Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard — Jason Aldean

Release Date: September 1, 2025
Host: Dax Shepard with co-host Monica Padman
Guest: Jason Aldean

Episode Overview

In this intimate and wide-ranging discussion, Dax Shepard and Monica Padman sit down with Grammy-nominated country superstar Jason Aldean. Set in Nashville, the conversation traverses Aldean's small-town Georgia roots, his start in music and long road to mainstream success, the realities of touring, balancing fame and family life, the trauma of the Las Vegas shooting, handling public controversy, and the evolving world of country music. Aldean is candid, self-deprecating, and honest about the highs and lows, offering insights into perseverance, authenticity, and finding one's place within changing cultural tides.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Life & Influences

• Georgia Upbringing and Family Dynamics
  • Aldean grew up in Macon, Georgia, a region steeped in SEC college football culture. "Kind of a religion down in Georgia. College football," Aldean jokes (03:10).
  • His father was an Air Force weapons mechanic. His parents divorced when Jason was three, leading to frequent moves and time split between Georgia and Florida (06:45–07:23).
  • Frequent school changes (“never went to the same school for more than two years until eighth grade”) fostered adaptability and “chameleon” tendencies that later helped him as a touring musician and performer (13:24–13:51).
• Early Love of Music
  • His earliest musical influence was the band Alabama. “Alabama was just the band for me that I always kind of gravitated towards. It was like country, but still cool. It had some rock and roll, Southern rock..." (06:08).
  • Learning guitar with his dad's help: “He basically drew it out on notebook paper... That’s a G chord. He would go to work and I’d just grab his old Fender guitar and mess around.” (08:18)
• Baseball Dreams
  • Aldean was “always thinking sports, baseball especially,” and played multiple teams until high school, nearly pursuing a college baseball career before music won out (09:48–10:38).

Starting Out in Bars: Adolescence to Nashville

• Early Gigs & Mother’s Support
  • Aldean started performing in bars at age 14; his mother “cooked dinner, went to the bar, and she’d sit there with me at 1 am, then come home” (20:15–20:30).
  • Playing bars as a teen not only exposed him to adult world dynamics—fights, relationships, drinking—but also to unique life lessons about “what’s normal” (20:32–21:41).
• High School Social Life
  • Contrary to expectations, playing in bars didn’t make him cool at school — “It was almost kind of like... maybe even a little nerdy... Sports mitigated that” (21:41–21:55).

Chasing the Nashville Dream

• Humbling Experience & Struggles
  • Moved to Nashville at 21, after local success in Georgia and Florida. “All of a sudden I get the call to the big leagues… I think I’m gonna show up, we’re just gonna pick up where we left off. And it was just not even close” (24:48–25:08).
  • "Being in the studio, you start hearing all your flaws and all the things you don't really hear live." (25:09)
• Persistence in the Face of Setbacks
  • Multiple deals that fell through — signed and dropped by major labels before Broken Bow Records finally signed him for good in 2003 (23:50–24:12).
  • Described those years as “losing confidence. You come into town with plenty of confidence…then you realize there’s a lot of people here a lot better than you…” (30:12–30:21).
  • Fundamental lesson: “If I want to fail, I don’t want to put the blame on anybody else” (26:17).

Breakthrough & Major Success

• First Album and Hits
  • Debut album released in 2005. “Hicktown came out. It was a top 10 hit for us... all of a sudden that thing hits, man. We’re selling out clubs again.” (36:00)
  • “We got a top ten with Hicktown, that’s great, but what’s next? You gotta stack them.” (36:49)
• Imposter Syndrome and Success Fears
  • “I was always like, this is too good to be true. I don’t want this to end and I’m scared of that. I’m not even enjoying the success for worrying about it ending.” (36:37; also 36:49)
  • Early financial anxiety: “I just remember thinking, man, if I could just make enough money to pay off this house, it cost me $105,000. All my problems will go away” (37:01).

