drake white Archives - off the record

Drake White Announces 2023 UK Tour Dates

Imogen Marshall — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Drake White has announced a series of UK and Irish tour dates this summer – 2023.

Drake White is heading back across the pond, announcing a series of tour dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland this June. Tickets for the eight-date run go on sale to the public this Friday (3/3) at 10 a.m. GMT and can be purchased here. White will kick his visit off on June 15 in Belfast in Northern Ireland before making his way through the UK. The trek will include stops of all sizes including club shows and a slot at Black Deer Festival in Tunbridge Wells in the UK. “We had so much fun last year, we’re headin’ back across the pond!” White shares. “Can’t wait to hang with ya!” This will be the singer’s latest foray into Europe, having brought his headline THE OPTIMYSTIC TOUR overseas last year, marking nearly a decade of musical visits to the UK. White’s 2022 trek was praised by multiple outlets including Entertainment Focus, who highlighted White’s “power, passion and a whole lot of fun to boot,” and Six Shooter Country, who called his show “a tambourine shaking mixture of high-energy rock ‘n’ roll, honest storytelling and moments of pure joy.”

DRAKE WHITE’S UK AND IRELAND 2023 TOUR DATES

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Drake White to Bring Tour to the UK

Imogen Marshall — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 13:00:24 +0000

Drake White has announced that he will bring his mammoth live show across the pond with a UK leg of the Optimystic Tour. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am GMT.

Drake White has announced that he will bring his Optimystic Tour to the UK for a run of five dates in August 2022. Tickets go on sale this Friday (3/25) at 10 a.m. GMT.

The week-long trek will kick off with an electric headlining appearance from White at the Millport Country Music Festival before he visits Manchester, London and Bristol, wrapping with a headlining stop at The Long Road Festival in Leicestershire.

These upcoming shows mark a return to the UK for White, who has been touring the area for the past eight years.

“I have my grandfather’s globe in my studio and I remember looking at it before I could grow a beard,” White shares. “A stroke and a pandemic kept me from playing abroad the last few years, but I’m happy to announe we are headed your way!”

The international run is in support of White’s latest studio album, THE OPTIMYSTIC, which arrived on March 11 and is racking up glowing reviews from critics and fans alike.

White is currently on tour with Whiskey Myers on their WHISKEY MYERS IS A COMIN’ TOUR through March 26 before moving to the Spring leg of his THE OPTIMYSTIC TOUR in the US. White will be joined by Kasey Tyndall on all dates of his Spring run. Find full tour details here.

DRAKE WHITE’S THE OPTIMYSTIC UK TOUR DATES

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Drake White Announces New Album The Optimystic

Imogen Marshall — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 17:00:16 +0000

Drake White has announced that his new album – The Optimystic – will be released on 11th March 2022. The album is available for pre-order/pre-save here, and fans who pre-order will receive the title track instantly.

Drake White is ready to take his inspirational spirit to new heights, announcing his upcoming album, THE OPTIMYSTIC, set for release on March 11.

Where Muscle Shoals and Nashville meet is where you’ll find White’s “smooth brand of country-soul” (Billboard), a combination of soulful vocals and Country lyrics with an R&B groove running underneath a down-home sound.

After collapsing on stage due to a stroke in August 2019, White was told by doctors that he might never perform again. After multiple surgeries and months of physiotherapy, he overcame those odds and returned to the road, pouring his journey into the music that makes up THE OPTIMYSTIC. The album is a portrait of White’s lifelong optimism and resilience, following the Alabama native as he explores a new level of vulnerability to share his story.

White co-penned 12 of the 14 songs on his new project, teaming with all-star writers like Chris DeStefano, Randy Montana and Eric Paslay to explore the process of physically and mentally healing while celebrating the most important people in his life and expressing his fondness for a simple way of life. He was also involved in producing all but one of THE OPTIMYSTIC’s songs, producing two tracks solo and teaming with The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston for 10 others while Johnston took the reins on “It Takes Time.” The album concludes with a recording of “Amazing Grace” performed by White’s grandfather’s parish with his father and grandmother leading the choir.

