Kolby Cooper Revisits the Chaos of Touring and Traveling on New Single 'Hello from the Road' (Exclusive)

A fistfight while on tour led the rising country-rock star to tell his wife he couldn't wait to be home — and inspired his latest song

Kolby Cooper will never forget the pool game that went wrong.

"Our former merch guy got knocked out cold," remembers Cooper, 24, during an interview with PEOPLE about the crazy night in Birmingham. "I called my wife when we got back to the bus and told her it was crazy out here and I couldn’t wait to be home."

Indeed, Cooper did go home soon after, writing his new song "Hello from the Road" alongside David Garcia and Brett Tyler and ultimately serving as another piece of a brand-new chapter of music for the music powerhouse.

"Really, it's the music that we've always made, just with an extra layer," explains Cooper, who released his critically acclaimed label-debut album Boy from Anderson County to the Moon last year. "There was a time I was writing as an 18-year-old, but now I'm a 24-year-old with three kids." He laughs. "I guess I should be a little more grown up and I think that the music definitely shows that."

Cooper also finds himself in an impressive league of rockers including artists — such as HARDY and Brantley Gilbert — who have made their way into the country music genre via determination and a whole bunch of talent.

"Obviously there's a bunch of country folks that have some pretty heavy rock influences," says Cooper, who has shared the stage with artists such as Jelly Roll and Koe Wetzel. "Most of my friends in the scene listen to almost exclusively rock and hip-hop. We're all just country people, so the music kind of comes out country naturally."

At this very moment, Cooper says he finds himself leaning into a newly adopted writing style that has him nothing short of amped for the future.

"We wrote a song that's maybe my favorite song that we haven't released," Cooper remarks. "I felt in the moment that this s--- feels f---ing magical, hearing the music just the way we were making it. We stayed up till like 2 a.m. just getting stoned in [my publisher’s] office, listening to it going, ‘Holy s---, dude, this is it. This is f---ing you.’ It really felt so natural, you know?"

Related: At 22, Kolby Cooper Is a Husband, a Dad of Two Girls — and Country Music's Newest Badass

This new chapter of new music and new creative philosophies began with the release earlier this year of Cooper’s rocking song "Kill Me." "It's really just about any addiction in life, in general," Cooper says of the song he wrote alongside Michael Whitworth and producer Andrew Baylis. "Life is all about vices and for a lot of people, it’s about fighting those vices and those addictions."

Certainly, Cooper says he has experienced a bit of that addiction firsthand.

"Growing up in East Texas, you see a lot of addiction to drugs and alcohol, just as much as you see people addicted to getting their heart broke, you know?" says Cooper, who made his Grand Ole Opry debut last year. "They're addicted to finding that next flame for a couple weeks."

Related: It's a Family Affair as Kolby Cooper Makes His Grand Ole Opry Debut! See All the Photos

Cooper laughs at the mere idea, as he finds himself happily married to wife Jillian and living life as the father of their three children – daughters Josie, 5, and Charlee, 3½, and son Karter, 8 months. And yes, with a trio of little ones following his every move, Cooper says he’s trying his best to watch his language.

"It's really hard for me to shut off being who I am," he admits with a laugh. "I mean, I definitely try to watch my mouth. Jillian's got a bad mouth too, so yeah. We've already had the kids saying s--- and stuff. We've learned!"

Related: Country Star Kolby Cooper and Wife Jillian Welcome a Baby Boy, Son Karter — See the Photos!

But Cooper is just who he is.

“I'm the same person at home as I am on the road,” he concludes. “I just want everybody to be happy and everybody have a good time.”

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