MACON, Ga. — We're counting down the days until the 2021 Warner Robins Independence Day concert!
13WMAZ Morning anchor Katelyn Heck spoke to headliner Jimmie Allen for about 20 minutes on Monday. The two spoke about everything from quarantine projects, to his next album, and his plans for the show.
Allen was on his way back from fishing. The conversation started as the pair talked about Warner Robins' country music star, Travis Denning.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Katelyn: Travis is a good family friend of mine. He actually used to play at all our graduation and birthday parties back in the day, so to see him do all this is so fun, and to see you, too... I mean, wow, your career has really taken off.
Jimmie: It’s been fun, just getting to do what I love for a living -- write songs, run around on stage, it’s pretty cool.
Katelyn: Can you talk about your new album, the Bettie James Gold Edition?
Jimmie: It's an album full of collaborations. I got to work with some of my favorite country artists, one of my favorite Latin artists, which is Pitbull. I got Babyface on there, Tim McGraw, Little Big Town, Monica, Brad Paisley. I just kind of had a wish list of people I wanted to work with...Darius Rucker, Charley Pride...and it’s kind of all over the place. It’s got some country songs on there, some pop songs, R&B songs. It was fun, it was musically fun. I feel like when it comes to music, an artist should just be able to, you know, if you decide you want to write a country song that day, write it. You decide you want to write a more pop-leaning song or a Christian-leaning song that day, write it.
Katelyn: And are these all people who had an influence on your music that you wanted to work with?
Jimmie: Yeah, for sure, like a lot of people have written my favorite songs ever, you know, some of the newer artists are just fans I’ve been friends with or fans of since they first came out with their first record.
You can watch the entire interview below:
Katelyn: I mean, that had to be kind of surreal for you from going from a new country artist, breaking into the industry, to now kind of having all these legendary names on an album with you.
Jimmie: It was great, it was super-fun and just meeting so many different people and just bond over the music.
Katelyn: You’re kind of in an elite class now. You’re a big deal now, but it wasn’t always that way. What was it like kind of breaking into the industry for you?
Jimmie: It was. I don’t know...I guess people would say it was difficult, but I feel like my mindset and who I am and what I wanted to do and who I thought I was never really changed. It was just staying true to who you are and what you're doing until somebody else sees it as well. It’s pretty much the same, I’m pretty much the same. I haven’t changed. I like what I like, I wear what I like, and I fish, and that’s pretty much it.
Katelyn: You got to be true to you, right?
Jimmie: The only thing you can be is you. You know, I feel like when people run around worrying about what everyone else thinks of them, that’s when they got it all backwards because you’ll be happy trying to please other people, so do what you love and people who love it will catch on and those who don’t won’t and that’s fine, too.
Katelyn: Now while you were waiting for people to catch onto you and to your music, what was that like trying to get your foot in the door?
Jimmie: I never really thought too much of it. I’ve just...I’ve always had the attitude of – I’m just doing what I love and eventually it’ll happen, so it just takes persistence and patience. Those are the two biggest things. Growing as an artist, but as a person as well, finding ways to improve what you’re doing. Work harder, be patient some more, work hard and be patient some more. That led to meetings which led to meetings, led to meetings that nothing came out of, but I still stayed persistent and patient until the right thing came along. My publishing deal I first signed... I moved to Nashville in 2007 and I didn’t get a record deal until 2017, so it was definitely a 10-year tale, but I don’t know. I never really got discouraged. I always felt like it would happen. People that decided not to sign or decided not to work with me, it was just, ‘OK, that’s fine,’ I’m not their person and they’re not mine. They’ll find who they’re supposed to work with and I’ll find who I’m supposed to work with. I’ve kind of always had the optimistic outlook on life, and my daddy used to say that would come from being comfortable in your own skin. Realizing who you are and what you have to offer -- not settling just because you want a record deal.
Katelyn: Why country music, what made you decide to get up one day and say ‘I want to pursue a career in country music?'
