How to go
Who: Jake Owen with Parmalee and The Cadillac Three
Where: The Nutter Center, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Fairborn
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Cost: $42.50
More info: 937-775-4789 or www.nuttercenter.com
Artist info: www.jakeowen.net
Country singer Jake Owen, performing at the Nutter Center in Fairborn on Friday, was a successful artist with a handful of hit songs. However, his career kicked into overdrive with his third LP, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” which was heavily inspired by his experiences growing up in Vero Beach, Fla.
The album debuted at atop of the Billboard country chart upon its release in 2011 and yielded four No. 1 singles.
“I’ve had a great career,” Jake Owen said Monday morning, speaking over the phone from the kitchen of his Nashville home. “I got my record deal back in 2005. Believe it or not, we’re nearing 10 years. First off, to me that’s just a feat itself. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go in the time I’ve had my record deal. To think I’ve been able to hold onto mine feels great because the first five years or so of my career was a real grind.
“People were always encouraging,” he said. “One of those people was Kenny Chesney. I was on tour with him more than a few times. He always said, ‘Jake, just keep working at it. Keep songs on the radio. Write good songs. Pick good ones and once you get that big one it’s off to the races.’ Kenny was absolutely right.”
For Owen, that big one was river party anthem “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” the first single from the album of the same name. The song shot to the top of the country charts and opened the door for three more consecutive No. 1 singles. That clout led to Owen’s current tour, which is his first as a headliner.
“When that song came out in 2011, it really changed my world,” Owen said. “People already knew who I was through hits I’d had previously but a big hit like that really helped establish an identity for me. I am from Florida, born and raised, and I’m not ashamed to say that. Being in country music, I’m one of the few guys who didn’t grow up riding around a farm on a tractor but I grew up loving country music. Being from Florida, that’s the cards I was dealt.”
Owen once again mined his Sunshine State background for his 2013 album, “Days of Gold,” including current single “Beachin’.”
“The songs I sing and put out seem to stem from that situation of growing up in Florida,” he said. “I finally feel like I’m at the place in my career and life where people accept me for that and they enjoy that.”
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