The Touring Life: Realities & Adjustments

• Life on the Road
  • Rigorous touring schedule (“first few years you’re doing 200 [shows]... now we’re probably about 55. It’s great. Gives me time to hang with family.” (39:45–40:07)
  • Evolution: From band of 10 jammed on one bus, to a system that accommodates his family, wife, and kids (40:39–41:27).
  • The emotional rollercoaster: “It’s usually groovy for me for about two months… after three months, you gotta go, you’re ready to go.” (41:29–41:48)
• The Extrovert/Introvert Paradox
  • Describes shifting from "rock star" mode onstage to "switching it off" with family immediately afterward, rarely staying in hotels and treating the bus as a second home (15:11–15:56).

Fame, Authenticity, and Boundaries

• Public Persona vs. Private Self
  • “If I’m at dinner with my family... man, at least wait till I’m done. But you don’t want to seem like an ungrateful asshole. It’s situational for me.” (17:41)
  • “They associate singers with being on stage or your highlight reels... It’s kind of party music.” (18:31)
• Fan Loyalty and Country Community
  • "Country music fans for sure, are some of the most loyal... that's their family member and they follow that artist unless they do something really stupid." (52:19–52:35)
  • Discussion of Nashville musician camaraderie: Though touring keeps them from hanging out a lot, "we're all kind of based out of here..." (63:49)

Coping with Trauma: Las Vegas Route 91 Shooting

• Personal Account and Aftermath
  • Aldean was on stage during the 2017 mass shooting: “We finally got out of there the next afternoon, getting home... just glad to be home. Mom’s crying...” (44:53)
  • Guilt and Processing: Recalls “survivor’s guilt,” intense emotional fallout but also the importance of support from band and family. “All of us had our little inner circle to talk about it with... I have a hard time talking to people about my things being vulnerable” (49:50).
  • On playing SNL days later: “If you’ll let us play whatever I want to play... I don’t want you guys writing shit for me to say... They let me do it.” (45:34)
• Long-term Effects
  • “You have to have PTSD from it...Car backfires, you know, it sounds like a shotgun went off... I think they’ll always be there.” (49:01)
• Therapy and Masculinity
  • “I never will. And here’s the ironic thing. We funded a ton of therapy for the crews and everybody else... obviously I didn’t go.” (49:33)

Navigating Controversy & Standing Firm

• “Try That in a Small Town” & Public Backlash
  • Aldean reacts to controversy over his song and video (especially allegations of racial dog-whistling): “Did I think it would go to the extent it did and turn out to be such a national news headline? No.” (56:05)
  • On responding to critics and media: “We put out a press release and said, this is our stance on it. ...I’m not going to keep defending myself... If I know I’m not wrong, you’re not going to guilt me into it.” (57:02–57:23)
  • On being polarizing: “You want everyone to see my intentions, that I’m good... But also, if you don’t like me, you’re never going to buy a ticket to a show, so at that point, I don’t really care.” (57:38–57:59)
• Art, Authenticity, and Controversy
  • “I think you have to be true to that. It comes out in a song… That’s part of my art. Not everybody’s probably going to like that.” (58:00)

The Craft & Country Music Evolution

• Writing & Selection Process
  • "I just didn’t want people picking songs for me... If I want to fail, I don’t want to put the blame on anybody else." (26:16-26:17)
  • On musical style: credits producer Michael Knox as “my mentor, my guy,” who “taught me a ton about being in the studio and how to capture all that stuff." (29:07–29:38)
  • Evolving subject matter: "At some point, you're going to have to have some songs that have a little meat on the bone. Now we're writing songs about retirement communities..." (59:08)
• Country & Hip-Hop Parallels
  • Dax notes, “I love rap... and I think those are the two most related music... hearing stories about communities and cultures. They're not meant to appeal to everyone... real talk. [Country's] very much that too” (50:18–51:02).
  • Aldean: “Everybody wants to say, but everybody's scared to say it until somebody says it once. Then they all start saying it.” (51:37)
• Changing Sound of Country
  • Discusses influence of rock, pop, and blues. "Stapleton’s bluesy as shit" (53:19), and “Morgan [Wallen] is on a global level now. Brings in a lot of different listeners” (53:24–53:33).

