'I'm Just Trying To Work Hard And Keep Growing': Country Artist Kane Brown Returns To Live Music, Coming To Miami
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Country artist Kane Brown is hitting the road once again and coming to Miami, after live music disappeared during the pandemic and he's grateful for the opportunity.
The 27-year-old Nashville artist, a brand onto himself, is the first to achieve super star status by using YouTube and social media to create a huge fan base.
CBS4'S Lisa Petrillo caught up with him for a Zoom interview while on his tour bus headed to play a festival for the first time in a year and a half.
"It feels amazing. It's been over a year since you've been on tour just been trying to figure out things to do and I was writing songs. When we were putting out our tour schedule, we weren't sure or we were nervous if it was gonna happen, nobody knew, so we're just happy to be out there with the fans."
Brown has teamed up with Pepsi for his 'Blessed and Free' tour this fall, for a sweepstakes with the new "Summer s Better with Pepsi" campaign. It is an ultimate VIP experience for a lucky winner and 20 friends.
The tour comes to Miami in December to the FTX Arena formerly known as the AAA.
"We get to give them a ticket and they can bring 20 of their friends so it's going to be amazing to come backstage and hang out with me as well on my 'Blessed and Free' tour. We're in 29 NBA Arenas," Brown said.
Brown and two other country acts, Brothers Osborne and Mickey Guyton, made the cover of Billboard Magazine last month for an article rocking Nashville's status quo.
TJ from Brothers Osborne came out as a gay recently and Guyton and Brown are 2 artists of color in a predominately white male country music establishment.
"Diversity in country music is happening thanks to really you guys and the others on the cover, how important is that to you?" asked CBS4's Lisa Petrillo.
"It was important to me, because especially this past year, a lot of people were trying to find their place to fit in. Like I said in the interview, if you talked about it, you got bashed. If you didn't talk about it, you got bashed. They're mad at you for not speaking up. It's just really been a rough place to be in for everybody," he said.
Brown is crossing all boundaries. He's collaborated with a mix of artists from Marshmello to Khalid and more.
He made history as the first Black male solo country artist to perform at the BET Awards and scored five #1 Country airplay singles. He just released a pop song called "Memory" with Blackbear.
"This has been amazing for me, I haven't really looked at anything or taken in any of my accomplishments," Brown explained. Even in the year off, I haven't sat back and taken it all in. I'm just trying to work hard and keep growing."
Working hard for his wife and baby girl Kingsley Rose, who has stolen daddy's heart.
"She does a thing now where she wakes up and she says 'Daddy' and she puts her head on my shoulder. She'll do it for like 30 seconds and then she'll come up and give me a kiss. So that melts my heart," he said.
The Blessed and Free Tour is at the FTX Arena on December 2nd.
Click here for more information on the Pepsi Sweepstakes.