One of modern country’s biggest stars is making two concert stops in Iowa this month. Jake Owen has had ten number-one singles, his records have gone platinum 11 times, and he’s logged more than six-billion streams online.
In a Radio Iowa interview, Owen says his new album “Dreams to Dream” has a different vibe, so instead of playing arenas on this tour, he’s hand-picking venues with just 1,200 or 1,500 seats, including those in Davenport and Des Moines.
“I felt like this album that I made is very intimate and kind of personal, and I wanted that feeling of a smaller venue and make it feel like I was kind of playing for my friends, real conversational,” Owen says. “It’s quiet, those type of venues where people kind of shout something out. They may say, ‘Hey, play this.’ And I’m able to say, ‘All right,’ you know? And I like that. There’s more connection I feel like that I’ve missed for a while.”
Owen’s biggest hit, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” came out in 2011, a song that was all about never growing up or slowing down. Now, a decade-and-a-half later, the 44-year-old Vero Beach, Florida native says he still loves the tune, but his attitude has shifted.
“You can’t deny that as you grow older that you definitely slow down a little bit more, and the whole idea of ‘never gonna’ grow up,’ that’s kind of funny,” he says, laughing. “It’s a good thought at the time, but I’m really glad — I will say from the time I put that song out ’til right now, I’m very glad that I have grown up, because if I hadn’t of, there’s no telling where I’d be.”
Owen says he’s already achieved far more than he ever dreamed in the music business, but he adds, he still has goals to reach in his personal life and with his family. He has two daughters: Pearl is 13, and Paris is turning 7 soon.
“I’m really proud to be a girl dad,” Owen says. “So I’m really looking forward to just being able to be there more for my little girls now that they’re at this age where they’re getting into more performing arts-style things and things that they need their daddy to be there to support them, so I’m excited for that. That’s my next goal as far as things that I need to accomplish.”
When his career started to skyrocket, he formed the Jake Owen Foundation, a charity that has more than three-dozen beneficiaries, including Autism Speaks, Boys and Girls Clubs, Habitat for Humanity, and multiple college scholarships. So far, the foundation has raised and given away nearly $10-million, which he says eclipses everything else he does in importance.
“Our purpose in life is to do what’s right for others. And if you have the ability to help someone, that’s what you do. And I think that’s been my greatest pleasure throughout this career,” Owen says. “You know, it’s funny to hear you talk about the accolades and songs and streams and everything, but that’s really what I’m proud of.”
Owen is to play the Capitol Theatre in Davenport on March 20th, and Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines on March 27th.