Family and Generational Perspective

• Raising Kids in Different Contexts
  • Aldean reflects on parenting his older and younger children: “I know the way my kids are raised is not normal... You want them to appreciate it and know not everybody gets to have it. So, yeah, very different upbringings...” (43:10–43:34)
  • “My wife... she posts all our lives on Instagram. I don’t... She makes up for it!” (42:29–42:31)
• Maintaining Normalcy and Gratitude
  • Shares story about his son breaking his iPad: “I'm not taking it to have it fixed. You dropped it. So I made him play with it broken for a couple weeks.” (43:45)

Longevity, Diversification, and Legacy

• Restaurants and Residencies
  • Aldean operates four "Jason Aldean Kitchen + Rooftop Bar" venues, including Nashville, Gatlinburg, Pittsburgh, and Las Vegas. “First one opened here, Nashville... it’s become a staple.” (62:38)
• Thoughts on Retirement
  • “I still enjoy it too much to not do it. We just finished an album... I still love that side of it.” (59:40–59:51)
  • On Vegas residencies: “I think that’s probably in our future...” (60:04)
• Pride in Accomplishments
  • “Thirty number ones... 20 million albums sold, 20 billion streams... It's been a good run.” (64:11–64:26)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Music Business:
  • "Everybody comes to the shows to have fun and hang out, and then you get home and all your friends... haven't seen you, and they're like, let's go watch Monday Night Football. So you're at it again." (08:06)
• On Touring Burnout:
  • "Monday never comes when you're touring." (08:04)
• On Insecurity and Perseverance:
  • "For our little family, our little crew, we got so lucky. Not one injury... and you're happy about that, but then you feel guilty... survivor’s guilt. It sucks." (48:15)
• On the Contradictions of Fame:
  • “There's times where I know what I'm getting into when I go somewhere... then there's also times where I feel like sometimes it gets a little inappropriate. Like if I'm at dinner with my family and... at some point, as an entertainer, you gotta shut that off and give your family your undivided attention.” (17:41)
• On Public Backlash:
  • “You're just not going to guilt me into something... I can accept it if I feel like I'm in the wrong... But if I'm not, you ain't gonna get it out of me ever.” (57:02–57:23)
• On Authenticity in Country:
  • “It’s all in what they associate you with, I think... They associate singers with being on stage or your highlight reels...” (18:31)

Important Timestamps

• 03:01 – Aldean’s Georgia childhood; football culture
• 06:08 – Father’s influence and musical roots; Alabama as inspiration
• 08:18 – Teaching himself guitar, learning by ear
• 09:48 – Early baseball dreams vs. music
• 14:34 – Introvert/extrovert split of musicianship
• 20:15 – First bar gigs at 14 and mother’s dedication
• 23:44 – Move to Nashville and early setbacks
• 25:09 – Learning to record and humbling experiences
• 30:12 – Losing confidence, perseverance, and Michael Knox’s mentorship
• 36:00 – Initial breakthrough and first album
• 39:45 – Touring realities and adapting to family
• 44:24 – Las Vegas shooting: personal onstage account
• 45:34 – Saturday Night Live appearance post-shooting
• 51:02 – Dax on parallels between rap and country music
• 55:46 – “Try That in a Small Town” and handling controversy
• 59:08 – Evolution of song themes with age
• 62:38 – Expansion into restaurants and business
• 64:11 – Achievements and accolades
• Throughout – Reflections on family, fatherhood, community, and personal resilience

Tone, Language, and Vibe

The conversation blends warmth, humor, and vulnerability—Shepard’s signature disarming style draws out Aldean’s true voice: open, self-effacing, grateful, and unsparingly honest, especially around pain, pressure, and public scrutiny. Monica Padman provides thoughtful questions about family dynamics and female perspectives. The tone shifts fluidly from light banter to deep introspection, mirroring the “messiness of being human” that Dax evangelizes.

For Further Listening

• Jason Aldean’s new music (album dropping September, title TBA)
• Attend a "Full Throttle Tour" show or visit an Aldean Kitchen location
• Past Armchair Expert interviews with musicians (e.g., Shania Twain)

Summary prepared for listeners seeking an insightful, entertaining, and human look behind the country music stardom of Jason Aldean, highlighting the perseverance, challenges, and contradictions along the way.