Dreaming Up Barbara with Old Dominion

Summary

Podcast Summary: On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer

Episode: "Dreaming Up Barbara with Old Dominion"

Release Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Troy Vollhoffer
Guest: Old Dominion (Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Geoff Sprung, Brad Tursi)
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Country Thunder Festival

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Episode Overview

Troy Vollhoffer sits down “on the bus” in Calgary with the chart-topping band Old Dominion. With their sixth studio album "Barbara" just released, the group opens up about their beginnings, journey to stardom, struggles for recognition, influences, love for live performance, connection to Canadian fans, and their creative process. The conversation is candid, funny, and reflective, revealing both industry insight and the bandmates' down-to-earth nature.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How Old Dominion Began

• Origins in Virginia and College Bands
  • Matthew Ramsey (vocals) and drummer Whit Sellers met in middle school in rural Virginia, then reconnected via music circles in college (James Madison University).
  • Multiple members were in different bands in college; eventually, they all trickled into Nashville for songwriting careers.
  • “It kind of just kind of organically formed over a couple years.” – Matthew Ramsey [01:53]
• Early Days in Nashville
  • “Trevor and I were writing songs together, and we thought, how do we play these songs at a bar and we can’t afford to hire a band?...We just started playing for fun. Then for like 15 years later...” – Matthew Ramsey [02:53]
  • Members were focused on songwriting before taking the band seriously.

2. Struggles with Record Labels and Tenacity

• Common Story of Rejection
  • “We got turned down by every record label for, like, the next five...” – Trevor Rosen [04:33]
  • “If you don't have the tenacity to continue on and push through that, you don't have a career, you're back, you know, putting groceries in a bag.” – Troy Vollhoffer [04:33]
• Band’s Mindset: Love and Fun First
  • “I don't know if it's tenacity or stupidity...what we had was just a love for it. We were just having fun.” – Matthew Ramsey [05:03]
  • “For some reason, you can always find something that makes you believe that if I just get that done…” – Geoff Sprung [05:19]

3. Old Dominion’s Breakout and the Power of Live Shows

• Post-COVID Festival Moments
  • Troy’s standout memory: Old Dominion’s first show out of COVID—May 22, 2021, Iowa.
  • “You guys came out and just freaking slayed it.” – Troy Vollhoffer [06:20]
• Evolution of the Live Performance
  • From small bar gigs and cover shows for $400 to headlining major festivals and arenas.
  • “There’s a big difference...between playing the songs and entertaining the crowd…” – Geoff Sprung [07:51]
  • “When you’re starting, you don’t have this back catalog of hits...so you do it, it’s this game like, okay, well, how do we capture the people that are here?” – Brad Tursi [07:59]

4. Canadian Connection & International Growth

• Old Dominion’s Popularity in Canada
  • Sold out the Air Canada Centre (Toronto), with crowd singing every word.
  • Early Canadian breakthrough: Playing "Break Up with Him" at Boots and Hearts Festival's pre-party.
  • “We started playing Break Up with Him and it was crazy...we were taken aback by how loud everyone [was].” – Matthew Ramsey [09:28]
  • “We seem to get a lot of love from Canadian radio too.” – Geoff Sprung [09:56]
• Musical Blend Resonates North of the Border
  • “Our music...is not straight country, you know, we grew up in rock bands...I feel like that resonates in Canada.” – Trevor Rosen [10:02]

5. Hidden Talents & Personal Stories: Trevor’s Hockey Dream

• Music and Hockey Crossroads
  • Trevor Rosen’s hockey aspirations ended after a D1 college stint was cut short: “I got busted for smoking pot three games in, and the dream was over.” – Trevor Rosen [12:04]
  • Connection with the Nashville hockey community through charity camps.
  • The band enjoys the camaraderie and charity work around the game, supporting causes like cancer research.

