Justin Moore
Appearances
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Yeah, great guy. He is from Foreman.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Family was super important to most everyone. Everybody in high school was going, we can't wait to get the heck out of Dodge. And then we didn't leave, or they didn't leave, or they're back, for the most part. It's one of those kind of towns. But it was great, man. And I was way into sports growing up. I played baseball and basketball.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
You used to do that? Oh, that was a huge. See, when I was a kid, that was a huge, huge deal.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
I never got to go because I was young at the time. But I know it was a big, big deal to like all the high school girls. And, you know, because he was the sex symbol and the whole thing. And Joe's from Rogers, Arkansas. So that three Arkansas guys.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Yeah, he's a great artist. He really is, man. He's an incredible artist.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
I agree. I mean, his albums, he does a really good job of cutting albums. Another guy that picks really good songs. To answer your question, we'll go out and do some stuff like that. We've had an opportunity to go out and tour with so many people over the years that you're just like, how did we wind up here? We don't deserve to be here. Act like you belong.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
You know, they did when my kids were out of school, but now I have an almost 16-year-old daughter, have an almost 14-year-old daughter, and an almost 11-year-old daughter, and then my son's seven, almost eight. So, I mean, they're so involved in sports and school.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Yeah, they're like, you know, during the summer when they're out of school, my wife never wants to come. I'll be like, hey, you want to go? I'm going to Chicago for like a day or two. You want to go? She's like... Are we flying? I go, no, we're going on the bus. She goes, I'll see you when you get back. Now the kids, in particular the younger ones, I'll take a couple at a time out with me.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And we don't have babysitters or nannies or anything. I mean, my tour managers you see back here are the help.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Most of my band and crew have been with me for so long. I mean, they remember they were at the hospital when my kids were born. Wow. And so they got a whole lot of uncles and one aunt out here. That's fantastic.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
they come out when they're out of school and they don't have stuff going on which i love but yeah we'll we'll do that uh the fairs and festivals and then like i said we've done a bunch of tours with other people we've done a lot of our own you know hard ticket tours over the years and um really enjoy that as well you know we're i kind of enjoy a mixture of all of the above like every kind of concert setting yeah i really like the arenas but i would miss not doing
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
the festival type stuff where it's an all-day thing and you get to say hey to your buddies and yeah it's kind of like a hang yeah really kind of like a family reunion you know and i always say like the obviously the state fairs but the county fairs i enjoy too you know some of some of those are so much fun because for me growing up you know if you had somebody come in with let's say two hits
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
they're just popping on the radio or on the scene, maybe three hits, whatever. I mean, you think you're watching Elvis Presley. Absolutely. Because they're coming to these little bitty towns, and I'm like, and then there's 2,000 people in the town, and there's 6,000 people at the show. Yeah.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Yeah, that was the ones I got to go to growing up. I saw Clint Black and Diamond Rio and all these Charlie Daniels. And so I enjoy that, too, because I know. the 12-year-old out there that maybe don't get the opportunity to go into the whatever, you know, major city in the area. Maybe the parents can't afford that ticket or it sells out way too, you know, whatever.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
When I graduated high school, I started thinking about maybe going to school and playing baseball. That was my favorite. Anybody out there watching that knows anything about me knows I'm a bit vertically challenged. So basketball, I could hold my own in my weight class. I wasn't gonna go to college and do that. And so I thought about attempting to go play baseball.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And so I enjoy that because I was that kid. I love the fair business.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
It does, man. You know, selfishly, I'm a more traditional artist, obviously. We doggy paddled for a while during the, you know, to stay afloat during the... The bro country. I didn't name it bro country. Everybody gets offended by that. Who named it? Hell, I don't know.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Yeah, it wasn't really my personal thing. If I turn on the radio, that ain't what I want to hear, but... Clearly, there was an audience for it. Yeah. But we didn't really do that. And we kind of, I'm proud of the fact that... You just plowed through it, right? We just kind of kept doing our thing. And for whatever reason, radio stuck with us.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And, I mean, people like yourself stuck with us, kept giving us business on the road. And now it's kind of come back to more... Oh, yes.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
What we've always done, which... you know, selfishly, I'm like, yeah, awesome.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And I mean, there's room for all of it. That's what I've always said.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
