Not everyone in country music treats fans bad, there are some really nice and down to earth artists that stay true to what country music should be. Here’s my count down of the nicest male singers in country music from personal stories to what fans and fellow artists say lets see who made the nice list.
#4: Chase Rice
I ran into Chase for years in Nashville and every single time I see him he comes right over and greets me right away. Every single time I saw him around any fan or girl that may recognize him from The TV Show The Bachelor or one of his many hits on radio he’ll always come and take pictures and sign. He is very humble and comes from a song writing background. A true songwriter knowns the struggles of making it and Chase never seemed to forget that, he knows hes one of the lucky few that gets to make music for a living and it could change at any time given the current state of our world. If you happen to cross paths with him you’ll stream his music a million times over after meeting him too. I can’t say enough good about Chase hes a just a great dude.
#3 Brantley Gilbert
One night I was doing a writer round and who should I bump into but Brantley Gilbert and his pitbull Sylo. He had the biggest song in the entire world when I met him “Bottoms Up” had just gone Triple Platinum, one of the highest accolades in the entire music business. After my horrible experience with Florida Georgia Line and his reputation I thought Brantley would be a major jerk. Turns out hes tough on the outside but has the biggest heart. We got to talking about music and he showed me some of his biker rings, invited me to come chill with him anytime hes in town as well. I never really get star struck with any artist I met, most of the time heck they are just fellow artists to me. Not with Brantley Gilbert, I was having a hard time keeping it together because hes a major idol of mine and he inspired me so much. In high-school “Country Must Be Country Wide” really made everyone “Country” feel like they belonged. He made so much of an impression with me I paid off a major agency in Nashville just to have the recording rights to one of his songs. He heard it and gave me some great feedback as well and I heard from other artists he helps people in town and really makes the time for his fans. Hes pretty kind to fellow artists as well but mostly keeps to himself from what I hear. Hes real deal country, not a poser he goes wheelin and rides bikes and is a real friend too. That goes a long way with me, beyond country badass.
#2: Cole Swindell
From selling T-Shirts as a merch guy for Luke Bryan to headlining some of the biggest shows in the country. Cole never forgot where he came from, I answered an AD on Craigslist to be in his “She Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” music video thinking it was some sort of prank. When it turned out to be real not only did I get to be in the video, I found myself at a #1 party at Warner Music Nashville for “Chillin It” and met one of the nicest stars in country music. He knows what its like to come from the bottom and finally catch a break, that never left him. I hadn’t seen him in years and one night he came up and sat next to me, he said “hey Cody how you been, you playing any shows around?” took the time to drop in a few of my live streams as well. I was in shock he even remembered my name but not only that took an interest in supporting a fellow artist. In Nashville its a cut throat business, no one really cares about each other a lot of people are in competition and big artists do their best to leave the smaller ones in the dust and bury them unless you owe them a favor. This isn’t the case with Cole, not at all. Hes a great dude and a cool hang, he’ll drink beer and joke with ya all around just a normal dude that never lost touch. I’m not the only one either heard countless stories from music industry people and fans alike bragging about what a great guy he is. Hope you never change Cole, thank you for being one of the few in the business that is an actual good person.
#1: Vince Gill
Vince Gill and I go WAY back. I met Vince at The Warner Theater in Torrington Connecticut when I was just in high-school. He was one of the first country stars I had ever met (besides Lonestar when I was a kid). I’ll never forget that day either because he had a big giant 300 pound woman come running up to him screaming she was his biggest fan, all in tears because of his song “Go Rest High On That Mountain” she went on and on explaining how someone in the family lost a battle with cancer and how much that song met to her. I thought man this guy must get this all the time, now I know why they stopped writing sad country songs. But the way he handled it, he hugged her and I think he even said a prayer with her, made her feel like he was a close friend. He then explained to me that a good song is one that comes from the heart, those are the ones that really connect with people. I never forgot that day and Vince never forget me. I visited him countless times in Nashville with his band The Time Jumpers each time I met him he was so humble and so gracious he taught me a lot just being around him. Every chance I could I would be there, learning more and more night after night from how cleanly he played a lick, to what his favorite tele pickups were to how to stay humble. One night I thought about giving up music I told him it was so hard I don’t want to play anymore, he said something like “Cody why do you play music? Are you doing it to be rich and famous or are you doing it because you love to do it?” He explained if you love to do it, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks, it doesn’t matter if you ever get a record deal because if music is what makes you happy keep playing it, you will forever be happy. One time he asked me to sign one of my CDs for him I first made in town. This guy is the real deal, this is how you treat fans and fellow artists.