Getting Real with Kara Birge: Trusting God, Having Fun, Raising Boys, and Riding the Wild Road with George Birge

Summary

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The Bobby Bones Show: Getting Real with Kara Birge – Trusting God, Having Fun, Raising Boys, and Riding the Wild Road with George Birge

Date: March 18, 2026
Host: Caroline (Premiere Networks)
Guest: Kara Birge (wife of country artist George Birge)

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Episode Overview

This episode takes listeners on an honest, engaging journey through the life and marriage of Kara Birge, wife of country artist George Birge. With humor and heartfelt insights, Kara recounts her Texas roots, her relationship with George—including college days, marriage, parenting two boys, career pivots, and the faith that grounds it all. The conversation highlights the couple’s fun-loving approach to life, their resilience through tough seasons (including preterm birth and career uncertainty), and how trusting in God has carried them forward. The episode is packed with stories about their leap into the Nashville music scene, George's viral moments, and the evolving meaning of success.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Texas Roots and College Romance

[03:37]–[08:30]

• Kara and George both grew up in Texas and met as freshmen at the University of Texas (UT), sharing a love for athletics (Kara was in the Palm Squad, George played golf).
• Their relationship blossomed from friends to dating after a spring break trip to Corpus (Texas coast), leading to marriage at age 24.
• Their UT days were filled with fun and parties:
  Kara: "We had so much fun in college...we still talk about it. It was the best." [08:13]
• Both dove into corporate jobs immediately after college in Austin, setting the stage for their later leap of faith.

2. From Corporate Life to Nashville Dreams

[11:16]–[19:00]

• Early career: Kara in recruiting, George in consulting, buying and fixing up a house in Austin (previously owned by Texas musician Kinky Friedman—full of “energy, cigars, and rescue dogs”).
• They realized, thanks to family assistance, the value of their house flip, which financially supported their move.
• George’s music journey:
  • High school and college bands, casual local gigs, and a pivotal manager visit turned music from hobby to serious career path.
  • After a nail-biting label showcase for Sony (didn't pan out), George signed with Big Machine and the couple moved to Nashville in 2014.
• Kara’s attitude: “I’m here for it...I just imagine myself as Elle Woods. The day that I left...all of my engineers, like, made a tunnel, and I, like, walked out of the office and then we just went and moved to Nashville.” [19:09]

3. Building Community and “Finding the Fun”

[18:26]–[21:33]

• Kara describes the challenge of arriving in Nashville without connections but finding her “girl gang” through fellow music spouses.
• Prioritizing fun has shaped their lives:
  Host: "So do y'all always find fun and the joy in things?"
  Kara: "That's, like, the greatest compliment, right?...I think George and I consistently have fun with or without the kids, prioritizing that. That's the secret for us." [21:17]
• The couple intentionally fosters fun in marriage and parenting, even in busy, stressful times.

4. Parenting, Tough Seasons, and Real-Life Struggles

[26:27]–[36:52]

• Kara’s first son, George, was born premature due to a blood clotting disorder—ushering in an anxious, isolating season compounded by George’s touring.
• The importance of family support (notably her sister moving nearby), and the growth that comes from adversity:
  Kara: “Looking back and seeing, like, my younger self, I had no clue...we grew together, and we matured together in so many different ways...God gives you what you need, and it's hard to see that when you're in it.” [35:51]
• On marriage through hardship:
  Host: “How did your marriage survive?”
  Kara: “George is a great dad…he sees me, and I know he's exhausted when he gets home...I see that. Not everybody sees that.” [37:01–38:49]

5. Career Reinventions: Real Estate, Virality, and Faith

[38:49]–[52:05]

• Kara’s journey from recruiting to real estate agent in Nashville, leveraging connections from an otherwise “horrible” job.
• George’s career pivots:
  • From local band to solo act, nearly giving up before a viral TikTok moment ("Beer Beer Truck Truck") brought renewed opportunity:
    Kara: "He got a record deal because of it." [49:03]
  • Mentorships with stars like Clay Walker, Gary Allan, and signing with renowned labels.
  • Touring with Sam Hunt, Parker McCollum, and Luke Bryan; first-ever headlining tour (2026).
• Choosing faith over anxiety:
  Host: “Is God, like, a huge thing for you guys? Is that the foundation?”
  Kara: “Our leading, most important priority is our…is God in our family...the more we've grown and leaned into our faith, the more doors have opened...” [55:13]

6. Evolving Definitions of Success and Contentment

[56:47]–[58:36]

• Kara and George have redefined success as family, health, security, and spiritual peace – rather than material or career benchmarks.
• The power of faith in navigating change, uncertainty, and maintaining perspective.

7. Marriage, Support, and True Partnership

[58:56]–[61:53]

• Kara emphasizes mutual support, adaptability, and deep understanding as the glue of their marriage through various seasons:
  Kara: “He sees me...and that's not always the same every single year. So, like, the way I needed to feel supported and loved when I was a new mom looked a lot different than now...” [59:03]
• Greatest advice to her younger self: Lean into faith first—peace follows spiritual alignment, not worldly achievements.
  Kara: “Whenever I truly felt, like, connected in my spiritual life and my relationship with Jesus, that's when I really experienced peace…” [60:25]

8. Looking Ahead – Family Adventures & Gratitude

[61:58]–[66:03]

• The family is soon embarking on a trip to Australia where George will play the CMC Rocks festival in Brisbane.
• Joyful anticipation about travel and more relaxed, unscheduled time with her boys over summer.
• Family connections deepen as George’s sister recently moved in with them, adding another layer of support and fun to their household.