THE OPTIMYSTIC’s title track was written by White with Kelli Johnson and Lauren Weintraub, and is available instantly for fans who pre-order the album. The song wraps White’s warm voice around a series of guitars as he longs for the optimistic mindset he used to have, ultimately deciding to make a return to that mentality.

“It’s been five years since my last album,” White shares. “I’ve had two record deals, six brain surgeries, a hemorrhagic stroke and a pandemic that has tried to rip us all apart. Through it all, I’ve always fought to keep my glass half full. THE OPTIMYSTIC is the action of keeping that glass half full and finding faith, hope and joy in the circus of this thing we call life.”

DRAKE WHITE – THE OPTIMYSTIC Track List

1. “50 Years Too Late” (Drake White, Leith Loftin)^
2. “American Thunder” (Drake White, Erik Dylan, Randy Montana)*
3. “Rainbow State of Mind (Feat. The Woods)” (Drake White, Dan O’Rourke)*
4. “Pawn Shop Rings and Double Wide Dreams” (Drake White, Allison Veltz Cruz, Jonathan Singleton)^
5. “Giants” (Drake White, Allison Veltz Cruz, Phil O’Donnell)^
6. “Hurts the Healing” (Drake White, Aaron Chafin, Allison Veltz Cruz)^
7. “It Takes Time” (Drake White, Chris DeStefano)+
8. “Power of a Woman” (Drake White, Lindsey Hinkle, Kelli Johnson)^
9. “Legends Never Die” (Drake White, Jeremy Bussey, Adam Sanders, Ron Womack)^
10. “Can’t Have My Dog” (Drake White, Kelli Johnson, Ava Paige)^
11. “Angel Side of You” (Drake White, Allison Veltz Cruz, Eric Paslay)^
12. “Free” (Allison Veltz Cruz, Connie Harrington, Zach Kale)^
13. “The Optimystic” (Drake White, Kelli Johnson, Lauren Weintraub)^
14. “Amazing Grace”

* produced by Drake White
^ produced by Drake White and Jaren Johnston
+ produced by Jaren Johnston

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WATCH: Drake White – Power of a Woman Music Video

Imogen Marshall — Sat, 18 Dec 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Drake White highlights strong women everywhere in his new ‘Power of a Woman’ music video, premiering exclusively on People.com.

Drake White is continuing his mission to inspire, releasing the fan-focused music video for his song “Power of a Woman” today (12/15) exclusively on PEOPLE.com.

The poignant clip was born from White’s Power of a Woman Campaign, which he began in October alongside his wife, Alex, and is named after his song “Power of a Woman.” The campaign asked fans to submit stories celebrating the powerful women in their lives, many of whom are featured in the music video.

“It doesn’t matter if it is the waitresses at my favorite greasy spoon Wendell Smith’s (restaurant) or the vice president of the United States, there’s just so many powerful women out there,” White shares with PEOPLE.com. “I just wanted to glorify women in a song.”

Written by White, Lindsey Hinkle and Kelli Johnson, “Power of a Woman” celebrates the strength of women everywhere, and White wanted the song’s music video to do the same. After coming up with the idea for the campaign with Alex, White reached out to his fans and they responded in kind, submitting stories and photos of themselves, friends, and family members.

The campaign received over 300 entries, and women highlighted in the newly released video include members of the armed forces, healthcare workers, teachers, cancer survivors, generations of family members and more, with many holding up signs declaring, “I am a powerful woman.”

“Power of a Woman” is one of multiple songs White has released from his forthcoming album, which is expected early next year. Other new releases include “Hurts the Healing,” “Angel Side of You” and “Giants,” which he’ll be taking on the road as support for Whiskey Myers on their WHISKEY MYERS IS A COMIN’ TOUR beginning in February. Check out all upcoming tour dates here.