6. Musical Influences and Inspirations

• Eclectic Roots Across Rock, Country, and Pop
  • Geoff: “My first concert was Guns N’ Roses...then I went to, like, a lot of Southern rock, All Brothers, Black Crows, James Taylor.” [13:56]
  • Brad: “A lot of the same. Plus a lot of the kind of the 90s grunge stuff for me.” [14:19]
  • Trevor: “I was a child of the radio, really...Motown and oldies, like, really was a big influence on me…Could be anything from Faith No More to Nirvana or James Taylor.” [15:17]
  • Matthew: “My first concert was Huey Lewis in the News...whatever he’s doing, I want to do it.” [16:04]
    Also shouts out to Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley.

7. Looking to the Future: Touring and "Barbara"

• World Tour & Next Steps
  • Extensive international touring continues (“We spend more time on the road than most artists do.” – Troy [17:05])
  • Plans for major US and Canadian markets in 2026–27.
  • New album teased.
• The Meaning Behind "Barbara"
  • Name started as a fun idea; the cover art was a unanimous band decision.
  • “We named the album Barbara. And then...wouldn’t it be fun to kind of create an image...we all get this email and...everyone replied like they got email. Like that’s our girl.” – Brad Tursi [17:54]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Persistence in Adversity:

  • "If you don't have the tenacity to continue on and push through that, you don't have a career; you're back, you know, putting groceries in a bag." – Troy Vollhoffer [04:33]
  • "I don't know if it's tenacity or stupidity...what we had was just a love for it." – Matthew Ramsey [05:03]

• Live Show Philosophy:

  • “There’s a big difference...between playing the songs and entertaining the crowd, you know.” – Geoff Sprung [07:51]
  • “When you’re starting, you don’t have this back catalog of hits...so you do it, it’s this game like, okay, well, how do we capture the people that are here?” – Brad Tursi [07:59]

• Influences & First Spark:

  • “My first concert was Huey Lewis in the News. I just remember seeing the reaction in the room, and I just was immediately like, whatever he's doing, I want to do it.” – Matthew Ramsey [16:04]

• Canadian Connection:

  • “We started playing break up with him and it was crazy...People climbing on shoulders and stuff.” – Matthew Ramsey [09:28]
  • “We all just looked at each other like, what is happening right now?” – Brad Tursi [09:38]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Segment | |-------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 01:47–03:26 | Band’s origin story and move to Nashville | | 03:26–05:25 | Early songwriting careers, record label rejections | | 06:02–07:59 | First big COVID comeback show & live show philosophy | | 08:24–09:56 | International growth and Canadian fanbase | | 11:02–12:07 | Trevor Rosen’s hockey journey, charity work | | 13:55–16:50 | Musical influences and first musical sparks | | 17:47–18:35 | Meaning & cover of "Barbara" discussed |

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Tone and Atmosphere

The episode is relaxed, humorous, and brimming with admiration and mutual appreciation among bandmates and host. The conversation freely moves from industry wisdom to personal anecdotes, never shying from the realities of life on the road and the uncertainty musicians face.

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Useful For…

• New or longtime fans curious about Old Dominion’s backstory
• Aspiring artists seeking insight on industry perseverance
• Music lovers interested in songwriting, live performance, and musical influences
• Those wanting a sneak peek into the band's future plans and new album "Barbara"

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Listen to the full episode for deeper stories and an authentic taste of Old Dominion’s camaraderie and creative spirit.

Transcript

[Trevor Rosen]

Foreign.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Welcome back to on the Bus with Troy Volhofer. I'm hopping off the bus up here in Old Calgary, Alberta to speak to some of the members of the hottest country band of the last decade. Oh my God. Acm. Cmas Group of the Year. Unbelievable. You know, and love their hits like Snapback, no Such Thing as A Broken Heart and One Man Band. These guys are amazing. They're currently on their How Good Is that? World tour. And in August, they dropped their sixth studio album. Barbara. Well, I don't know what that means, but we're going to find out. Please welcome Old Dominion. I'm sitting here with one of the greatest bands of all time in country music. And I'm not exaggerating that because there's two bands that come to light when I say the greatest bands. It's Old Dominion, Alabama. And I don't know what else I'm talking about. So where you guys been? Let's start from the top. How did it start? Because I'm going to tell you, when I first saw you guys, I. I was totally blown away. I booked you at a one o' clock slot in Phoenix, Arizona. You played two shows that day.

