Country Music Dads

This week, the Country Music Dads celebrate America 250, country music’s role in this -- and other -- uniquely American celebrations, and how to honor our history, the details of our past, and advance the American experiment. Happy Birthday America! Show Notes: 00:05 - Dave and Donnie talk about their memories of the Fourth, how they are getting ready for America 250 and so much more. From childho...

This week, the Country Music Dads welcome Nathan Evans Fox to the podcast. He is a Nashville-based country music artist and dad with a fascinating new album on the way. He explores his own country upbringing. Using traditional themes of land, hard work and faith, he approaches his music and life from the political left, in a space considered very conservative. Fox’s album Heirloom is out May 29 on...

The Dads are so back! After an extended season break -- due to some expansions in the family size -- the guys are back at it, planning out a new season of great guests, interesting topics and general silliness. We hope you are ready for Season Three of the Country Music Dads podcast. Show Notes: 00:47 - Highlights of Season Two. Dave and Donnie discuss three things: our best episode, favorite inte...

Recently, the dads sat down with Grammy-nominated songwriter, alt-country artist and father, Jeremy Ivey. But you may know him better as Margo Price’s husband. Ivey has a new album, It’s Shape Will Reveal Itself , out now on Soggy Anvil Records, and it’s a heavy look at the world around us. We will talk about his role as Price’s husband, their partnership in raising their children and songwriting,...

Awards Season is here, so the Country Music Dads must weigh in on what is most deserving, who was snubbed and how the Grammys may be the ultimate dad award show. It’s the 2026 Grammy Awards preview edition of Country Music Dads! While you're listening, please take two minutes to fill out our listener survey ! What do YOU want to hear about country music and modern fatherhood in Season 3? Survey wi...

What’re you looking at, son? You wanna go? Well, it seems like Gavin Adcock can’t get enough of the fightin’ side of country music, and the media (The Dads included) can’t get enough of his bologna. This week, we dive into the beefs, why country music seems to foster this kind of violent rhetoric, what dads should do about it and how the media landscape makes it all worse. While you're listening,...

Thanksgiving doesn't get any respect, but we're looking to change that. The beleaguered middle child of the holiday season, Thanksgiving is often overlooked. Yet so many elements of Thanksgiving (gathering with family, romanticizing our past traditions, and reckless binge-eating, among others) seem to make it the perfect holiday for a dad and for country music. We explore why Thanksgiving doesn't...

This episode needs no introduction: Shooter Jennings joins Donnie and Dave to discuss his dad’s cache of recordings, the process of bringing together three albums' worth of new Waylon Jennings music, and his feelings about the first installment, Songbird . Shooter talks at length about the discovery of Waylon’s previously unreleased music, his relationship with his legendary dad and his own role a...

This week, Donnie speaks with Ryan Posner, a Los Angeles-based bass player, side man and musical director, about balancing his home and professional life, how to define country music, why it is important to push art forward and how bass players make great dads.  They dive deep into the value of his current project, the nearly weekly Y’all Star Revue, a showcase at the original Desert 5 Spot i...

This week, the Dads talk about a growing trend in country music and on the faces of men everywhere: the mustache. While facial hair is divisive, this episode takes a light-hearted view of the ‘stache, the correlation between masculinity in society and the prevalence of mustachioed individuals and much more. This is just one long “Change My Mind” segment, and you won’t be disappointed.  Show N...

In this episode, The Dads speak with Jeremy Pinnell , a country music dad from Elsmere, Kentucky.  Jeremy released his first full-length album in 2014 on SofaBurn Records , featuring a collection of songs that draw from his life to tell a truly country story. Jeremy recently released brand new singles “Save You” and “Come Home to Me.” He joined the Dads to talk about family, finding balance a...

Dave goes solo for this episode with a brief update on Country Music Dads' plans in the coming months and with a brief rant about parental leave for dads. Show Notes: 00:34: The Update Dave's having a baby! He shares how that news will affect the timing of the podcast in the coming months as he takes Podcaster Parental Leave. The Country Cutler Takeover of Country Music Dads is underway.... 03:53:...