think the fans can see through the bs absolutely if you're genuine and real i don't care if you're pop country rap country rock country country country if you're real with them they're gonna dig it i mean i i've just always said that and i've always believed that i agree maybe three artists that inspired you to do what you do today charlie daniels top of the list oh what a loss
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Man, I got an opportunity. A lot of it was playing shows together through the years and stuff. Just, you know, festivals and fairs and that kind of stuff. But I got an opportunity, I don't know, maybe the last five, six years of his life to get to know him and become pretty close. I mean, he was... He reminded me a lot of my grandfather, and he treated me as such.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
I don't know why he was so kind to me, but he just always was. And I'll never forget the first time I'm playing the Opry ever. This is like 08, and I'm nervous as all get out. And somebody comes from my label and goes, you want to meet Charlie Daniels? I'm like, of course, yes. Are you kidding me? And Charlie could tell this first time we ever met, he could tell I was nervous.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
He's like, yeah, I'm like, I'm pretty nervous, man. I said, you know, first of all, I'm nervous to meet him because he's one of my heroes. You know, so I'm already freaking out about that, of course. And then debuting on the Opry, I said,
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
you know I never get nervous to play music ever I just I don't except for church and the opera and he goes that's cause it means something to you if it didn't make you nervous you ought not be here and I've never forgot that I looked up to him just as a man obviously an artist who he was brilliant he was brilliant but Just as a man, as a Christian, he really inspires me today still.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And about that time I started playing music. My uncle had a Southern rock band and I would jump up and play with them anytime I could. And I always sang in church because my parents made me. But yeah, when I graduated high school, I went to college for literally two weeks and came home and told my parents, I don't think I'm going back to school. And they go, why are you sick? I go, no, like ever.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
As far as musically, Hank Jr. I'm a hybrid of traditional sounding country and Southern Rock. I always loved Southern Rock, Skinner and Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, all those guys. And I thought he did it probably as well. Both of those guys, Charlie and him, did it as well or better than anybody. And then three, boy, that's tough. Probably got to go George Strait. Had the opportunity to...
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
play a show in Little Rock, which is right near my house with him. I saw they announced he was coming and called my booking agent, who you know. I'm like, I don't care if they even paid me, but if somebody else opens this show.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And it's not me, I'm going to be livid. I don't know if we made a dime that night, but it didn't make a dime.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And they knew that I wanted to pursue music at some point. And so a few months after high school, moved to Nashville, I was 18. And just lucky that my parents were supportive. My wife and I have four kids. And if they came in and told me that at 18, I'd be like,
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
hell no are you crazy so i i don't know why my parents were the way that they were but i'm thankful that that they were your guitar player did you write on guitar is that is that your instrument yeah so when i moved to town i moved there in 02 and it was still you know you're using a little recorder yeah and it's all work tapes and you're booking your
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
I was lucky when I had been there maybe a year to get a publishing deal. I got paid $12,000 a year though, so it's one of those kind of deals. But it allowed me to meet a lot of people, and it allowed me to really learn how to write a song, because I didn't have a clue what I was doing.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And I'm in the room with guys that I really didn't deserve to be in a room with, you know, but fortunately I could sing. So I think they thought there may be something here down the road. So it was still what I consider old school. You know, then it was it was there was no writing and building a track at the same time. And then you got the track done when you get finished writing the song.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And none of that existed. It was like today. No, it wasn't like that. I enjoy doing that, but I still write on guitar.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
I 100% agree.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
i noticed that you write a lot of your own material which is pretty cool because you know to our listeners there's a lot of artists that may or may not participate in the song right i almost think it's more difficult to pick songs that you had nothing to do with you know being in the room writing them there's a knack to that and the fact that you know those guys have done it for for that long
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
and pick so many great songs. I have cut outside songs, but I write the majority of what I do. And I think it's kind of easier to weed through your own. But I've never been an artist that goes, I've got to write everything. You know, best song wins to me. The fans, in my opinion, deserve to get the best music, regardless whose name is on it.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
We've been really lucky.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
My first hit was Small Town USA.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
That's probably when it peaked. We put it out, I think, in 08. Yeah, we had put a single out before that called Back That Thing Up. It went straight to 38 and straight down. And I thought...