[Trevor Rosen]

Two, maybe three.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Played like I was gonna say, yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Playing the Fighter Stone.

[Matthew Ramsey]

You play a side stage.

[Trevor Rosen]

I get a response.

[Troy Volhoffer]

All Gil's fault. And then like three weeks later I go to Gil's house. Yeah, you know, I have Old Dominion doing the showcase at my house. And what just sound like two weeks ago, you playing his freaking living room. Right.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Unbelievable. From there, it's been an amazing journey. It's been an amazing career to this point.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Thank you.

[Geoff Sprung]

Thank you.

[Troy Volhoffer]

So how did you guys get together? Let's talk about that first. Who started the band? How did it happen? How do you all get together?

[Matthew Ramsey]

I mean, it kind of just kind of organically formed over a couple years. Our drummer, who's not here right now, Whit and I went to middle school together and we lived in the same county in Virginia.

[Troy Volhoffer]

What city in Virginia?

[Matthew Ramsey]

It's close to Roanoke, Virginia, the next county over, which is called Bottot County. And at the time it was, it was rural enough to have one middle school that split into two high schools. So we both went to middle school and then went to opposite high schools. But we've. We kept in touch loosely throughout the years. And then he went to James Madison University, which is where these guys went to, and he met them. He was in a band with Jeff and Brad's band and Jeff's band. We're all playing the same kind of circuit.

[Troy Volhoffer]

All different bands, though.

[Brad Tursi]

All different.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Brad has a different band.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Jeff, you had different bands.

[Brad Tursi]

His was the band that actually had fame.

[Matthew Ramsey]

They had fans.

[Troy Volhoffer]

The handsome guy, right?

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah.

[Matthew Ramsey]

And then I. I would go up, I would drive to Harrisonburg, Virginia, and open for Jeff and Wits band sometimes.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Oh, cool.

[Matthew Ramsey]

And then after a while, I decided I was going to move to Nashville and try my hand at being a songwriter. And not long after I moved, I met Trevor and we started writing together. And then these guys trickled into town, and then there we were in town. Trevor and I were writing songs together, and we thought, you know, how do we. How do we play these songs at a bar and we can't afford to hire a band. And I was like, well, I got some buddies in town. Maybe they'll do it for free. And then we just started playing for fun. Then for like 15 years later.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah, yeah, we were really, you know, songwriting stuff took a while, but that started to kind of take off in.

[Troy Volhoffer]

The beginning, after you kind of got together. Is that when the songwriting process kind of started?

[Geoff Sprung]

Not really songwriting. Like, I had moved there also to be a songwriter, so we had all been. I mean, these guys were here for a while longer than I was, but we all kind of started having some songwriting success at the same time as the band really started to take off. So it kind of snowballed all together.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah, it was sort of like we were really focused on the songwriting because, like, let's face it, I mean, the band thing seemed like a long shot. We could play gigs and we sounded good together, but, you know, our motto was always like, this is never going to work anyway. So we weren't really taking the band seriously. We just loved doing it. But we were really trying to. To get cuts as songwriters. But, yeah, they both kind of happened at the same time. Like, after a while, we had played so long together, we had a sound, and then people started cutting our songs, and we started having a few hits as writers. And then the buzz started happening where people were going, hey, who's this band? You know? And then after that, we got turned down by every record label for, like.

[Troy Volhoffer]

The next Five Gentlemen. Doesn't that seem like that's kind of the story? I mean, I've been doing this podcast for a couple years, which is kind of fun, you know what I mean? It's great to get inside of, you know, you know, artists minds and. But the one thing that's common amongst all artists is the fact that they got turned down. 5, 6, 7, times from record deal. If you don't have the tenacity to continue on and push through that, you don't have a career, you're back, you know, putting groceries in a bag.

[Matthew Ramsey]

I don't know if it's tenacity or stupidity or what. You know, I mean, honestly, lack of other options. Other options. And honestly, I think what we had was just a love for it. We were just having fun. So, you know, I remember you're always kind of.

