Tim McGraw has done it again. The man who is arguably one of Nashville’s royalty has a hotter-than-hot line-up for his recent tour. Fans will recall that last year the man crowned “Country’s Hottest Guy” toured with Lady Antebellum and Love & Theft. This year he has Luke Bryan and the Band Perry on tour with him.
“[Women think I’m] a hot guy and I’m married to the hottest woman [Faith Hill],” said McGraw last summer as the audience at his Jiffy Lube Live concert filled the air with something akin to sonic screams. “Life is good.”
| Onstage |
| Tim McGraw “Emotional Traffic” Tour with Luke Bryan and The Band Perry |
| When: 7 p.m. Saturday |
| Where: Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow |
| Info: $29.75 to $69.75; 202-397-SEAT; ticketmaster.com |
A string of platinum albums, acting gigs in movies including “The Blind Side” and his marriage to A-lister Hill has taken McGraw from the just-another-singer status into superstardom with CMT calling him “the most popular male singer in country music.”
Despite all the accolades, the Louisiana-raised McGraw has made it clear that he is still all about life in the south. That’s not, he tells CMT, because he’s a player in the music business but because of the more laid-back, less status conscious attitudes there.
“Still, I don’t know the rules,” he said. “I can’t tell you who runs what in Nashville. I’ve always been sort of outside the circle in Nashville and the whole business. I think two things can happen to me when I get too involved: You think you’ll never be good enough to compete with those guys, so it hurts you [or] as long as I stay in my own world, then I’m confident in what I do.”
Although Bryan’s on a fast track himself especially with this week’s release of his third studio album “Tailgates and Tanlines,” he considers himself something of a student of the industry. There’s no better place to learn what it takes to be successful than on McGraw’s tour, he said.
“It’s great. You just learn how to be professional and legitimate touring artist on this kind of tour,” said Bryan. “Tim is a big time deal who thrives and is successful. I just want to kind of watch him and learn and take it all in so I can apply what he does to [my career].”
The members of The Band Perry have also been watching McGraw’s show closely and are somewhat overwhelmed by his generosity in allowing them the entire stage during their set, singing with them, and otherwise making them feel at home.
“It’s really a surreal thing,” said Kimberly Perry of the tour. “He’s been incredibly gracious and given us a lot of brand new experiences on stage.”