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
oh boy and you know at the time because i signed my deal in 07 uh at the time talking about how the the industry and songwriting is different the whole entire industry is different as you well know if you had a couple two or three singles that missed yeah You got dropped. Nowadays, the labels stick with you for years and albums, and it's just changed in that regard.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
So when the label wanted to put out Small Town USA after our first single that flopped, I thought, I dig this song because I wrote it about kind of being homesick. Right.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
and i understand it and i get it but i don't know if it will appeal to the masses and um fortunately i was i was wrong and and it did and you know it took like at the time that it went number one i think lee brice and i broke each other's record there for a few years on the longest
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
life of us i think it took i think you have the record i might yeah it's usually over the last 17 18 years been lear or myself he's a great guy great guy great great artist yeah great guy i mean it it changed my my life i mean you know like our first single from our second album we were done with the album
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
or I thought so, and so did my producer, and take it into the label, and they're like, I don't think you got a single. And we're going, great, just what we want to hear. And I had just lost my grandpa, who was my hero. I heard, if heaven wasn't so far away, It was a big record for us. I think we had three off of our, ended up off the first album that were pretty big records.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
But that one kind of, you know, it helped us immediately break the sophomore slump. You know, until then we had done small town, kind of that kind of deal. And then we did a couple of raucous kind of hillbilly redneck kind of things. And it helped me not become pigeonholed as just this little redneck from Arkansas.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Right. And that song, when I got it, was 10 years old. Okay. And I'll never forget, I saw Luke Bryan at CRS Week. You know how crazy that is. Crazy. Yeah, absolutely. And for those out there watching that may not know, it's Country Radio Seminar. It's literally every artist, everybody in the industry, and you're bumping into each other at all these different places.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Yeah, and Luke and I had become friends because one of the first tours I did was, just tell you how long ago it was. I was first, and I had put out two singles, but Small Town was the only hit. Right.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
at the time if it was even at the time it may not have been luke brown was a middle act and i think he maybe had a his third song out at the time he was just ahead of me his were working though but so i'd gotten to know luke a little bit before that kind of before we both had record deals and then we got to know each other even better out on that tour
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And I'll never forget, because a good friend of Luke's wrote Heaven. He was one of the co-writers on Heaven, Dallas Davidson.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Great writer. So back to the song, it was 10 years old at the time. And I'm going, how has this not been cut? Red Akins had cut it on an album, but it never came out as a single or anything. And so I see Luke at CRS, and he goes, I am pissed at you. And I'm like, what did I do? I mean, you know how goofy Luke is. I love him. He's a jokester.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Happy to be here, man. We appreciate the opportunity.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Yeah, and I'm like, I know he's not really mad at me, but I'm like, what are you talking about? He goes, Dallas and Rhett and Rob Hatch, another great songwriter who's on the song. They've been trying to get me to cut that song for years and years. And I'm like, well, you're a dumbass. Like, how did you not hear that? I said, I heard it one time. and know it's a hit, he goes, I don't know!
