George Birge Proves He Was Always Meant for the Solo Spotlight on Debut Album 'Mind on You' (Exclusive)

"This is my story, and this is who I am as an artist," the rising country star tells PEOPLE

It's another one of those days for George Birge, where the "Mind on You" hitmaker and father of two finds himself rolling into Nashville for a night to "kiss my wife and babies" before getting back on the road once again.

"We all FaceTime at least twice a day," says Birge during a recent interview with PEOPLE. "My wife is great about always sending little videos of the boys and stuff. But when I am home with the family, our time is super intentional. It fuels my soul when I'm home with the family because we know that the time we have together is short every week."

It's all part of the climb to stardom for the singer/songwriter that first found success lending impressive lyrics to songs such as "Catching Up with an ‘Ol Memory" and "Need a Bar Sometimes." But with the release of his debut album George Birge: Mind on You, Birge hopes to cement his place within country music.

Related: Ready for Red Rocks! Brantley Gilbert and George Birge Get Loud at Iconic Amphitheatre: Photos

The most stunning example of what Birge seems poised to bring to the country music table can be heard all over the romantic album standout "Forever and a Day."

"[My wife] deserved a song like that," says Birge, who first met his wife Kara when they were just freshmen in college. "I'm not a huge love song guy. I write a lot of smoky bar kind of songs," he admits with a laugh. "But that one was for her, and it meant a lot to me. And it meant even more to see her reaction to the song."

Add that to an Instagram video Birge posted back in April on the couple's wedding anniversary that featured “Forever and a Day” as its musical backdrop, and there is no doubt that ‘Forever and a Day” is a special one.

"I just have a ton of pride looking at where we're at now," says Birge, who got his solo career off on the right foot with the viral smash "Beer Beer, Truck Truck" back in December of 2020. "This was always the dream that we were talking about with stars in our eyes."

Indeed, there was a time when life looked awfully different for Birge.

"I did 10 to 15 years in a van and a trailer, riding across this beautiful country of ours to play for five people," Birge reflects on past years, including time in the country duo Waterloo Revival. "And four of them were bartenders!" He laughs. "I think that's why I have so much energy and why I'm so enthralled with it when I am onstage, because this part is new for me. I've had my teeth kicked in enough times to not take this side of it for granted."

Related: A TikTok Influencer Poked Fun at Country Music — So George Birge Wrote a Song That May Make Them Stars

Indeed, having the chance to put out a full volume of work after so many years of finding himself simply listed in the liner notes is something that Birge is loving at the moment.

"This is my story, and this is who I am as an artist," says Birge, who will spend the summer out on the road with artists such as Dustin Lynch and Cody Johnson, while also playing some of the biggest country music festivals such as Faster Horses and Watershed.

"To have a body of work out there where — instead of somebody having to hit repeat on one or two songs to try to get to know me — they can let an album in and really get a deeper look at who I am, what my sound is and what I want to say, is [important to me]."

He has much to say too, as album cuts such as "Chasin’ a Feeling" and the reflective "You Were Mine" all open the lens on all that Birge is and who he wants to be moving forward. And Birge gets downright seductive on the last track of the album, when the Texas native takes his current single "Mind on You" and turns on the sexy.

"People have kind of grown with this song and gotten to know this song, so we thought that it would be a cool continuation of the story for people to hear how it was created organically," Birge says of the stripped-down version of "Mind on You," which he co-wrote alongside Colt Ford, Jaron Boyer and Michael Tyler.

"It's a pretty romantic song. We figured we'd release a bit more laid-back version that people could get lost in as well."

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