[Geoff Sprung]

See, for some reason, you can always find something that makes you believe that if I just get that done.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah. Then everything's getting a little dark. We would, you know, at one point, we. Yeah, we had finally gotten our manager, and he's kind of setting up the record label meetings, and we wouldn't get an offer, and he would.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Who is your manager?

[Matthew Ramsey]

Clint H. And great guy.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah.

[Matthew Ramsey]

And I remember he would, like, invite us to. To lunch or something and to break the news to us. You know, he was gearing himself up to be like, hey, it was. It was a no. And we would just be like, that's cool, man. And he'd be like, you want to keep going? We're like, yeah, they don't. If they don't like it, that's fine. You know, we just kept doing it.

[Troy Volhoffer]

So my. My most memorable, memorable moment. Vol. Dominion was first show out of COVID It was May 22, I believe, 2021, Iowa. And you guys came out big and rich with direct support to y'.

[Brad Tursi]

All.

[Troy Volhoffer]

You guys came out and just freaking slayed it. And I was like, it was so great to, like, have a breath of air where you actually went.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Right.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Or I think we might get back in business.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

You know.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

And you guys slayed it, man. And every band on that bill, we had. We had skinnered the next next day. And it was like, every band is played beyond what, you know, your thought process would have been of how you expect someone to, you know, go out and do it. And I just want to, you know, congratulate you on your live show, because your live show is fantastic.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Thank you.

[Geoff Sprung]

Thank you.

[Troy Volhoffer]

There's a lot about being on record and stuff like that, but how you present it in a live, you know, setting, it's amazing. Let's talk about that for a second. Because there's a lot. There's a big difference. Being in the studio, recording songs, writing songs, the whole process to actually going out and presenting them lives. How did that come to be? Just from playing together so long or what?

[Matthew Ramsey]

So, yeah, you know, because we used to play just to make a few extra bucks, you know, before the songwriting success happened or anything, we would. We'd play four hour sets, you know, covers and stuff, you know, so just as much as we possibly could to one, because we loved it, but two, because, you know, they're paying us 400 bucks or whatever, and we could, we could split that up and make a little bit of extra money. And then we started kind of going out of town a little bit in a little minivan here and there where we could make. We realized you can make a little bit more money outside of Nashville than you could in Nashville. So we're like, oh, let's. Let's drive a little bit and make a little bit of cash. And so I think just over time, we just kind of learned how to do it a little bit, you know.

[Geoff Sprung]

Also just learning the difference between playing the songs and entertaining the crowd, you know.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Sure.

[Geoff Sprung]

Two different things.

[Brad Tursi]

When you're starting, you don't have this back catalog of hits to rely on or if you're the opener either way. So you do it. Is this game like, okay, well, how do we capture the people that are here? Because they may or may not know who we are or any of our music. And so if you can do it at that level, then when it gets to this point, when you've got 10 songs everyone knows and a full set list that they're waiting for, then it's gravy.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Yeah. You're an international band. How do you. How did you capture Canada? Two years ago, I went up with Clint to Toronto and you guys are playing, I don't know what's called Air Canada center at the time or whatever it was called, but they were in Toronto where the Maple Leafs play out of. And I walked in, that venue was sold out and everyone was singing your songs. And I. And Dallas Smith was a port act on that. I was totally blown away. Like it was off the hinge. I mean, it was amazing show, but it seemed like the Canadians really dive into what you got going on.

[Geoff Sprung]

Yeah, no freaking.

[Matthew Ramsey]

I know.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Got to say, that was an interesting question.

[Matthew Ramsey]

It took us by surprise too, because we were just telling this story as I, you know, we had breakup with them out on the radio and they booked us to play Boot the Boots and Hearts festival.

[Trevor Rosen]

Well, I think it was just on XM at the time.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, it was just on xm and we were the. Like, it wasn't even on the festival. It was like the pre party the day before the festival, they had booked us at this stage. It was a pretty big stage in a big tent.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Yep.