9. Kara’s Core Message: Faith, Connection, and Joy

[68:04]–[68:56]

• Kara’s “Light” (Final Takeaway):
  “I think staying connected in my marriage has been probably the most important thing in this career. But also like, that is my life and that is who I am...seeing my spouse and my family and my children for their needs and making sure that everyone feels seen and loved has really worked for us and...comes from our faith...putting my relationship with God first and...just leading in gratitude in everything that I do.” [68:04–68:56]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “All the opportunities that have come have started on the golf course. Really, a very big way.” – Kara Birge [05:08]
• “We started dating, like, the second semester of our freshman year, and we never broke up.” – Kara [06:56]
• Describing their house flip: “Lots of energy. Smelled like cigars. And he [Kinky Friedman] had, like, rescue dogs, like, everywhere.” – Kara [13:00]
• “He told me, you love me first...and I said, thank you.” – Kara [08:59]
• “I just imagine myself as Elle Woods. The day that I left...all of my engineers, like, made a tunnel, and I, like, walked out of the office and then we just went and moved to Nashville.” – Kara [19:09]
• “We just have always tried to prioritize fun...that's the secret for us.” – Kara [21:17]
• “Looking back...I had no clue. And I just figured it out as, like, we grew together...God gives you what you need, and it's hard to see that when you're in it.” – Kara [35:51]
• “Whenever I truly felt, like, connected in my spiritual life and my relationship with Jesus, that's when I really experienced peace...” – Kara [60:25]

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Key Timestamps

• 03:37 – Kara & George’s college romance and first kiss
• 11:16 – Early married life, corporate careers, and their first home
• 14:12 – The leap from corporate to full-time music dreams
• 18:26 – Moving to Nashville and building support tribe
• 21:13 – The importance of fun in their marriage
• 26:27 – Parenting challenges—premature birth, anxiety, and family support
• 35:51 – Wisdom on growth and faith during adversity
• 49:03 – George’s viral TikTok moment and career reinvention
• 55:13 – Faith as foundation for their life and marriage
• 60:25 – Advice to her younger self about faith and peace
• 61:58 – Upcoming trip to Australia and family plans
• 68:04 – Kara’s final “leave your light” inspirational message

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Tone & Style

The episode is heartfelt, humorous, and open—reflecting Kara’s warm, down-to-earth personality and her genuine rapport with the host. The conversation is spiced with laughter, everyday challenges, gratitude, and real-life reflections, making it both inspirational and relatable for listeners at any life stage.

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Where to Find Kara & George

• Instagram: @karabirge, @georgebirge
• Music: George Birge’s latest single “Ride, Ride, Ride” out now.

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Summary prepared for The Bobby Bones Show listeners and fans of the Birge family, covering theme, key insights, highlights, and inspiring takeaways.

Transcript

[Kara Burge]

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[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Hey.

[Kara Burge]

Hey

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

Caroline. She's a queen of talking hey, what's on your mind? She's getting really not afraid to feel Take her soul to soul Just let

[Kara Burge]

it flow no one can do it quite like Caroline it's time for Caroline.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Ready, set, action. I'm so excited to be here.

[Kara Burge]

Verge. Thank you, sis. Thank you for calling me. I'm so happy to be here.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You were just on my radar because we're both from Texas. We kind of. You went to ut?

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, the real ut. The other ut.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I mean everyone in Tennessee is like

[Kara Burge]

UT have to be careful who I say that around. But you know.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But they're both orange.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Which is actually convenient. So you went to the University of Texas? I did and I am from Texas. And you moved here. You and George moved here. George Burge is your husband. He's had a couple number ones just recently. And his new song's out with Luke Bryan.

[Kara Burge]

Huh.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What?

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, it's called Ride, Ride. Ride. So good.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Ride, Ride.

[Kara Burge]

I think my favorite song he's released to radio at least. Really?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Ride, ride, ride. I love it very.

[Kara Burge]

I know I can be soft spoken so I'll try to see your beautiful face too. Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

But when did y' all move here? We moved in 14. 2014. So we have now been. We're past our 10 year mark. Gosh, we've been here 11 years.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Remember the first time we met was at Basano's Pizza.

[Kara Burge]

Yes, I Do you know Amanda? How did. How did we meet?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Cuz Amanda's like, you got to meet George And Cara, they're from Texas. They're moving here because originally, George was in a duo, Waterloo Revival, which is great. And y' all had just moved up here because. But he was a golfer first, like a professional golfer. Does he hang out with Jake Owen? Colt Ford? Is that how he knows?

[Kara Burge]

Colt Ford colts through golf for sure.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, but he's actually, like, a legit golfer.

[Kara Burge]

Yes. He played in college, actually.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But it's a great sport. It really carries you through.

[Kara Burge]

I mean, honestly, we have tried to foster that in our boys without being, like, too pushy, because he continuously goes back to everything in my career. Like, all the opportunities that have come have started on the golf course. Really a very big way. I mean, it's crazy. If you, like, trace back all the doors that opened from his very first manager to, you know, getting to Nashville and then all the doors and tours that have opened, like, so much of it came from golf for him. But, yeah, he's a really good golfer, so.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So he was playing golf at ut?

[Kara Burge]

He did. He played golf. He played at Texas for a year, and I did the Palm Squad at Texas for a year.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Wait, what is the Palm squad exactly?

[Kara Burge]

It's like, the cheerleader. Yes, they're the cheerleaders that wear the little chaps.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Stop it. I mean, very sexy.

[Kara Burge]

But we both, like, did.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Wait, so what are your experiences?

[Kara Burge]

Athletics, but only for a year. So we were, like, kind of. But we also had that in common.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So is that where y' all met?

[Kara Burge]

That's fun. Yeah. Huh. Freshman in college.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But, like, were you cheering when you met him? Or how did y' all meet?

