A dream opportunity as an artist…but also as a fan.
Eric Church is once again setting up shop at Red Rocks, gearing up to perform 3 shows this week at the iconic venue in Morrison, Colorado.
It’s no doubt going to be a special run of shows, with Church celebrating 20 years since the release of his debut album Sinners Like Me. But before Chief takes the stage, Corey Kent will be kicking things off on night one.
The “Wild As You” singer will join 49 Winchester and The Creekers as openers for the three-night run, and ahead of the show Corey told us just how much it meant to him to get the call to open for a living legend like Chief and one of the most iconic venues in the world.
According to Corey, he was in Australia when the offer came through – and as it turns out, he kind of called his shot:
“I remember getting the phone call, and my manager said, ‘Hey, if you could open up for any artist, play any venue in the world, what would it be?’
I was like, ‘Easy, Eric Church, Red Rocks.’ He goes, ‘Well, the offer just came through.'”
Like many of us, Corey grew up listening to Church’s Chief album, which came out in 2012 as he was a teenager trying to pursue a career in country music:
“That 17-year-old kid that drove his Jeep to Nashville – I had a one-CD slot in my Jeep and Chief just lived in that thing. That 17-year-old kid could not comprehend the opportunity that’s coming our way. Just a really cool moment for me as a fan, but also for me as an artist to play that show at one of the most iconic venues, if not THE most iconic venue in the world, with a hero, a guy that really heavily influenced how I write country music.
It’s going to be a dream.”
There’s no doubt that it’s going to be a special show. Stay tuned, because we’ll be bringing you plenty of content from Red Rocks and all the events going on in Denver this week.
Of course Corey is no stranger to opening for country music legends. The Oklahoma native also opened up on the opportunity he had early in his career to open for Toby Keith – and revealed the ballsy move that he made when the call came in:
Toby liked my music, and so they said, ‘Hey, we want you to come open these shows. We got 500 bucks, and you can play for 500 bucks each of these nights.'”
Now, you’d think that would be an immediate and resounding “yes” from any up-and-coming artist. But Corey revealed the ballsy move he made when the offer came through:
“I was like, ‘I would love to do it. I need you to tell Toby I need 1,000 bucks.’ And the guy…was like, “Are you kidding me?” And I was like, ‘No, I think I’m worth 1,000 bucks.'”
I mean, gotta respect the confidence. But it’s easy to see how a move like that could backfire and result in an artist losing what could be a career-making opportunity.
Luckily for Corey though, as it turns out, Toby respected the courage it took to counter his offer:
“He calls me back and he says, ‘Man, you got some balls.’ And he goes, ‘Toby loved that you counter offered him.’ And he’s like, ‘He said yes and put him on not just three shows, put him on six shows.’
So I got to meet Toby on the road, and we just kind of had this – I don’t know, just like a lighthearted laugh about how we even ended up on the same stage.”
Corey admits that he was “dumb” and “naive” at the time, but that he wanted to be respected in the industry and felt that he should counter the original offer. And he says that the result was getting to open for Toby Keith at one of his first real gigs as an artist:
“He was at the height of his career. I mean, it was a really cool time to be opening up for Toby Keith. “Red Solo Cup” had just blown up. Obviously he’s got all the hits from the past, and it was a cool moment for me just because, you know, he’s a legend there in Oklahoma. …
But it was kind of one of my first real shows, was opening up for Toby.”
Things worked out well for Corey, who’s since had success at country radio with songs like “Wild As Her,” “This Heart,” and his recent single “Rocky Mountain Low” with Koe Wetzel.
He’ll also be releasing his next album, Heartland Rock and Roll, on September 25 – an album that took two years to make, but which Corey says will truly showcase his sound:
“This record that I just put the finishing touches on feels like the arrival of my sound. I fully anticipate that when people think of Corey Kent, they will think of this record.”
Can’t wait to get a sneak peak of it between the Red Rocks.