This week, the Dads sit down with Manitoba's own Sean Burns. He’s a sideman, a frontman and a radio man -- and he’s your new best friend. Sean has been playing bass and touring with one of Canada’s best underground country stars, Corb Lund, for years. He makes time for his own solo career as a songwriter and purveyor of classic country sounds as the frontman of Sean Burns and The Lost Country.&nbs...

... or how I traveled with kids on summer break, and all I got was this grape snow cone. This week, the Dads talk about the season of family vacations. While these trips are a tremendous amount of work, all the research and our lasting memories suggest that, although these journeys aren’t exactly vacations, the family trip is incredibly valuable to the family unit.  This episode explores some...

Our guests this episode are The Doohickeys , a comedic country music duo who are on the rise in the Americana and country music worlds. Haley and Jack join The Dads to talk about their journey from house parties and open mic nights in LA to playing the Ryman Auditorium and releasing their debut album, All Hat No Cattle . We talk about their creative process, the current state of independent countr...

Tony Kamel, a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, clawhammer banjo and guitar player, and father to a four-year-old girl, joins the show to talk about his latest album, We’re All Gonna Live , and to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the stories and real people that inspired many of his songs. Tony shares how his new-ish role as a father and his relationship with his own late father influences hi...

Blue jeans are ubiquitous in country music. Yet dads (and kids) often choose the comfort and flexibility of "soft pants" over the rich history and unforgiving fit of denim. In this episode, the dads explore how blue jeans fit in our kids' active lives, on dads' expanding waistlines and in country music tropes. They're joined by author James Sullivan (who literally wrote the book on blue jeans) to...

Ted Russell Kamp, a Los Angeles-based musician, songwriter, producer and country music dad, joins Dave and Donnie to talk about the evolution of modern country music from his perspective as one of the forefathers of the modern alt-country movement. Ted's balance between touring, producing, songwriting, and building a family is unique and inspiring. We also explore his time with Shooter Jennings, h...

A few months ago, mega-star and Czar of the Americana Empire Jason Isbell announced on social media that he was sorry to push back a few dates at large venues across the country to attend his daughter’s school play. In this episode, we discuss whether modern families — especially fathers navigating shifting expectations across their various responsibilities — achieve balance or if we should even t...

If you're a dad in need of a good cry, consider this your warning: Luke Combs’ album Fathers & Sons hits hard . In this episode, the Country Music Dads give a full, unfiltered review of Fathers & Sons because, honestly, it was inevitable.  The Dads weigh in on the best and worst songs and the overall impact of this album on country music, modern fatherhood and their emotional state of...

The Country Music Dads dive headlong into the world of children’s literature, pop culture and its intersection with country music. We discuss the viral video of Ludacris’ incredible rapping of the book Llama Llama Red Pajama , discuss our favorite kids' books, which ones would make incredible country music songs and who should cut them. Show Notes:  2:22: The Kids Books We Love and Love to Ha...

Country Music Dads is BACK for Season 2! And we are kicking things off by talking about the change (or lack thereof) that often accompanies the start of a new year. “New Year, new me” we say in January before seeing the “same ol’ me” staring back at us in the mirror in March. But is that such a bad thing? George Jones and Dierks Bentley provide support via two songs separated by 40 years but with...

With the Holiday season upon us, here are our favorite Christmas songs. We have songs by classic country artists, new renditions of the classics, original compositions, and some that just make us laugh and smile at the joy of the Christmas season. Grab a glass of eggnog, sit back and enjoy the sounds of a Country Christmas. Mentioned in the Show: Desert Sun Morgan Wallen Article Morgan Wallen Stag...

This was our first live podcast recording with some of our listeners as guests. In a ballroom at HomeDadCon in St. Louis, the Dads gathered with four fellow at-home dads for the ultimate country music bourbon showdown between Chris Stapleton ( Traveller Whiskey ) and Ryan Bingham ( Bingham's Bourbon ). We taste-tested their bourbon brands, sampled their music, and engaged in a lively, bourbon-soak...

The second half of the fifth season of the "Yellowstone" TV series is slated to come out on November 10th. In preparation, the Dads compiled a list of the best country songs featured on the show over the years. Take a listen as you prepare for Yellowstone's return and let us know which of your favorites we missed! Mentioned in the Episode:    Underwood Family Farms National Finals Rodeo The Venice...