[Matthew Ramsey]

And we started playing break up with them and it was crazy. Like, we were. We were taken aback by how loud everyone. People climbing on shoulders and stuff.

[Brad Tursi]

And we were like, well, there's footage. Someone, like, had the sense to start recording and there's footage of us just looking at each other like, what is happening right now?

[Matthew Ramsey]

So, yeah, that was a big shock to us too. We're like, how did we do this? Are we huge in Canada?

[Troy Volhoffer]

Well, I think you are, yeah.

[Geoff Sprung]

Seem to get a lot of love, you know, from. From the radio too. Yeah, they always, always.

[Trevor Rosen]

I think there's something about our music too, that it's.

[Matthew Ramsey]

It's.

[Trevor Rosen]

It's not straight country, you know, we grew up in rock bands and so I think there's a lot of different styles and for some reason I. I feel like that resonates in Canada.

[Troy Volhoffer]

I think melodically you have a very unique sound. I mean, it's, you know, or you. You listen. You listen to the hook and all.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah, it gets you.

[Troy Volhoffer]

And that's probably because of that, right? Yeah.

[Trevor Rosen]

And probably because I grew up playing hockey.

[Matthew Ramsey]

That was the other thing. They can sense how close he was to. Yeah, yeah.

[Geoff Sprung]

There's just something about him that they knew that they were supposed to.

[Troy Volhoffer]

They're like, I like that guy.

[Trevor Rosen]

For some reason, I don't know why.

[Troy Volhoffer]

I don't want to exclude anyone on this. This is directly to Trevor, since you brought it up, but, man, I don't know exactly how we did this together, but I'm part of the National Predators alumni and we were doing something and was it. How did you and I again plan.

[Trevor Rosen]

You invited me to because Kelly Chase does that fantasy camp in Nashville. So you asked me if I wanted to be a part of it, so.

[Troy Volhoffer]

And you've been there ever since.

[Trevor Rosen]

Oh, yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

And Dirk Stantley also.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

And I remember calling Dirks agent going, hey, man, you want to play in this thing? You know, because it chaser Kelly Chase wanted some celebrity fabric to it or whatever.

[Trevor Rosen]

Now he can't get rid of me.

[Troy Volhoffer]

And can't get rid of Derek's either. We've had a lot of fun hanging out after.

[Trevor Rosen]

Oh, yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

What are you seeing? Your memories on the hockey thing. Your hockey story is amazing. I don't know if you want to share that with us or not.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah, well, first off, doing the. The camps that we do, like, you know, the music thing, it's one thing, but I. All I ever wanted to do was play hockey from a young age. That's what I planned on doing. So getting to do those. Sitting in a locker room with Brendan Shanahan and Chris, all these guys that are telling stories and you guys telling stories about fighting. Bob Pro just ran like, I'm sitting there soaking it up like, I can't believe I'm in this room. So it's like kind of a dream come true. But, yeah, that's all I ever want to do is play hockey. And I made it to a Division 1 college and then got busted for smoking pot three games in and the dream was over.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Three games, man, I didn't realize it was that quick.

[Trevor Rosen]

I played three games and I was doing great, and then all of a sudden the rug got pulled out.

[Troy Volhoffer]

So, I mean, not to blow smoke up your ass, but you're a hell of a player. We all, like, laugh because, you know, the music comes in and, like, scores all the goals. Right. It's kind of like. It's pretty impressive. Thank you. But it's a great philanthropic thing and we give a lot of money back to curing cancer and helping other people out. And the games aren't just for us to have. Go up there and have fun and drink beers together and tell a bunch of crazy stories. I mean.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah. I mean, what Kelly's gone through, too.

[Brad Tursi]

Has just been crazy.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Yeah, he went through a tough go and. And he's good now, which is fantastic. So, yeah, Kelly Chase went through. Our friend who played for the St. Louis Blues went through a butt with cancer that almost took him down. And. And he's back now and he's good, so knock on wood. And lots of prayers going his direction and that's awesome. It's fantastic. So what's up tonight? We're in Calgary, Alberta. That's why I'm wearing my cowboy outfit.