[Kara Burge]

No, we met through mutual friends at parties and mixers. Like a sorority mixer. I told one of my friends. I was like, well, if you still need a day, like, I would if I were you, I think you should ask George Burge. And she did. And she. I was in her wedding, and, like, she still reminds me of that. She's like, remember when you told me to ask George on a date?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Why did you not want to go on a date with George?

[Kara Burge]

I think I already had a date. Like, it was like those little freshman mixers or whatever where you girls ask a guy or something with a theme. I don't know.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, so you knew George. Y' all met just through. Through being around college at the same time. You're the same age.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How did you decide that you were gonna stop sending them off to your friends and you're actually gonna take the lead?

[Kara Burge]

We started dating, like, it was the second semester of our Freshman year, and we never broke up.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How did y' all start dating, though? Because y' all were friends first, obviously.

[Kara Burge]

Yes. We were on a spring break trip. That's when we had our first kiss. Where were you?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I need the story.

[Kara Burge]

I'm pretty sure we were in. Was it Corpus or Panama City Beach?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay. Okay.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, no, I think it was. I think we were in, like. Like, the court. We were on the Texas coast.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So you're at the corporate with a bunch of friends.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah. Lots of fun. Like, we had so much fun.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You went hard in college. You had a good college experience?

[Kara Burge]

We had a great time. We have pictures, you know, because back then, nobody had iPhones. Like, you couldn't take all your pictures on your phone, and so there was a photographer that would, like, walk around the parties and take your picture. And I found one when I was going through, like, our anniversary stack of printed pictures. And it was our same wedding date, but it was 2000. What would that have been, like, seven? So it was April 28, 2007. It was like, we were so young. We were just babies at a party, like, with X's on our hands.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Because you couldn't drink.

[Kara Burge]

Oh, no. Well, yeah, at fraternity parties.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Someone tell you what. UT people go to ut, know how to party.

[Kara Burge]

It's different. But we had so much fun. We had so much fun. And then we were, like, kind of the first to get married outside of college. Like, we were 24 when we got married. Okay. So our wedding was just all of our friends. Like, oh, yeah. Huge. Oh, my God. It. We still talk about it. It was the best. And love that for y'.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

All. Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

Then, okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How did y' all start? How'd y' all kiss, though? On the beach.

[Kara Burge]

You were at a party outside of my hotel. He was taking me back to my hotel. I was staying with my girlfriend. He was staying with all the guys.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

Just a real freshman in college year

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

after that, were you like, oh, this is the guy?

[Kara Burge]

Well, I think kind of.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What was it about, George, that you're like, I want to lock this down. Or was he like, I want to lock you down? That was probably more like, I want

[Kara Burge]

to lock you down. He told me he was smart, man. I was not the first. No, no, no, no. Not. But he told me, you love me first. Like, a few months. We had probably been dating for, like, three or four months. Okay. And I said, thank you. He. He actually frequently tells that story on thank you, and I'm like, honey, you don't have to tell people that. But I.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

It's a good moment.

[Kara Burge]

I was just, like, kind of shocked.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Had you ever been in love before?

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh, okay.

[Kara Burge]

I had a high school, but not, like, a mature relationship. I mean, still then I was only 17, so I'd been in love once before. Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So he said, I love you, and you're like, thank you.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah. And then apparently I did. I kind of panicked. And then I. I remember, like, it wasn't long after that that I told him I loved him. But, yeah, we've. We've just been consistent. We really have. And we've, like. We've had a lot of friends, like, grow with us and watch their relationships and then obviously, like, become adults and then become parents. And we've been through so many seasons. We would have never imagined that our life would look anything like this.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, can we please talk about this? Because I was actually talking to Mich driving in here today. My husband, and we've been together since 2008, so very similar timeline, very young. Started dating when he was 21 and I was 24. And we were just talking about. Because we're coming up on our. I think it's our 12th wedding anniversary. So y' all are, like, 13.

[Kara Burge]

We got married in 2012. Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So y'. All.

[Kara Burge]

Are y' all 12?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

We are 14.

[Kara Burge]

Almost 14 years. Yeah. In April.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Unbelievable. And we were like, how on earth have we been married? Almost 12 years in all of the things and the life and the seasons that we have gone through. And it's so amazing on one hand, like, when you're in these really hard seasons, you're like, how are we going to survive this? Just not, like, the marriage, but just, like, as humans. Because it's so hard.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And then you get through it, and you've, like, weathered these storms and then the highs of the high, and it's really a powerful thing. So talk to me about some of the seasons, because y' all started off fun in college, just, like, living.

[Kara Burge]

We had so much fun in college. So then we were the first kind of newlyweds out of our friends because we were young.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Did y' all have a plan, like. Like a career at that point?

[Kara Burge]

Yes. We were both working in, like, the corporate world. I was in, like, recruiting. Corporate recruiting. He worked for a consulting firm. Okay. All these, like, young people that just, like, you know, worked all day until, like, 7:00' clock at night.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, so y' all both had jobs right out of college.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

And. And even that was tough, finding jobs. I remember Was hard. And when we first graduated and there was a chance, like, he was possibly going to move, and I was like, oh, my gosh, if he moves, like, yeah. And he ended up getting a better job in Austin. So we stayed and I was living in an apartment with my best friend. And I remember thinking that when I move out of this apartment, I'm going to be engaged to George. Like, I knew that we were going to get married. So we, like, bought this older house in Austin from the bank. It was like a total beat up, like, fixer upper.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What part of town?

[Kara Burge]

Northwest Hills. Which, like, we could. I don't even think we could afford that house today. Oh, you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Do you have a video where you're

[Kara Burge]

driving by your first house? Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

Did y' all answer up? You might not remember. Do you remember who Kinky Freeman is?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Kinky?

