Canadian country musician Aaron Pritchett was excited enough just to talk to Garth Brooks on the phone, let alone open two shows for the country superstar.
Pritchett was personally asked by Brooks to open two shows while live on the air during a radio interview.
“I asked him a joke question, completely meant to be funny and not fishing for anything,” Pritchett said.
He jokingly asked if he could pass along $50 and his agent’s contact info in hopes of opening up for Brooks, but to Pritchett’s surprise, next thing he knew he was the opening act for two Saskatchewan tour dates.
Pritchett was filmed talking to Brooks on the phone, the video going viral.
“It was pretty wild I had friends calling me from as far of Australia,” Pritchett said. “To have that was wild, but I think it was more crazy to say I opened up for Garth Brooks.”
Pritchett said he was a Garth Brooks fan before he was a country fan, and like many who get the chance to meet their idols, he was a bit nervous about how he would come off.
“I tried to pre-plan it, I’m going to say this and come across this way and show him how much of an impact he was on my career,” Pritchett said. “Then I meet the guy and he’s like totally relaxed. There was no intimidation, there was no freak out feeling. He just came across as a normal guy, everyday guy and I was blown away.”
It was a dream come true for Pritchett, who recently released his eighth studio album, The Score, on June 24, with the single Dirt Road In ‘Em becoming his highest-charting song becoming the No. 1 Canadian song on country radio.
“It was the first time I hit the top-ten in seven or eight years. It was a long time comin’ and it’s nice to be back on the radar of country music in Canada,” Pritchett said.
With 20 years in the industry under his belt, Pritchett takes a more methodical approach to writing and recording albums.
“In the beginning I think I was trying too hard maybe, I was really excited and sometimes overzelous. It was not very meticulously planned. I would go out and say ‘I got to write a bunch of songs,’ and come up with a whole handful of crappy songs and the odd one is not bad,” Pritchett said.
It was part of a lifelong learning experience, Pritchett said.
“Now I go into it and I’m more meticulous. I know more about what I want to write about, how I need to write for the next record and what is important in those songs, whether it’s a message or my image as an artist,” Pritchett said.
The Score, a name referencing the 20-year time period, also the amount of time since his first album. The idea for the name came from his girlfriend.
“I’m not settling a score or anything like that, it’s just a 20-year period, (my girlfirend) said you should be proud of that and I am,” Pritchett said.
In the Internet age, Pritchett is a big fan of using social media to reach out and make personal connections with fans.
“I love interacting with the fans and all the people on Instagram and Facebook,” Pritchett said. “ I like to start a conversation whenever I can.”
Pritchett plays the Mule Nightclub on July 22. For tickets to the show at the Mule visit www.ticketmaster.ca.