Green brings high energy show to Clearwater

Ask country singer Drew Green to describe one of his concerts and he'll tell you it's a blend of high energy and songs he loves to perform.

"It'll be a party," Green said during a telephone interview with the Advocate-Messenger.

The singer-songwriter will play at 9 p.m., June 25, on Clearwater's Main Street, following Saturday's rodeo action.

Green, a Tennessee native, grew up a few hours from Nashville, cutting his teeth on hip-hop and country music. He started college, working toward a degree in finance, but music kept calling his name. Green would play local shows and, as luck would have it, was discovered by Steve Smith, owner of Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, and offered Green an opportunity.

"Follow your gut," Green said.

The invitation turned into a weekend gig, which turned into a move to Nashville to write songs, which launched a singing career and tour dates. From July to December 2021, Green toured with Mitchell Tenpenny, performing three to four days a week.

It's been a whirlwind, but Green remains true to his Tennessee roots, which includes wife, Bethany, and their two children, Ruby, age four and Levi, who recently turned one.

Green said touring is picking back up for the summer.

"We'll be performing every weekend until September," he said.

In addition to shows with Tenpenny, Green will perform with Chris Janson and Chris Lane.

"We're busy," Green said.

He admits it is difficult to find balance between performing and family time. He credits Bethany for making the transition from road to home easy.

"She's 100% on board and understands the consequences of me being gone," he said. "My wife has been to a few shows. We have two kids. She has a full-time job. It's pretty hard to travel."

When Green's not on the road, he juggles family responsibilities with songwriting. Green said he's always singing. He starts with a melody and see where it takes him. Like a typical songwriter, he may hear an idea or somebody will say something and it sounds like a good idea for a song.

"That's how it starts," Green said.

It's a process he's adapted to, Nashville-style.

"Nashville has a certain way about writing. After you've been here and are accustomed to it, you don't know how to do anything else."

It starts with a setup line.

"After that, the song will write itself," Green said.

In Nashville, everybody is writing every day. Every day they write a great song.

"Every single day," Green said. "There are so many songs that, as a listener and writer, you get jaded about what's good or not."

He relies on his brother to be honest with him about how a song sounds.

"I'll ask him, 'Is this good?'"

Good, indeed.

Green teamed with Hardy to write songs, and in 2018, Hunter Phelps joined in to write "Colorado," which was recorded by Florida Georgia Line. It was a break that pushed Green into the spotlight.

"We (as artists) get so far down the rabbit hole we don't know what's current and what's not. Some stuff we write is way ahead of the curve right now," he said.

The publishing side of the music industry is about circles.

Green said he wrote a song last week and shared it with songwriter Josh Miller, of "Meant to Be" fame.

"Josh went on the bus with Cole (Swindell) and showed him the song and now Cole's going to cut it. It's a lot of luck and hard work. Like any job in the world, if you want something really bad, you'll work hard to get it."

Does Green prefer songwriting or singing?

"It goes hand in hand. I love songwriting because I love performing so much. If I could only pick one, I'd pick songwriting, but it would be tough," Green said.

What's his favorite song to perform?

"Nobody has ever asked me that," Green responded, chucling. "'Dirty Money,' it's probably our biggest live song. It gets pretty rowdy. It's a tie between that and 'Cold Beer and Copenhagen.'"

Green has spent time in the studio this month, cutting eight more songs. He and Hardy will re-release "Colorado."

"Girls in the Sun" features a beach vibe.

"I've got a lot of different stuff coming out. I've written so many songs over the past seven years. I'm going through and picking the ones we love. I'm really excited to put them out," Green said.