the road, such as the Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, and most recently, Kip Moore, who took White out with him to serve as the opening act on his Plead the Fifth Tour. With each tour, White absorbed as much as he could from the headlining acts.

“I’ve been taught well,” White tells PopCulture.com. “I’ve paid attention to them. It is about that fan. It is about giving them the opportunity to have a moment in time. To forget about their sick kid or their sick dog, and to be able to really go out and make a memory. I take it really seriously. If someone’s going to pay to come to my show, then we’re going to take care of them. I think they’re a testament, to me and my band just going out and loving on people, and them loving us back. Although we haven’t had giant commercial success yet, we still have this great fanbase that’s just awesome. They’re there every night when we play.”

White, who reveals he is more than halfway done with his sophomore record, hopes to channel everything he loves about performing into his new set of tunes.

“I would say the Appalachian soul country sound is what I do,” the Alabama native explains. “We’re going to go in and really figure out that live sound. So it’s going to be loose, but there’s going to be good melodies in it. It’s soul country. I’m from right outside of Muscle Shoals. So it’s going to be big, soulful. We’re going to be playing our instruments.”

White might have plenty of fun when he takes the stage, but he insists he isn’t doing it just for laughs.

“I think when you can make your job your passion, you’re winning,” White says. “I don’t consider it a job. I don’t consider anything a job. But I do approach it very seriously, in that we have a job to do. And that is to carry them to different levels. To help them through different things. But that job is about them, about putting them first. Being loyal to yourself, and to your music, and to your family — it’s amazing. If you do that, it kind of translates into being loyal to them, into creating what moves them.”

White will return in 2018 for a few more dates with Moore, as well as headline his own series of shows, where he promises to find a way to pay his success forward.

“There will be a philanthropic area,” he promises. “I’d love to do a conservation thing. I can’t tell you exactly, because someone will steal it if I tell you. I’ve always been a fan of nature. I’ve always been a fan of state parks. I grew up around a state park, and going out there fishing, and just being there, hiking and kayaking. I’d love to tie that all in with a big tour, and that’s what we’re working on.”

A list of all of Moore’s upcoming shows is available on his website.