[Kara Burge]

He was from Texas. He wrote for Texas Monthly. And he was like this crazy political figure in Texas that he was like, a singer songwriter. And so he was in the Texas music scene and was, like, friends with all the old, like, Willie and Waylon and had all these, like, incredible influential people in his life. Just bizarre character.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Kiki Friedman bought a house he had

[Kara Burge]

lost on a, like, I can't even remember. It was a short sale from the bank. But anyways, it was previously Kinky Freeman's house. And so it had, like, this really cool, like, Texas music history to it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And lots of energy in that house.

[Kara Burge]

Lots of energy. Smelled like cigars. And he had, like, rescue dogs, like, everywhere. And so anyways, we updated a house, so that was a really crazy, fun season.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What did you learn about each other when you were updating a house? Because that's our first big, like, project together.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You learn a lot about each other.

[Kara Burge]

A lot.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What is George's personality like when he's in a stressful situation?

[Kara Burge]

Well, I learned he pro. He said to kill me for saying this, he's like, just hire people for that. Like, he's. He's not really, like, gonna flip houses for a living. We were both kind like, okay, this is awesome. But, like, we don't know what we're doing. Yeah. So we were very. I mean, we had no idea. We were 25 years old. We had no clue how lucky we were that his dad and his uncle, like, did this previously for a living.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Like, okay, so you had some expertise in the family.

[Kara Burge]

Oh, my gosh. So we renovated this house. Thank God that we did. Because then it came to, he's potentially going to quit his job and go try and be a musician.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So when did he realize. Because he goes to college for golf, and then he has a corporate job. But when did he be. When was he. Like, I'm actually gonna pursue music full force? I mean, that's a big.

[Kara Burge]

Well, probably when you realized he wasn't gonna be able to play professional golf, because he would have chosen that over music if he could. But he was like, yeah, I wasn't good enough for that.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, but when did he realize. Was he always singing?

[Kara Burge]

No, I remember.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

No, like, it's just out of the blue.

[Kara Burge]

Our college friends didn't even realize that he was like. Like, they. They knew he'd always get his guitar out at parties or, like, sing or play, but they didn't really realize or appreciate that, like, he wrote his own music and. Okay. Had had a band since he was in high school.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, so we did have a band in high school, huh?

[Kara Burge]

Okay, he did. Yeah. He's had a. There's been a number of bands, but in high school and then in college, I remember he. He was playing, like, a charity event where they were like, let's learn some covers and do it for this year. And that was the first time I ever saw him play live in front of people. And I was like, oh, my gosh, he's good. And then he had, like, some open mic nights at, like, the mellow Mushroom in Austin. And, like, nobody would even be there, but, like, I was at every single one.

[Redfin Advertiser]

Yes, you were clean.

[Kara Burge]

And then it just kind of. After we got married, they started, like, booking gigs at the local Austin spots. So was this.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Did he pair up? Was he in a. Dude, this is.

[Kara Burge]

By the time they had named the band Waterloo Revival.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And where did Waterloo.

[Kara Burge]

Waterloo is like, I think it's the original name of Austin. I think Austin was Waterloo before. A lot of Waterloo influence in Austin.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I love it. Y' all love Austin. Okay.

[Kara Burge]

So I remember him coming home being like, I've come up with the band name. And I was like, oh, so we're doing this?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I mean, at 25 years old, to say, like, I'm going full force in a band when I've been corporate and graduated?

[Kara Burge]

Well, no, he was still working. He was still in corporate. I mean, he would play these shows. And I look back at some of the pictures. I'm like, you didn't even change. Like, you just came straight from the office, and you're still in your khaki pants.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But when he got the idea to do the band, was he like, I'm not just casually doing this. I'm gonna do it.

[Kara Burge]

No, it was casual at first started casual. Okay. Yeah. And they started doing. And all of their co workers would come support them and, like. And then, you know, they're both from Austin, so all their. Our family. And then he was just, like, packing out these venues in Austin. In Austin? Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Stop it.

[Kara Burge]

Just, like, on the weekends. We were having so much fun. And then his first. First, like, break came from a manager that came and flew to Austin to see him. And I think, gosh, it's been a minute, but the manager, basically, you can do this. His manager was like, I want to sign you. I want to, like, kind of take you and run with this. And I want y' all to think about moving to Nashville. And I was like, well, I mean, maybe, like, in a few years. And then he had his first. What do you call it, when they, like, audition for the label, like his first showcase or whatever. And we both came to Nashville.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What was the label?

[Kara Burge]

Sony.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So they auditioned. They got an audition for Sony right away. So this kind of moved quickly.

[Kara Burge]

It happened quick. There was one song they were all obsessed with, and they were like, we've got to go play this for all the labels in town. I mean, he got a very influential manager early on. So, like. And we knew nothing. I mean, we had. We had no freaking clue. We were just learning.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But the buzz happened fast. So, like, his I'll never forget.

[Kara Burge]

We stayed at, like, somewhere in the Vanderbilt area at a hotel. And he was like, like, literally warming up, practicing. He was by himself. It was just George that came to Nashville because the band was a duo, and Cody was probably working. I have no idea. So he comes, and I remember dropping him off outside of the gates of Sony on Music Row. And, like, we didn't, like, know how to get in. Like, it was like a gate. I was like, good luck. And he's, like, just walking in. This gate opens. He's just him by him himself walking in with his guitar. And I was like, he never gets nervous. That man is so nervous. He did not get signed to Sony, okay? They passed, and then we were like, yeah, I mean, whatever. It was just, like, a weird thing. Like, I'm sure it's never gonna happen. And then he ended up getting signed with Big Machine.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Big Machine?