Jimmie: That’s all my dad listened to. It’s so funny whenever I get asked that question, because I grew up in Delaware, the town I grew up in, 630 people... My bass player is from Dalton, Georgia, I went there and said, 'This ain’t country!' I was like, 'If your town has more than 2,000 people I don’t consider it a country town.' I just don’t. Because how we grew up...my grandpa used to butcher our own cows at the house, stuff like that. I definitely always get asked that question because I’m from the northeast. ... I love it, it’s the one genre that I can be me completely. I can wear my boots, I can talk about my small town, I can also wear my necklaces. Some of my music is pop-influenced, some is rock-influenced, it’s the genre that embraced me for being me, that was kind of my thing. I was never going to change who I am or what I do or what my sound is. I never will. I had a couple pop labels offer me record deals and they wanted me to change who I was and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s not going to happen.’ I had a couple country labels in town that wanted to work with me but they again wanted me to change who I am and change my sound and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s not going to happen.’
They were like, ‘Well, if you change this, we’ll sign you,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m just not going to sign with you, 'cause I’m not changing.’ So luckily the label I’m working with, BMG, they let me be me. If I have a song that’s a little more country-influenced, or pop-influenced, you know, we just make music
Katelyn: Now from all of that, you’re touring with Brad Paisley. You’ve got a song out with him, music is finally back, and shows are finally back. What’s the future looking like for you?
Jimmie: It’s looking alright, [we've] got the tour, got the new album out, got a kid's book I wrote ‘My Voice is a Trumpet’ that comes out July 13. Working on my next album, which should be pretty much done, got some more tours, got some TV shows I’m working for right now, working on a movie...just trying to stay busy. My plan is to make music, tour a little here, do some TV, tour a little bit there.
Katelyn: You just listed off a laundry list of things you got going on, which I also know, too... you’re about to have another baby on the way
Jimmie: Yeah, yeah, another baby on the way… the house is getting full.
Katelyn: Let's start with the children’s book. Talk about that and why you wanted to do that and what the book is about.
Jimmie: The book's about just using your voice to encourage other people, encourage yourself. But also when you see kids or situations when…you know you don’t agree with, don’t be afraid to speak up. Don’t be afraid to speak up for other people because I feel like that’s the problem with the world now. You know you've got a bunch of coward adults that are afraid to encourage other people or afraid to speak up when they don’t agree with something because they’re worried about how people might view them. I feel like if we could teach kids at a young age to be confident in who they are, be confident in what you have to say, and just stick to it. Be a good person and work hard. At the end of the day that’s all that matters.
Katelyn: Is that something you kind of drew from your own personal experiences?
Jimmie: Oh, for sure. That’s how I’ve always been, that’s how my parents raised me. Be a good person, work hard, and what other people think about you I could care less, honestly. I never wake up or write something or see somebody’s comment that don’t agree and it bothers me. Never does, I don’t even think about it.
Katelyn: You are the first Black male artist to have two #1 hits off the same album and you just continue to do great things. What does that mean for you in country music to show the diversity?
Jimmie: On one part it's cool, but on one part it sucks because it's 2021 and we’re still talking about that, you know what I mean? It's that every other genre of music you don’t hear skin color mentioned ever, it's just about the music. So hopefully, five, six years from now, whenever, definitely by the time my son’s my age, it won’t be a thing. It’ll just be about music, so if I’m the one that has to hopefully point us in that direction with the success [then] I’ve been blessed to have, that’s fine, too. As long as we’re taking steps forward and not steps backwards; that’s what matters at the end of the day.
Katelyn: Let’s talk really quickly about the show you’re bringing to Warner Robins on Friday. This is a big military town, we have a huge base here as you’ve probably heard from Travis, but this show is also dedicated to thanking the men and women who serve our county. Does that have a special meaning for you, coming to do a show like that?
Jimmie: Yeah, it’s cool. My dad was a Marine and I remember him asking me if I was going to join the service and I was like, ‘No,’ but I’ll do everything I can for the men and women who serve our country for sure. It’s great every time we get a chance to do it because you know we’ve done armed forces entertainment tours all over the world. We’ve done shows for our troops in Japan and other places as well, so any time we get a chance to do something – me and my band – we’re all about it. I had no idea it was a military town, I’d never even heard of Warner Robins before just like I’m sure people have never heard of Milton, Delaware before. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a good time.
Katelyn: I also wanted to talk to you a little bit about some of your songs. What’s your favorite song you’ve recorded so far?
