Silke Jasso
The life of a touring musician can look like a lot of fun — traveling the country (sometimes the world) with your band in a different city every night and playing music to adoring crowds. But, the road can be hard. That whole “different city every night” isn’t as easy as it sounds when you’re living out of a suitcase. And imagine not being able to share major experiences with the people you love the most.
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“It’s the part that I don’t like,” Aaron Watson says. In a Rare Country exclusive, the Texas superstar opened up about the darker side to life on the road. “It’s hard because I’m homesick when I’m gone,” he says. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t live while I’m gone, I just kind of exist while I’m out on the road and I feel like I’m really living when I’m home.”
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Make no mistake, Aaron isn’t complaining. The father of Jack, Jake and Jolee Kate adds, “The older they get, the tougher it is on me because they understand more and they miss me, but cry me a river. I’m not the only mom or dad that has to make those sacrifices. Lots of moms and dads are out there working hard to make a living for their family and that’s just part of it, but I do miss them and I ache when I’m out on the road. I literally ache to see them. I can’t help it and I can’t help but grieve that I’m missing precious memories. But on the flip side, we get to make some memories, and we make the most of them.”
Those memories often come courtesy of the Mouse. Aaron laughs and tells us, “I told baby girl if she wants me to take her to Disney World the week before Christmas every year until the day I die, I’ll do that. And, sure enough, we’re on year two now. We took the time off and flew to Disney World and stayed up until 2 in the morning doing the extended pass play and it just kicked my butt carrying that little 40-pound, blue-eyed brunette on my shoulders a hundred miles a day. It kicked my butt.”
Aaron is with his family now, but he hits the road for domestic touring dates starting Feb. 3.
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It may not be long before one of Aaron’s sons packs up to hit the road with dad, though. Jake is showing an aptitude for the guitar. In an Instagram post, the Texan shows off his boy’s talent and writes, “As I’ve told my kids, if you want it, you gotta work for it! I love this kid’s work ethic and passion for music and baseball!”
The post continues, “It inspires me as we get ready to fight an uphill battle by releasing another independent album in a mainstream major label kind of world”
That new album, “Vaquero,” comes out Feb. 24 and is packed full of solid country hits. It also follows up 2015’s “The Underdog,” which blew Nashville away when it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. That’s a pretty hefty accomplishment considering he had no major record label or radio campaign!