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

Then, like, we started crossing paths with you. Did you know Amanda first? So I knew Amanda and Bill because my friend Lindsay from Waco. What was Lindsay's maiden name was Friends. So she was like, I have Waco friends. You've got to meet.

[Radhi Deblookia]

Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And that's how we ended up at Desano's.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Because in the ghettos like this, I knew nobody.

[Kara Burge]

I knew nobody. Like, I didn't have a single, like, starting point where I was like, maybe I'll meet a neighbor. Which I did. I ended up meeting my neighbor, and she's a great friend. Love.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

A good neighbor.

[Kara Burge]

But, yeah, I remember when Amanda was like, you need to come out with us. I just.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Amanda, Bill. Are in A Thousand Horses. Bill's and A Thousand Horses. And so, yeah, we all met at

[Kara Burge]

Desano's Pizza, and it was like, oh, my gosh. Okay. I'm. I'm gonna be okay. Like, I found a girl gang. And, like, we've. We've. It's a starting point. I have some people to call and.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Overwhelming.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Were you, like, all for George's dream? Were you like, let's do this, or were you. No, I want to say in Austin, like, this was not on our agenda. Are you just, like, here for it?

[Kara Burge]

I'm here for it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You're here.

[Kara Burge]

You're perfect.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You're a perfect wife of an adventurous. You're an adventurous spirit.

[Kara Burge]

I worked for. This is so cute. I just have this memory. I worked for a recruiting company, and I recruited engineers, like, computer and electrical engineers, which is hysterical, right? Because they didn't know what to do with me. And I remember telling them that I was going to quit and I was going to move to Nashville because my husband was going to be a country singer. And I'm sure they were all like, oh, my God. Like, I imagine myself as, like, Legally Blonde, Elle woods, and the day that I left. The day that I left. Yeah. Like what? Like, they're all looking like, oh, my God. It actually worked out. I remember leaving the building that day. It was a very large company, and they had, like, lined the hallway. All of my engineers, like, made a tunnel, and I, like, walked out of the office, and then we just went and moved to Nashville. And, Cara, I feel like there's a

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

common theme of just, like, fun in your life. Like, you and George. So do y' all always find fun and, like, the joy and things?

[Kara Burge]

That's, like, the greatest compliment, right?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But, like, I just love, like, your whole perspective on all this. You're like. Like, we had so much fun in college, and then we got married, and then we had so much fun in our jobs. We recruited, and then, like, all the people that you worked for with recruiting came and watched George play, and then that's how he got his buzz because you were having fun doing what you're doing. So, like, having fun really leads to a joyful, aligned life.

[Kara Burge]

I love that. I. I love that. And I definitely feel that I was just talking to probably my sister. My sister and I are very close, and we were talking about having fun with your spouse. You know, like, you just forget. I think so many people also just having kids is hard and not always fun all the time. So now, like, our boys are a little bit older. Like, it's nine and six. They are six and nine. Yeah. Almost seven and nine. So they are still, like, they're still best friends. They still think we're, like, the coolest and love to be together and they

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

go on the road.

[Kara Burge]

But we just like, yeah, we have a lot of fun.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Y' all do.

[Kara Burge]

And I think George and I consistently have fun with or without the kids, like, prioritizing that. I feel like that's kind of. That's the secret for us.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Do you think that's just Yalls demeanor?

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Or is it a choice?

[Kara Burge]

I think it's a choice. I mean, he's been tired. Like, he's exhausted.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So what's wearing him out these days?

[Kara Burge]

He's got a lot. His version of fun has, like, changed too. But, like, when we're together, we are. Yeah. Like, there's nobody we have more fun with. Like, it's not always a party. Like, he's actually not a big drinker.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh. You know, like, gave it up, that lifestyle.

[Kara Burge]

He's like, I just can't. Like, I don't. He has to entertain people all the time for. For his career. So. Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How does he entertain without alcohol?

[Kara Burge]

He does drink. He doesn't. He's not like a non drinker at all. It's funny because when he comes home, he's like, ready to detox. Because when you're out on the road, like, hosting people backstage and like, you know, three times a week, everybody wants a drink.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And so everybody's ready for the party.

[Kara Burge]

Everybody wants, like a shot of tequila on the bus.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

That's the thing. It's so funny. His band doesn't drink at all. Like, nobody in his crew drinks alcohol, so it's really funny. They, they. They are very good team.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

That's good. That's good to have a great.

[Kara Burge]

But he comes home and he's like, ready to, you know, just clean up and eat clean and do all the things. And I'm like, let's pour a glass of wine because finally, like, you're back.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

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[Radhi Deblookia]

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[Kara Burge]

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[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

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[Kara Burge]

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[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

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[Kara Burge]

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[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Complaints turn to second helpings. Real meat, real flavor. Go to trunaturemeats.com code freemeat for 20%

[Kara Burge]

off free New York Strip Texas smoked brisket and Mediterranean chicken with code free [e-mail].

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, so kids, y' all had a. Your oldest was born super young. I did not realize that.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, preemie. So how many weeks?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

That's.

[Kara Burge]

That season was probably one of the hardest seasons we went through just because like we're here. My sister lives here, but we don't have any other family.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Well, why did you move here?

[Kara Burge]

I say that so my sister, by the grace of God, my sister and my brother in law had two young kids at the time. So my niece and nephew are older and my brother in law was like in job transition and they fell in love with Franklin after, like coming and visiting. They were like, we're going to get an apartment and just see how long we want to stay. And I mean, my family, like my parents were like, you can't take the grandkids out of Texas. Like, nobody lives in Tennessee. And at the same time, George was like, and I think I'm going to be a country singer one day. So we might also go there.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So they fell in love with Franklin first?