[Brad Tursi]

Looks good.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Freaking Calgary. I'm in cowboy town.

[Trevor Rosen]

Let's do it.

[Troy Volhoffer]

So what's on the agenda? Time we. I mean, the only thing I regret about doing this interview at this time, I'm missing Clint Black because he was one of my.

[Trevor Rosen]

I know.

[Matthew Ramsey]

We could hear him playing. Yeah, he sounded great. I mean, tonight we're just. We've kind of learned we're lucky enough now to be at a point in our career where we can just do what we do. We used to have to be like, oh, festival crowd, let's change things around. And, you know, they're going to get bored here and that. But now we're luckily to a point where we have enough songs that people know, and we don't have to worry about that too much. So we go out there, and that's our happy place, man. You know, we get out on stage and we're comfortable, and we just have a great time.

[Troy Volhoffer]

I love it. I mean, I think you are the greatest live band, and I mean, you're the last greatest live band out there. And I hope there's kids coming up trying to follow in your footsteps and being inspired by you. I mean, so in saying that, who were your inspirations? Let's start.

[Trevor Rosen]

I mean, growing up.

[Geoff Sprung]

I mean, my first concert was Guns and Roses. You know, I bought a Les Ball because Slash after. So that was like, I can almost cut off a little hit Pareto Magazine, you know, those little pictures of all the freaking hair bad guys. And so. But from there, then I went to, like, a lot of Southern rock, like All Brothers, Black Crows. Love James Taylor.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah, a lot of the same. Plus a lot of the kind of the 90s grunge stuff for me.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Who's your favorite bass player? Ooh, I'll.

[Brad Tursi]

I'll say Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pretty amazing.

[Troy Volhoffer]

I like Tom Peterson.

[Brad Tursi]

Also amazing. Also amazing.

[Trevor Rosen]

12 string bass.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah. But I think that, like, the. That kind of, like, common influences or growing up is probably one of the things that makes this work so well. We all have kind of our own niches of music, but the fact that we all have kind of a shared vocabulary from that era was really helpful.

[Troy Volhoffer]

That's fantastic.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah. It's always hard for me to narrow down because I was, like, a child of the radio, really. So I. I think I just always grew up loving and being mystified by great songs.

[Matthew Ramsey]

So it's like.

[Trevor Rosen]

It might have been like Michael Jackson early on, but I grew up in Detroit, so we had so much. We had great rock music, you know, and I played in a rock band.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Great rock.

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah. We had hip hop. We had a lot of everything.

[Brad Tursi]

Right.

[Trevor Rosen]

Motown. I mean, it was like. I think Motown and oldies, like, really was a big influence on me, you know, but, like, the real melodic stuff.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Yeah.

[Trevor Rosen]

I mean, but it could be Chicago. It could be some super sappy ballad. And I remember being, like, just a really little kid and being fascinated by, like, how do people make up these melodies? How do you make up a song that hasn't been there before? So I just always would. When a song would hit me, and I just craved hearing it again, I'd be like, now, what is it about this thing that's making me want to hear it again. So, I mean, it could be anything from Faith no More to Nirvana or James Taylor or Chicago or everything.

[Troy Volhoffer]

I love that James Taylor has been a common name used in this conversation.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah, for sure.

[Troy Volhoffer]

I, I, I, I love James Taylor. I mean, I was, as a kid, I was always a fan. Billy Joel. Amazing, right? Elton John. Of course. Yeah.

[Matthew Ramsey]

My, my first concert was Huey Lewis in the News. And I just kind of, I was probably like 11. I just remember seeing the reaction in the, in the room, and I just was immediately like, whatever he's doing, I.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Want to do it.

[Matthew Ramsey]

I want to do that.

[Troy Volhoffer]

I'm addicted.

[Matthew Ramsey]

I gotta figure that out.

[Troy Volhoffer]

The bug.

