Russell Dickerson's self-titled country album expands his reach, genre's growth

Perhaps more than any other mainstream, modern-era country performer, Union City, Tennessee-native Russell Dickerson is equipped for navigating the genre's expanded and pop-aimed future. Living on a hilltop at a road's dead end in the Nashville suburb of Brentwood, he has a figurative and literal perspective on Music City's best next steps as the city -- and country music -- expand with greater depth into more progressive realms.

Over the past six years, Dickerson's released 40 songs over three well-regarded albums. Four of those singles -- "Yours," "Blue Tacoma," "Every Little Thing" and "Love You Like I Used To" -- have achieved chart-topping status. His one-in-ten average is modestly impressive. There is a strategy at work to create longterm genre success.

"That's a great stat that feels good," Dickerson exclaims. His creative process is not where the strategies lie, though. That's more something he says that's "vibe" driven and initiated by where his gut emotions lie at any particular moment.

While riding through his acres of property on a Polaris off-road vehicle that he was gifted two years ago at the end of an opening slot on tour with Thomas Rhett, the 35-year-old Carhartt cap and sweatshirt, camouflage cargo pant and hunting boot-clad country music radio chart-topper is excitedly extolling the virtues of both a global touring schedule (he's been to the United Kingdom multiple times since the world has reopened) and being both a husband for a decade and the father of a two-year-old child.

Upon reaching the second, three-bedroom, one-level home in which he has a home studio in its side entryway, Dickerson's finally ready to sit down and unpack why his fourth, self-titled album is his best to date.

So many country songs expand simple notions into grandiose celebrations. Maybe that's due to so many of the genre's new male stars being newlyweds. However, Dickerson's latest hits-to-be highlight what happens when love is not the celebration but the expectation.

Noting that his previous hits "Yours" and "Love You Like I Used To" already celebrate the excitement of post-nuptial bliss, he notes that album number four is inspired by "having put some time in" as a husband and new father. Album tracks like "Over and Over" are motivated by Dickerson reflecting on quiet moments during COVID-19's quarantine, watching his wife, Kailey, sing to their newborn and juxtaposing it against recalling nights when she was both selling merchandise and taking photos of the band at gigs attended by less than 50 people.

Moreover, album closer "Just Like Your Mama" is not just his most powerful vocal performance to date. It's also a ballad that closes his album not with his voice but that of his son, Remington.

"It's magical. I dug deep. The album bookends two decades of my life. The album opener, 'Blame It On Being Young,' is about being 16 and doing dumb stuff. It's a great song, but it's not too deep. I have some songs about college friends, college breakups and everything in between. Chronologically, by the end, I'm talking about fatherhood and [Remington] is going 'goo goo gaa gaa.'"

His platinum-selling single "She Likes It" (a collaboration with Jake Scott) is the year's most ear-worming, overly romantic country single. It's a platinum-seller that has achieved country and pop crossover status.

Cozy nights on the couch spent with margarita cocktails and John Denver's greatest hits cued up on a streaming playlist are the icing on the cake of the song. The lyrical story of a day of buying groceries (and a bouquet of flowers) from the supermarket and making reservations at a favorite restaurant are the types of things that get accomplished by weary husbands who changed diapers after a month on the road and having three days home before more professional obligations.

Highlighting the emotion of what that feels like by making it sound much more like the Drake or Post Malone song you're playing while running errands, more than the George Strait you hear in a venue during soundcheck, feels right, too. Josh Kerr's guitar riff adds a soulful Southern essence that ideally bridges the styles and opens the track to broader appeal.

That sound is a growing part of Dickerson's original material that on the album ballad "She's Why" expands this notion's appeal. The song's built around a timelessly bluesy riff that Dickerson finds his authentic voice in, unlike anything he's released to date.

Besides the two previously-mentioned songs, Kerr produced one-third of the album. The album's deeper, Southern blues-inspired sound paired with Dickerson's well-worn, loving soul-man vibe ("I admit, I'm a goofy, cutesy, lovey-dovey guy") is a winning pair.

"I love the many country fans I have these days," Dickerson notes. "But I want those fans of Drake and Post Malone -- there's so many more of them -- to mix in with my redneck country bangers. I want to explore the many parts of my personality."

His single "I Remember" pairs him with the electronic production trio Cheat Codes. The group's platinum equivalent-selling lead single from its forthcoming January release "One Night In Nashville" is Dickerson collaboration "I Remember." In regards to the category of other artists on this release -- to the point of the heights where the singer-songwriter's career is being elevated -- he'll join Dolly Parton, Lady A and Little Big Town among highlighted artists.

"Yes! Country songs have always had great pop success and this [more tropical, dance-friendly country sound] is inevitable. We can't win a battle by fighting where pop is taking country," Dickerson jokes. "Garth Brooks went 'pop' and some people hated that, but time and space have allowed him to become a country music hero. Country stars have always had the elastic potential as performers to make more popular music that stretches past traditional genre lines."

However, when asked about who and what he's all about as a country artist foremost, that conversation begins and ends with one name:

Tim McGraw.

Dickerson recently spent time as an opening act for the 25-time country music chart-topper. After a half-decade of ever-increasing fame, the moments on the road with the artist and actor gave him the perspective that learning how to "own the crowd with hits" was the next goal his work needed to achieve. "I'm selling tickets to crowds that want to see me. They know me, love my vibe and I don't have to over-compensate for anything."

When asked to describe his work's potential, Dickerson expresses excited hope for his future success.

"I want to take this music to as many people as possible while remaining authentic to who I am without sacrificing anything. My album could have as many country as pop-charting singles and that's on purpose. These are ballads and bangers for big crowds."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Russell Dickerson's self-titled country album expands genre's growth