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh, your sister.

[Kara Burge]

The same year that we moved, they moved in, like, I want to say it was September of 2014 and like by the end of the year we were in Nashville. We moved like the week of the CMAs.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Really?

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And so brother in law just fell

[Kara Burge]

in love and they never went back. They've never left. Franklin moved here?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

No.

[Kara Burge]

I'm shocked. I know. My parents are. They've all gone through it. My parents are divorced, and so they've been, you know, caretakers for their spouses. And, like, they haven't been in a position to just up and move.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Is it just you and your sister?

[Kara Burge]

And my brother. My brother's in Texas, still in Houston.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

But anyway, so my sister was here, and that is huge. I remember where I was, what I was telling you before.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I wish I could remember anything, Cara. We were talking earlier.

[Kara Burge]

Oh, preemie.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

That's what it was. I'm so glad you remember. I'm, like, 42 years old, but feel 100.

[Kara Burge]

Thank you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Too much in this brain. Okay, well.

[Kara Burge]

But you look 25. Remember I told you that when I got canvas skin. Thank you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Over there. She's got me on a skin regime.

[Kara Burge]

Gorgeous. Thanks.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You look gorgeous. You know, I feel good. I feel insane in the head, but I feel good.

[Kara Burge]

I know if I can get past my just brain fog, it's my sleep. If I have a good night of sleep, different person not consistently shout out to magnesium. Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Because I literally could not sleep at all. I was taking unisom every night because I was like, I same thing. I was waking up, not sleeping, ruining my day. One day, I didn't sleep at all, and I just, like, dropped Sunday off at school with Michael, and I just started bawling in the car, and I'm

[Kara Burge]

like, I just can't go to sleep again.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

My brain is rain. I'm laying on the pillow exhausted, cannot go to sleep. And it is the most frustrating thing. And I feel like a lot of women have this.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I just can't shut my brain off. I screwed taking magnesium because I was so desperate. And I was like, I cannot be addicted to unisom. Like, I'm not going to take a sleeping pill every night. Game changer.

[Kara Burge]

Do you just feel, like, calm? Like the Whatever. No.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I take a pill, a unicom. It's 500 milligrams. I don't even know what kind it is.

[Kara Burge]

Magnesium. Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

It has changed my life.

[Kara Burge]

Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And I am someone who cannot sleep.

[Kara Burge]

Sleep. All right, I will report back.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

No, take it.

[Kara Burge]

Because I am on a journey right now.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And it's a natural. It's natural.

[Kara Burge]

I told George I was like, I'm going to the store to get a pillow, and I don't know if it's gonna cost $20 or if it's gonna cost like $250. But I need a new pillow or I won't sleep again.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You need magnesium.

[Kara Burge]

And he was like, well, I don't think it should cost 200. I mean, large scale for pillows. Okay. Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So try magnesium.

[Kara Burge]

I'm gonna put that. Put that in the notes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I mean, I would do it. I'd get it today and try it.

[Kara Burge]

I have calm of the powder that you can, like, mix up at night. So I've used that one sometimes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I don't know about that. I know a pill will straight up work.

[Kara Burge]

Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And it's a game changer.

[Kara Burge]

Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay. So magnesium.

[Kara Burge]

So.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

So you guys prey? Yeah, baby.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And it's George. His name is George junior.

[Kara Burge]

George. Yeah, George James. He's technically not a junior because they all have different middle names, but they're all Georges in our family, and they all go by George.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I love that. So I got George and George.

[Kara Burge]

Lots of them. And so I was probably pregnant before any of my friends too, just because I didn't have a ton of friends that were, you know, married earlier. Right. I feel like it's very Texas. And so when G was born, I had a blood clotting disorder, and he was growth restricted. So it was like a combination of a few things. And so he basically just stopped growing at 3 pounds. And we tried to leave him in as long as we could, and then I would just go for, like, scans every few days. And that's very stressful. Fortunately, he was. It wasn't like a super traumatic delivery because it wasn't like I was rushed into a C section, but he was so little that I couldn't be induced to, like, try and deliver him. So he was just teeny tiny. And I remember I went for one of my scans, and they were like, all right, today's the day. And he was born, like, I think three hours later.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How many weeks were you?

[Kara Burge]

I was 34 weeks. Okay, 34, 35. I was trying to make it to 35. He just hadn't grown to 34 weeks. He had stopped growing. So it's called IUGR. Anyway, so is that itty bitty? And yes, it was just a really anxious season. Like, we didn't. We were very lucky. Like, my mom and my mother in law both came to Nashville and helped take care of us. But, I mean, George is trying to figure out his career. He's traveling all the time. Big George. He's traveling a lot. You know, he was doing all that radio tour stuff early in his career.

[Radhi Deblookia]

It was.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And he's gone.

[Kara Burge]

He was gone a lot.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So you're at home and is little George. Is he, like, having. Is he having to have special thing?

[Kara Burge]

No, he didn't have to have any surgeries. Like, fortunately, he was very healthy. There's, like. You can't leave the NICU until they. There's like, three criteria. They have to, like, maintain their temperature, nurse on their own, or feed on their own. And then they have to be over four pounds. He could do everything. He just. Just wasn't four pounds. Like, he was so tiny. So the day we brought him home, I mean, he was, like, this big. It was like having a little tiny puppy. I mean, I could burp him with my hand. I would hold his whole body. He was so little. But that came with a lot of anxiety and a lot of. Like, I didn't have mom friends yet, so we ended up moving to live a lot closer to my sister, and that was a blessing. And. Yeah, then it all kind of. I kind of came out of the woods.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But that.

