Country music fans in the Rio Grande Valley have surely been losing sleep in the weeks leading up to Friday.
Country music fans in the Rio Grande Valley have surely been losing sleep in the weeks leading up to Friday.
As part of his 2018 Losing Sleep World Tour, Chris Young has made his way down to Texas and will perform tonight at the State Farm Arena with fellow musicians Kane Brown and Morgan Evans.
Since signing with RCA Records at the age of 20, Young — now 32 — has produced seven albums and 18 singles.
His musical career, however, began much sooner. He picked up guitar and began channeling his vocals at a young age. In college, he performed at local venues.
“I’ve worn out more pairs of boots in my life than I think probably most people,” he said.
For all of his successes — touring the world and collaborating with many of his biggest musical inspirations — he considers himself “really, really lucky” to get to work where his passion lies.
In October 2017, Young was inducted as a member into “The Show that Made Country Music Famous,” The Grand Ole Opry — which is apt for his career considering his big break came after winning the reality television singing program Nashville Star in Houston.
Away from his musical abilities, Young has been the subject of another conversation. In 2012, People magazine named him “sexiest man of the week.”
“Being mentioned in that … there’s definitely not anything negative to it,” he joked.
Losing sleep has become a theme in many senses for the country crooner. The tour kicked off in January and has already taken him to more than a dozen states.
“I definitely don’t get a lot of sleep, but because it’s too much fun,” said Young.
Between rehearsing, performing and exploring the city if his schedule allows, Young uses any off time he can find to write new music.
Through so much time spent on the second family and his tour bus a second home, which he enjoys sprucing up with personal keepsakes and items collected from travels.
Texas has remained near and dear to his heart. After Hurricane Harvey hit, Young assisted with relief efforts and through personal donations and fundraising raised more than $300,000.
Nonprofit organizations Little Kids Rock, Stars for Stripes, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the TJ Martell Foundation are a few other causes the artist supports.
Young has performed duets with the likes of Willie Nelson, but still has a number of artists on his “bucket list” he’d like to work with, including Kenny Chesney.
As for his playlist outside the genre of country music, Young said he’s into “a little bit of everything.”
Before stepping on stage, Young and his band unite for prayer.
“It’s always funny,” he said of performing live, “depending on the night to night you’ll get different levels of reactions for different songs.”
“Gettin’ You Home,” “You,” “Hang on” and “Sober Saturday Night” are a few of his songs to have reached number one on the charts and remain consistent audience favorites, he said.
“I love songwriting and I love the process and starting to create new music,” he said. “It’s pretty cool to just see how many people really love country music and to give a good show.”
For information on upcoming tour dates, visit chrisyoungcountry.com.