[Matthew Ramsey]

The first time, the first time I was like, oh, my God, this is sank. And then, you know, I also really loved a lot of, you know, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, those guys. But then ultimately, huge Springsteen fan. And then there was, there was another pivotal moment that I remember my dad buying me Don Henley's End of Innocence.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Oh, what a great record.

[Matthew Ramsey]

And I immediately film Holy. So that, that played a huge part.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Where's Old Dominion going in the future? Where do you see, like, what's the next step? I mean, you constantly tour. You guys spend more time on the road than most artists do.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Well, I got split in five ways, so.

[Troy Volhoffer]

That'S not a bad thing. I always tell my kids, man, it's not like a one hit thing. You gotta have longevity to spread it across the time.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Troy Volhoffer]

So it's 26. I mean, we're in 25 now. But what does 26 look like? What, how far do you guys plan head, I guess, really is the question I'm asking y'.

[Geoff Sprung]

All. 27. Yeah, I think that 27, we're talking about going back to some major.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Yeah, major markets. So Chicago's New York, right? Yeah. We got some things in the works next year for, for up here in Canada too. So that's coming soon, you know.

[Trevor Rosen]

We're also putting out a new album.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Who's Barbara?

[Trevor Rosen]

Yeah, it was just an idea. One of some ideas.

[Troy Volhoffer]

It's on the side of your truck.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah, the, the image of Barbara came after the idea of naming the album. So we're like, well, this is just for fun. We named the album Barbara. And then when we started talking about the idea of the album cover with them, wouldn't it be fun to kind of create an image that we all kind of came up with in our head? And then we sent out for headshots for all these people and we got maybe 10 or 12 headshots and we're all separate at the time. We all get this email and I don't know that we've ever had, hands down unanimous decision in the 15 years of this band. Everyone replied like they got email. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like that's our girl.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Well, hey, I won't gonna keep you any longer because you guys gotta go do 90 minutes of fun out there. And they're all waiting. It's a big crowd tonight and it's gonna be electric because I'm had a beautiful day. It's gonna be fantastic. But I just want to thank you for carving this time out of your day to share it with with myself and the Country Thunder fans and thank you very Pleasure.

[Brad Tursi]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Rosen]

Thank you.

[Troy Volhoffer]

Awesome. And I, I'm. I'm a huge fan of yours and I wish you the best and the greatest luck going forward and keep rocking.

[Brad Tursi]

Thank you.

[Matthew Ramsey]

Thank you, bro.

[Troy Volhoffer]

One of the most rewarding parts of putting on a music festival is filling out the lineup. Of course I love having the biggest stars on stage, but it's also a chance for fans to see some of the up and coming artists. And one I'm keeping my eye on. Who played Country Thunder last night is Beamer Wiggly. He's a winner from our rising star talent contest with one of our festival sponsors, Ranchman's. Ranchman's, an iconic club in Calgary. It's a real cowboy joint and has done more for country music in Canada than any other place. As a part of this prize, he wins a spot on the main stage. Beamer has so much energy and is poised on stage. He's still a young guy, but he's been playing guitar since he was 5 years old. How interesting is that? He's been putting in the work at home and releasing music on his own. So thrilled to have Beamer opening for us at Country Thunder this year. We'll definitely keep an eye on him going forward. Go get him, Beamer. I wish you the best of luck and we're always here for you. The biggest thanks to the guys from Old Dominion for sitting down with me today. I remember seeing these guys at Country Thunder, Arizona. We had to play two shows. They played the 130 slot and then went at 10:30 and played the Beer Garden. And then maybe a month later, I go to my friend's house and they're doing a showcase in the dude's living room. They've had an amazing career and I don't think it has even started yet. Head to wearelddominion.com to see where they're stopping on their How Good is that World Tour. The moving stops across the US And Europe. So check them out. I'm Troy Walhoffer and this has been on the Bus. Thanks as always. We'll see you next time. Be safe. Be sure to follow Country Thunder on all our social platforms. At Country Thunder, we have new episodes dropping bimonthly. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you know when the new episodes hit the feed. Beamer Wiggly. He's going to be a star. I'm telling you, with a name like that.