[Kara Burge]

That was a hard season.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Were you scared when you got pregnant again or did. Was there.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Can you, like, take a. Take something to.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, I was on a Lovenox injection. I think it's called Lovenox, right?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

Fact check that a blood thinner. Basically, like, you just give yourself a shot in the stomach every day, and so that thins your shot.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Mm.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah. And I don't do that very well. I do not do needles well, so I had to learn that. And Luke was fine. He was delivered and fully, you know, grown and everything. He was fine.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What was. Did you have anxiety with the second one, or were you, like, a lot calmer at that point?

[Kara Burge]

Yes, I think I. Not. Not near as bad as the first time around, because, I mean. Oh, my God. The first time around. Talk about not sleeping. I remember having, like, the reoccurring trauma that I thought I lost my baby, like. Or that, like, I was nursing and fell asleep. Or like, that I would, like, wake up sweating and patting the sheets and, like, right. He's in the bassinet right next to me. I know, but I was, like, some weird. Weird.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I wouldn't put Sunny to sleep without the outlet on her foot.

[Kara Burge]

See, I didn't even have that when she was born.

[Radhi Deblookia]

Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I don't know how I was so worried that she was gonna die all the time. Like, just constantly. It was just so much stress.

[Kara Burge]

Did you monitor beeping noises of like, oh, my gosh. The nicu.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh, my gosh. And you have that haunting your mind yeah, well.

[Kara Burge]

And you always had the reassurance that, like, there was a nurse close by when they were in the nicu, Right. And then they came home, and it was like, everything was so scheduled. Like, he ate at 8, 11, 2, and 5, and, like, it was. I already had all this milk because I had been, you know, pumping and making sure that. So it was all, like, scheduled. And then with Luke, we had to just kind of. We're like, oh, my God, they just let us take this baby home. I know.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Like, just let you leave.

[Kara Burge]

I need a brochure again, like. Or instructions.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So you kind of actually felt like you were kind of getting a little. Like, it felt a little stable with the NICU in a way, because you had the support.

[Kara Burge]

Oh, I cannot imagine. Also, like, if I had to do NICU and I had another child, I've had friends go through that, where I'm like, oh, my gosh, we were so blessed. We lived right there by St. Thomas. Like, we were downtown, and I just waited at that hospital all day long for a month. Like, if I had another child, I wouldn't have been able to do that. Thank God that, you know, so we survived it. And that. That was a tough season. But

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

what was your takeaway about life from that season?

[Kara Burge]

I guess just looking back and seeing, like, my younger self, I had no clue. And I just figured it out as, like, we grew together. We grew together, and we matured together in so many different ways that, like, I can look at a young mom that's, like, super anxious, and, like, I recognize it, and I see myself, and I'm like, gosh, wow, look at how much I've grown since this. So, like, you just develop that, like, maternal intuition. Not even maternal, but, like, as a parent, like, you just. God gives you what you need, and it's hard to, like, see that when you're in it. And I think even that's true now. Like, I know that in five years, 10 years from now, wherever we are in our careers, that, like, we'll think that same thing looking back at, like, this version of us. But it is kind of sweet to look back and be like, oh, my gosh, look at what we did. Like, good for us. And you didn't together, like, kill each other.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Right?

[Kara Burge]

You. You know, our marriage survived it. Our.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How did your marriage survive? Because that can be a very trying time. How did y' all come together instead of tear apart?

[Kara Burge]

You know, George is a great dad. Like, he's. He's a great husband. He. He's just A good dude. And he's not telling me to say this, but I do think pills.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I'm waiting for you when you get home. Yeah. 200 pillow.

[Kara Burge]

I've seen a lot of our friends that, like, probably just struggle in their roles of, like, parenting and, like, who does what. And I'm staying at home now for a long time. I was working. You did real estate? I did real estate, yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Was that fun in Nashville?

[Kara Burge]

Yes. I loved it. I loved, loved it. And I'm like, I still would love to, but he's never home, so it doesn't really work with our hours very well.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You could always come back to it if you wanted to.

[Kara Burge]

My kids need me less and less, and that kills me. No, but I'm like, once they're older, I would. I'll probably go back to that. But anyways, I feel like George did. George and I both. We always support each other when we're home and we're together, and it's like, yeah, this is normally all my loads that I do when you're gone and you're on the road, but when you're here in your home, like, he cooks dinner and he helps. Like, he does a lot of the stuff with the boys, and he wants to put them to bed and wants to do the. Give me a break too. So I feel like we just see each other and we support each other's needs. Like, he sees me, and he knows me so well to know what I need, and vice versa. Like, I know he's exhausted when he gets home, and I know how horrible it is to sleep on a bus or travel or take three flights lights in a, you know, four days. And I'm like, I see that. Not everybody sees that. I'm like, yeah, it looks like he gets to be home all day and have two days off. And I'm like, he never gets days off. So.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So when he. Okay, so y' all moved to Nashville, you Does he quit his corporate altogether when he gets the manager and says, move to Nashville? So y' all are just, like, taking a. To jump back into this part of the story. So he's just gonna take this leap of faith because, like, no money's coming in yet. Like, it's not like he has. Does he have a publishing delay?

[Kara Burge]

So that Austin house that we flipped. Yeah. Thank God you sold it. We sold that for, like, double the value.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And that's what you lived off of.

[Kara Burge]

Yes, we saw. We doubled the value of that house,

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

and it was like, let's do this.

[Kara Burge]

Thank God for His dad and his uncle that were putting in all this, like, labor and helping us because we had no clue that, like, that investment would have just added such a tremendous value. The real estate in Austin went crazy. You flipped the house and you moved

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

and could live and survive off of that.