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
The county fairs I enjoy too. You know, some of those are so much fun because for me growing up, if you had somebody come in with let's say two hits, they're just popping on the radio or on the scene, maybe three hits, whatever. I mean, you think you're watching Elvis Presley.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And so anyway, but I've had, we've all as artists had those moments where I've passed on songs and then so and so, Lee, talking about Lee, I passed on Drinking Class, had it on hold for a year.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Big, huge song. And my wife's going, you need to cut that song. You need to cut that song. I'm like, and at the time it was my third album, I had a song that was similar and I thought, Let me go with this one. Here's when you know you mess up, is because the moment it comes off hold for you, somebody gets it like that. And that's what happened. I go, dad gum it. Yeah, I made a mistake there.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Dad gum it. But I'm a firm believer, not to be too artsy fartsy, that songs kind of land where they're supposed to. We've all had them go both directions. I mean, every artist has that.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Everybody's got that story or stories.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
I grew up really close to all my grandparents. So the land that I grew up on, my mother was raised there by her mom and dad, and the other grandfather, and then I'll get to the one that
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
uh about the song but he was raised on this land by his grandfather um so it's been our family since the late 1800s so he raised my mom and her siblings there and uh when my wife and i made the decision after we had our first child in 2010 we made the decision to move back from nashville to to Arkansas and we went back to my hometown of 300 people. Now it's like 306 because there's six of us.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
I grew up in a really, really small town of about 300 people in Arkansas. You know, blue collar folks, God-fearing, all the cliche small town stuff you can come up with. You know, it was kind of like the set of Varsity Blues during whatever sport was in season at the time. Everything shuts down, everybody goes to whatever game it is. But a great way to grow up, a great place to grow up.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
It still hasn't grown. We have gotten a Dollar General now. But there's no stoplights. I tell people that, and they're like, what about a Walmart? I'm like, no, y'all don't understand. When I say there's nothing, there is nothing.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
It's between Little Rock and Hot Springs, kind of. I'm about 45, 50 miles south of Little Rock.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
But yeah, when we moved back...
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
we were looking for land and my grandfather goes why don't you just buy this he goes nobody else can take care of this much land and i know it means something to you and so i got a pretty good friends and family discount but but yeah we we bought that and that's where we're raising our kids now and i mean if you look out my front door about a thousand yards across a pond and a cow pasture is my mom and dad's house that they still live in that i was raised in
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
So it's neat, man. You know, we four wheelers and we fish. Were you an only child? I am an only child. Me too. Yeah. As a kid, I hated it. As a young kid, because I wanted somebody to play with. When I was like a teenager, It was pretty cool. You know, you didn't have to compete with nobody for anything. Attention or vehicles or any of that kind of deal.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
And then now as an adult, I wish I had siblings. I agree. You know, so... But we have our kids. But we have our kids. And so that was one of my grandfathers. And he has since passed a couple of years ago. He was my last living grandparent. And we're really close to him. But my... End all be all, my hero outside of my parents was my grandpa, my dad's dad.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
He was healthy as could be, mid-60s, and then just all of a sudden got cancer. Nobody out there watching or in this bus has been unaffected by cancer. And he died unexpectedly, pretty quickly. And I had a pretty difficult time with that, but it was within a year of that that I had heard the song and I thought, man, I gotta record that.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Because I had learned at that point, in particular with Small Town USA, because I had the thought process that I don't know if other people can relate to it unless they grew up the way that I did.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
But I've learned if it's close to me, whether it's something I'm going through, the loss of somebody close to me, or whether it's something we're celebrating or whatever, that it's probably personal to a lot of other people out there. And so that was another example of that.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
finding out the songs that he had written he's one of the most accomplished songwriters in the history of country music and you're sitting there your mind's blown totally blown yeah yeah no it was a pretty cool deal you know but that's that's awesome so let's talk about the tour where are you hitting this summer we're kind of all over we've been on the west coast two or three times already which is a kind of a rarity yeah you know and usually when we come out here we try to stay
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
10 days or whatever. But we've been doing a couple of, you know, two show weekends and that kind of stuff. We've been in Arizona, we've been in California. We're fixing to get into a lot of the festival type stuff, you know. I mean, we've done so many tours with other artists over the years, which we, I love, I really enjoy. This is my 18th year on the road, which is hard to believe.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
Fortunately, I can be a little more selective about what we do and, you know, we're going out and doing, we'll do, you know, the fairs and again, some of these big festivals. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. I really try to just go out and do stuff with guys that I'm genuinely really good friends with. Joe and I have become friends over the last, I'd say, seven, eight years.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
You know, Tracy Lawrence and I went out and did a deal together a couple, few years ago, which was for me a blast because I grew up a huge fan of Tracy Lawrence. And he's from Arkansas.
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Grandparents, Grit, and Going Big: Justin Moore’s Rise
He is, man. We always talk about, he's just got a swag about him.