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SINGLE REVIEW: Power of a Woman – Drake White

Imogen Marshall — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 13:00:11 +0000

Drake White has unleashed his heart with two brand new songs – ‘Power of a Woman’ and ‘Giants.’ The two tracks showcase White’s ability to express emotion like no other. He is currently out on his headline The Optimystic Tour. Listen here.

“Power of a Woman” celebrates just that as White runs down a list of his favourite qualities present in the most important woman in his life, including her “mean game of poker,” ability to “change a tire, build a fire” and love for tequila and Jesus. The slow-rolling, praise-filled track was written by White alongside Lindsey Hinkle and Kelli Johnson.

“I wouldn’t be the man I am without the strong women in my life,” White declares. “I wrote ‘Power of a Woman’ with Kelli Johnson and Lindsey Hinkle about my wife and all the other ladies out there keeping this world spinning. There are some badass women out there that are tough as nails and this is just a soulful homage to their strength and tenacity.”

“Giants” is a message of resilience, an ode to those standing tall in the face of adversity. Penned by White, Phil O’Donnell and Allison Veltz Cruz, the anthemic song sees White offering words of encouragement over a soaring background as he invites the world to “bring on those giants.”

“With the challenges of the last two years, ‘Giants’ was a God send that was flown to Allison Veltz Cruz, Phil O’Donnell and I,” White shares. “These co-writers are spiritual powerhouses and two of my dearest friends. They helped me through my stroke and the pandemic with their encouragement and willingness to write the truth with me. We’ve been through some crazy stuff the last two years, and this is a battle cry turning us from underdogs to lions.”

Both tracks were co-produced by White with The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston and engineered by Aaron Chmielewski. “Power of a Woman” and “Giants” follow White’s songs “Hurts the Healing” and “Angel Side of You,” which were released earlier this year.

The new music is the latest stop on the remarkable journey White has taken since he collapsed on stage in August 2019 due to a hemorrhagic stroke, the result of Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM), a brain condition White had been diagnosed with early that year. He underwent multiple procedures and months of intensive physiotherapy and has been able to regain the use of his left side.

Keep Up with Drake White: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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Drake White Kicks Off The Optymistic Tour

Imogen Marshall — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 17:00:50 +0000

Drake White has kicked off his headline – The Optymistic Tour – in full-throttle fashion since Friday 3rd September.

Drake White’s headline THE OPTIMYSTIC TOUR kicked off in full-throttle fashion over the weekend, beginning on Friday, Sept. 3 with an opening show in Billings, Montana followed by dates in Whitefish, Montana (9/4), Colville, Washington (9/5) and Seattle, Washington (9/6).

White’s live shows are a cornerstone of his freewheeling brand of inspiration, and the connection he shares with his fans in a live setting is unparalleled. Rocking alongside his band, The Big Fire, the Alabama native delivered rousing sets full of inspiration and spirit, putting an exclamation point on the tour’s name. The 36-date trek continues through November 2021 with special guests Kasey Tyndall, Josh Kiser and Ben Chapman and SOLD-OUT VIP tickets for its entire run.

THE OPTIMYSTIC TOUR is White’s first major trek since collapsing on stage in August 2019 due to a hemorrhagic stroke, which was the result of Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM), a brain condition White had been diagnosed with early that year. He underwent multiple procedures and months of intensive physiotherapy and was able to regain the use of his left side.

The gratitude he feels to be able to return to the stage after doctors told him he might never perform again was evident during THE OPTIMYSTIC TOUR’s opening run, which marked the first time White has played four shows in a row since his stroke. “My fans are my army, and I’m built to serve them,” he said. “That’s what I am: I’m a servant to the people and I want to present a show that provides hope for the future, faith in the world and passion for life.”