Jimmie: I don’t have one. I look at it like kids. You put time in and you write that song and you perform it. I enjoy performing them all. I don’t have a favorite. All the songs at some point I look forward to singing it or I’m sick of singing it. It kind of just depends on the day. It kind of just depends on the mood.
Katelyn: Is there a song on your set list that you’re like ‘I know everyone wants to hear this, but I don’t want to play this one again'?
Jimmie: 'Best Shot.' You know I always play it, but you've got to think as an artist, I wrote that song in 2016 so I’ve been singing it for 5 years. Even though it didn’t go #1 until the end of 2018, I always sing it, but I definitely have times where I’m like, ‘Oh, my god, I got to sing this song again?’ I know that’s why the people are there, so I’m gonna sing 'Best Shot.'
Katelyn: What was it like for you throughout this past year with the pandemic?
Jimmie: It was weird for like… two days and then I was over it. I’m one of the people that can either sit here and dwell on how much I miss something or I can move on and just stay positive, so I was able to do a lot of other stuff. I started writing a kid’s book, I opened three different companies in Delaware where I’m from. I own a septic company now, a transportation company that hauls dirt and gravel and stuff, a construction company. I started writing a movie, a TV show, I started writing this theater play. I wrote and recorded Bettie James Gold Edition, wrote and recorded my whole album coming out after that. Got a lot of fishing in, a LOT. Got some surfing in, some free solo rock climbing in even though my wife says I’m not allowed to do that anymore. It was fun. I feel like you’ve got to make the best out of whatever situation you’re in.
Katelyn: With all the things that you’re now doing, talk about the new album. When’s that coming, what can people expect out of this one?
Jimmie: Not sure when it’s coming out, hopefully we release a couple songs from it before the end of the year. I have a new show coming out on Netflix. I can’t say the name of it yet, but I’m the music supervisor for the show and we got the theme song on that and I choose all the music for the different scenes and stuff, so we got some of my songs from the new album on there. The new album is just… I’m at a different place in life.
Mercury Lane was the street I grew up on, so a lot of songs about early on in life. You got Bettie James, which is a transition. Then you got the next album, Tulip Drive [the street my grandma grew up on.] Her name was Bettie. I named the album after my dad and my grandma; my grandmother died in 2014, my dad died in 2019. A lot of songs there pretty much [are about] life I was living between college and 25. I’m trying to just write in sections and life snapshots. [I] started working on the album after that one, just trying to stay busy. Trying to get to New York in the next year, do a Broadway show for like a month, take time off from touring… I’ll probably stop touring for 2-3 months.
Katelyn: Have you done Broadway and theater before?
Jimmie: Yeah, I did theater in high school and college. It’s fun, I love it. I had some people ask me, ‘Well, are you going to stop touring for 3 months? Why would you do that?’ Why not? Life is about doing what makes you happy and I love theater.
Katelyn: How does your wife feel about all these ventures that you’re doing on top of getting ready for baby #2?
Jimmie: She doesn’t mind. She definitely lets me be me and I let her be her. I relax by doing things, like if I sit still for longer than 2 hours I’m going crazy. I got to keep moving, I got to stay productive. I feel like with the entertainment business you’ve got a window. You don’t know how long your window’s gonna be, how short your window’s gonna be, so I just try to maximize every opportunity I can while I have this opportunity.
Katelyn: What can people expect from your show on Friday?
Jimmie: I have no idea what I’m going to do until I do it. Even my setlist, the only thing that we have planned is the first two songs. After that I have no idea what we’re going to sing until the song right before it. I make up my mind and I go tell my band because I like to kind of play it by ear. I can be doing a bunch of up-tempos and the crowd could want a down, or they could want a mid-tempo. I like to read the room and give the crowd what they want. Once I feel like they want this for a while, I get them there and then I’ll take them somewhere else. It’s like a rollercoaster, you try and keep them on their toes.
Katelyn: I feel like Brad Paisley’s kind of like that, too, just from his shows that I’ve been to so I feel like you guys get along just fine.
Jimmie: I feel like life gets boring when you have everything planned out. There’s no surprises. … I’m a mood guy. Everything I do or don’t do is dependent on my mood in that moment, hence why I never plan anything. I just wake up and roll with it.
You can see Jimmie Allen perform in Warner Robins on Friday, July 2. The show is free.
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