Gary Allan set to bring a slice of life to Corbin Arena

May 12—CORBIN — Country music star Gary Allan will be taking over Corbin Arena this Friday, May 13, performing hits from throughout his career as well as his most recent albums, "Ruthless" and "Best I Ever Had".

Allan has prided himself throughout his career for offering an authentic style of country music, one that relates to his personal journey through life and his experiences.

"I think all the songs really reflect where I'm at in life," Allan said. "All of the albums anyway. My wife passed away and a lot of the 'Best I Ever Had' and a lot of sad songs came then, and just whatever you're going through in life. To me that's what country music is, it's like Monday through Friday and then 'pop' is about the weekends."

Allan, who was raised around music, has performed across the country for around 26 years, having signed with Decca Records in 1996 when he was in his late 20s.

Prior to that, music had always been the path laid out for him, having started performing in honky tonks when he was an early teen, and writing songs since his teenage years.

"That's all I know how to do," Allan joked. "I love playing, and I love playing for crowds. I think I've always had a band since I was 12, and I've still got one. I just truly love to play, I can't imagine not playing. As long as I can put a band together and people pay to see it, I'm in."

Allan grew up with country music, citing artists such as Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, George Jones and the Highwaymen as several of his inspirations.

Having grown up in California, a far cry from the country music capital of the world in Nashville, Tennessee, Allan always had the monkey on his back throughout his younger years until his big break came from an unlikely source in 1995.

Allan had taken work as a car salesman in his home state, and one of his CDs with his work had been left in the glove box of a car sold to a wealthy family.

Upon learning that it had been Allan singing on the disk, the new owner of the vehicle, who Allan would later find out owned a gold mine in Alaska, wrote him a check for $12,000 to travel to Nashville and get his start.

Allan's biggest hit, "Watching Airplanes", would eventually be released in 2007, getting as high as No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. The hit also garnered over 50 million plays on Spotify.

Despite having now played the song for 15 years, Allan said that he never got tired of doing so.

"I don't [get tired of it] because the crowds are always different," he said. "The crowd is always pumped up and that gets me pumped up. The crowd is half the show, even if they don't realize that."

When asked for words to the crowd of the upcoming show in Corbin Arena, Allan said:

"Come hang with us. It's going to be a good time. We're going to try all the hits, play a little bit of each record, and give you five off the new one. It'll be high energy and intense."

Tickets are still on sale as for Allan's concert in Corbin Arena starting around $64 with two days left before the event is scheduled to take place at 8 p.m. this Friday.