Over the course of his career, White has earned four Top 40 hits and a dedicated and passionate fanbase that he’s ready to expand with his latest tour and new releases. Pulling back the curtain on new music for fans, White’s latest songs “Hurts the Healing” and “Angel Side of You” are the first taste of the musical journey the singer has been on over the past year, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when fans were able to hear the new music live.

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INTERVIEW: Drake White on ‘Hurts the Healing’

Imogen Marshall — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Drake White is one of the most resilient artists in Nashville to emerge in recent years. This year, he has released two new tracks inspired by his near-death experience – ‘Hurts the Healing’ – and it is one of his strongest to date. Here, we interview White about the recent release and his past few years.

Hello! Congratulations on the most recent singles – ‘Hurts the Healing’ is probably at the pinnacle of one of my favourite Drake White songs ever.

Oh, I appreciate that. I think I’ve got the same opinion, I had to live through hell to get to that song. It was just such an accident and the cards were definitely stacked against us in writing. We wrote that on a Zoom call and it was just one of those things that it fell out on the page. I met one of my best girlfriends now – Allison Veltz Cruz, an incredible write – and Aaron Chafin just on the computer screen and we started pinning that song and when we started singing it, we were almost emotional, like ‘yeah this is different.’ My hope is that it just helps people as much as it helped me. I mean, it literally helped me get through the pandemic, it helped me get through a crazy injury.

I think that resonates in the song, when you have that something that means so much to you, your fans hear it, they do pick up on things and they notice when you’re being really raw and real in your music I think.

That means the world to me, that’s what what people are saying and that’s what you’re saying now – vulnerable is the way to go. I mean, it’s something that through the 50s and 60s – I watch things like Mad Men on Netflix – and it was like ‘hey, paint your face, hide your emotions. Real men don’t cry,’ that kind of stuff. They’re still like banned from Alabama, I still act tough but to go out there musically. Us as artists are emotional, that’s why we’re artists, we know how to convey those emotions through music. I think being able to share that with people there is some strength in that. I can’t tell you how fulfilled it makes me feel when people just come up and say ‘hey, you helped me through this time or this music helped me through this time;. It’s not necessarily me, it’s this music. I’ve realised through the injury and through the pandemic that it is not me, it is the sum of all the people around me, my God, it’s my spirit, it’s everything. I think it’s working towards a bigger thing working towards a bigger power and if it helps people that’s the most fulfilling thing ever.

Obviously you’ve had this crazy year with your health scare and the pandemic. Do you think that’s shaped the way that you view music and the way that you write songs? Has it altered your perspective?

No doubt, you can’t go through a near death experience without altering your mindset. I’m very in tune with myself and my feelings and what I’m going through, but now it’s literally like hyper-magnetized, I’ve grown that ability to tap into the way I feel and I really don’t give a s**t necessarily about what people think. I just write what I’m feeling, and then sing it and let it be heard. I don’t know why I had to go through this, I don’t know what the complete purpose was, but it’s starting to make sense. When you have to teach yourself to walk at 36 years old, that’s kind of confusing and to go through and have the wife and the family and the people that I’ve got – it’s just ripped my ego apart, it’s just not existing anymore to the point where, like, I just want to go out there and live and get on stage and perform these songs, you know?

I feel that everyone’s perspective has kind of shifted during the pandemic, but yours is on another level. Have you found that your writing has changed just by going through the changes of the pandemic, doing it over Zoom rather than in a room and feeding on people’s energies?

I mean it’s crazy, when it was first started it was odd writing over Zoom. Back to that vulnerability, I think as many bad things as you hear about on social media, it has cut through the viewer and the listener is very educated at being able to notice authenticity and realness. I think the second that you’re not real, or doing something that is not ultimately you, I think that they can see it, they can smell it really quick. So, I mean, writing on Zoom for me was just adaptive. It shows the human spirit, it shows the world what the human spirit is capable of. I mean, I believe we’re living in the best times – we’re very resilient. As long as you keep going, you keep treating people the way you want to be treated and as long as you keep loving folks, there’s nothing that can stop you.

