Q&A: Nashville’s on the rise country artist ERNEST brings tour to Athens

After spending the past several months touring across the country with Morgan Wallen, Nashville-based country singer ERNEST is kicking off his second headlining tour, and this time around he’s coming to Athens.

Promising nonstop country music, the “Flower Shops” singer-songwriter is scheduled to play Georgia Theatre on Nov. 16, with openers Jake Worthington and Cody Lohden.

The two-time 2023 ACM Award nominee and 2022 Variety Hitmaker has earned eight No. 1 hits to date, carving out his spot in the industry with a signature twist-heavy verse style.

In this Q&A with Athens Banner-Herald contributor Mary Renfroe, ERNEST shares what to expect at his upcoming show in Athens, looks back on his gig touring with Morgan Wallen this past year, and reveals the inspiration behind his latest single.

Mary: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today. To start off, I know your fall run last year spanned college towns across the country, but will your November show be your first time playing Athens?

ERNEST: It won’t actually. My first time was four years ago opening for the Mason Ramsey concert. That was the first night of the Mason Ramsey tour; it was in Athens … at the Georgia Theatre.

Mary: How are you feeling ahead of playing the venue and joining the rank of Georgia Theatre headliners?

ERNEST: Super excited. It’s been good. We’ve been all over the country this year and gone north of the border and all that. It’s been good to get back down in the South and in these college towns. I know Athens knows how to party, and we do, too.

Mary: This may be your first time headlining Georgia Theatre, but you’re obviously no stranger to touring, like you just mentioned. Over the past several months you’ve been direct support on Morgan Wallen’s One Night At A Time tour. How has touring with Wallen helped prepare you for your second headlining tour, and how does your process look different for This Fire Tour?

ERNEST: I think we just have grown ... confidence over the whole year and getting the experience. I mean we’ve played probably 150 shows or something like that. We’re a well-oiled machine, but we were only playing like 30 or 40 minutes at most at the Morgan shows. Now we’re rocking for 90 minutes, so it’s pretty awesome.

Mary: You mentioned that you’re ready for Athens, and I know you’ve focused on college towns before with your last tour. What is it about a college town audience that draws your attention and keeps you coming back?

ERNEST: I think the party environment. I know that sounds cliché, but y’all just know how to party. I also think that’s the overall demographic right now for pop culture and country music. There’s such a fine line between the two right now.

Mary: You recently dropped a new single “Kiss of Death,” launching a new sound and leaning more into your bluegrass influences. What was your inspiration behind this new song?

ERNEST: Bluegrass was one of my first loves, so I knew going into this project I wanted to have more bluegrass influences. “Kiss of Death” was just a title I had been sitting on.

Mary: I saw your post on Instagram saying that “Kiss of Death” marks a new era for you. What does this new chapter look like and what can fans expect from you next?

ERNEST: Well, I think it’s going to have a lot of elements of the traditional sound that I had in the Flower Shops era, so to speak. Steel guitar all over the place. They’re sad drinking bar songs, but I’m also going to expand. There’s more of what we’d call bangers on there. Some songs that I would traditionally give away to other artists, I’m keeping for myself.

The Georgia Theatre is located at 215 N. Lumpkin St. For tickets to ERNEST’s show with supporting acts Jake Worthington and Cody Lohden, visit https://www.axs.com/events/481331/ernest-tickets.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Q&A: Country artist ERNEST brings tour to Athens at Georgia Theatre