It’s pretty cool, I think this pandemic has definitely made me a better man. I have more empathy, I’m gonna be honest with you, when I used to see people on the corner, I’d give them $1 or something like that, but I would, think ‘yeah, that guy or that girl probably needs to get a job.’ Now, with this brain injury, I’ve realised it’s just made me more empathetic – I don’t know what they’re going through. We don’t know what a man is going through – you never know what a man is going through, so be careful. The way you act towards others – that’s scripture and I think that if we learned that out of the pandemic, this world got a little better.

We have to believe something good came out of it.

I have to believe it. My grandmother is 87 and I think the saddest part about all of the pandemic were the elderly that were in nursing homes. I wasn’t able to talk to my grandmother for nearly two years or see or touch her. I think the power of human touch, of hugging somebody and saying that you love them, is insane. I mean, she’s lived her whole life as this phenomenal woman of God who loves people. I watched her from 85 to 87 and she looks completely different – that’s the saddest part about it. The world keeps spinning and it keeps going. As many sad stories as there are, there’s just as many good stories.

I’m gonna focus on the good ones. One thing that you kept on going with is the Wednesday Night Therapy sessions. Where did the idea come from and how did you keep going? I know a lot of a lot of people did start things at the beginning, but lost momentum, or lost focus, but you really kept going.

Yeah, well, I think to use the word again. resiliency, it was built from the injury. I’d already been on my back for nine months, so I was jonesing to get back on stage. I basically looked up at God and was like, ‘I’m gonna play, I’m gonna figure it out, show me.’

It was literally just a conversation with Michael Hobby – one of the Thousand Horses’s wife’s had a baby shower in the barn and my wife was sitting there – it was right at the beginning of the pandemic and we didn’t know how it was going to be. Mike said, ‘Well, you should just play in this barn.’ I used to have Wednesday night therapy, when I was just out of high school with my uncle, who I wrote legends about, I used to just hang out and it was basically people picking guitars around a fire and telling stories. That’s where all of this thing was born around a fire telling stories, having a drink and and being vulnerable in front of people, saying, ‘Man, I’m having a tough time’. So, it was built back in 2004 or 5, but then that conversation with Michael Hobby started it. We just started playing with a cell phone on Instagram and that first time 1000s of people tuned in.

I decided, I’m going to need to do this every week. We need to do this every week and be persistent in going and it was hard some weeks. It was very hard to keep it going because it financially didn’t really make sense – that’s one of the hardest things to get over is money and finances. We were doing it because it gave us laugh, it gave us something to look forward to. It gave the band reasons too. I was writing and then being able to sing the songs that I was writing as I’d finished.

That’s a really powerful thing to have and thank you it really did keep us going. Thank you for taking the time to chat today Drake.

Thank you.

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Destination Country Announces Summer Line-Up

Imogen Marshall — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 17:00:12 +0000

Destination Country is proud to announce its summer line-up of events, including events with The Wandering Hearts, Ryan Kinder, Lauren Jenkins and Drake White.

Destination Country are so excited to announce their summer line-up of events in July and August.

First up, Ryan Kinder will be performing a live Facebook show on the 25th July, with support from Sam Filiatreau. This will be followed by a string of Happy (Half) Hours, first with The Wandering Hearts on the 29th July – ahead of the release of their self-titled record on the 6th August – before a Happy (Half) Hour with Lauren Jenkins on the 15th August and with Drake White on the 19th August.

For full details on the events and how to register please visit the Destination Country website. Please note that for the Happy (Half) Hour events, priority to ask questions will be given to DC Family subscribers (for more information on how to subscribe please refer to the DC website).

Destination Country is the first country music media collective, formed of Entertainment Focus, Your Life in a Song, Off the Record and Lyric Magazine. DC Family is a subscription platform within this that allows access to exclusive content, giveaways and competitions.

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