[Kara Burge]

Yep. While we moved here.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Did you quit your job too?

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So y' all both were jobless?

[Kara Burge]

Well, I immediately. I already had a job lined up before we even got to Nashville. Good for you, Karen. I was like, no, I gotta work. Well, we gotta do something.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

What was your job? I worked for a recruiting company and it was horrible. And I remember being like, I'm not a quitter. So this is a new job and I can't quit now. What am I going to do? And it. I knew from the first few weeks I was like, I'll never be happy here. This is just not my speed. This is different kind of recruiting than what I was doing back in Austin. So how long did you stick it out? Let's see. I remember I quit on my birthday.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Good for you.

[Kara Burge]

I quit on my birthday and it was like, you. Because it was sales, basically. Cold calling recruiting. You don't like, give it two weeks. You just get to leave. And so I was like, well, I think I might just do it today then if. And I went to the zoo with my sister and I was like, oh, this is so fun. I just like left that day. And I remember. So that was March, never came back. So I only worked there for like, yeah, not even five months. And then I started real estate. And by the grace of God, all of the people that I worked with in that job were ready to buy their first homes because they were all making money and they were like, young. And so I became like the first time home buyer specialist. And it was just my thing and it was great and I love it. So I love you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

God is setting you up, though, because all these experiences are like compounding upon each other and they all work together. Like, even like George working at his corporate, but then playing his gigs and like everyone coming to watch him that created this buzz. It's like nothing has been for not.

[Kara Burge]

I know. I love. I love doing this because it's not often that you, like, go through these early fate, like, and you reflect, especially George when he's interviewing. He doesn't like, cover those little details. Everybody wants to know about, you know, the next song or whatever. Not me.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I don't care about the next song.

[Kara Burge]

Right. I want to know about the whole story.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How did we get here. And how does it all work together? You know, because it does.

[Kara Burge]

So many little things had to happen.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So you had the job you hated, but it got you great.

[Kara Burge]

I mean, I would. Nobody would have called me to buy a house because I didn't know anybody.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And everyone calls you. So how many houses do you sell?

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, I wish I knew. But, like, I don't know. I'm telling you, out of that company alone, it was probably like over 15.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Holy cow. So you're probably like the all star real estate agent, too.

[Kara Burge]

It was. It was wonderful. And then I. I joined a company that I love, and I still like, value those relationships so much. But I was like one of their youngest age agents, and so they were like, oh, well, if you're looking in East Nashville, it's up and coming. Call Kara. And so then I was like the East Nashville girl for a long time. I was like, this is so funny.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Was it so fun, like, doing, like, going and looking? I love looking at houses too.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I'll just do it for fun.

[Kara Burge]

And I tried. Like, I still. I guess it was really Covid that I stopped working full time. I would, like, try and do part time, and real estate's hard to do part time, to do it really well just because the market's changing so much and, like, you have to be available all the time. So the busier that George got, the harder it was for me to just drop what I was doing and, you know, go work an open house on the weekend or go show property when I've now got two young kids. So then I stopped after Covid and all that, and then he kind of started his career over again and got busy.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Did you stop working before George went viral?

[Kara Burge]

No, I was still working then. Okay. So George, that was all like, I can't believe it. Like, it's so funny, you know, like, that's the. That's the thing for a song called Beer, Beer Truck Truck.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Beer Beer Truck Truck.

[Kara Burge]

He hates talking about it. Why. But truly, like, we. We wouldn't be here without.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Was he on Tick Tock?

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So that's when Tick Tock was taking off.

[Radhi Deblookia]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So he just hopped on board Tick Tock and started posting songs.

[Kara Burge]

Songs. Well, he went on a writer's retreat in Texas, and because Covert shut the

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

world down, so he kind of stopped touring. Everything was sort of at a stop.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Anyway, so he was. Now he was like, okay, let me just see what this.

[Kara Burge]

I hope I'm saying this right. Clay Walker told George. He was like, man, if there's any advice you need to get on Tick Tock. He was like Clay Walker.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I know.

[Kara Burge]

He was like, listen, you could play your songs, you know, maybe once a week at a gig to 5,000 people or you could get on the Internet right now and like hundreds and thousands of people could see it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So why would you Clay Walker.

[Kara Burge]

And he was like, all right, man.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How is he friends with Clay Walker? Just through the music community. Did Clay just. They hit it all.

[Kara Burge]

He had a right set up with him during COVID I love Clay Walker. And I remember because he was like, we had a basement room that he would write in. And he was like, all right, I'm going on to Zoom. I'm gonna see. I'm writing with Clay Walker, like on a Zoom.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Did y' all love Clay Walker as much as I Love Clay Walker?

[Kara Burge]

100 person.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

There was this woman and there was this man. Are you kidding me? So good theme song to my life.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah. You know, some of his best like mentor friends are Clay Walker and Gary Allen. I mean, could you love Gary and

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

you said Toby Keith too?

[Kara Burge]

Well, yeah. His first label was under Toby Keith's record label. Stop. First. Second. That was the second record label.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Dang.

[Kara Burge]

What's.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Those are some serious mentors.

[Kara Burge]

I know he has been.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How do you hit her with Gary Allen?

[Kara Burge]

He went on tour with Gary Allen. I think that was early in the George. I think early in his solo career. Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

And then we. I remember. Yeah, he plays a lot of golf with Gary. They just played golf this week.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Looking golf.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah. He's become like a good friend.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

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[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, so he went viral. And what does that mean? What does going viral? Like, millions of people see this.

[Kara Burge]

So he had started a. There was a. A viral. I think he was literally searching, like, country music viral. And it was this girl that was making fun of country music, and she's like, it's all beer, beer truck, truck and girls in tight jeans. And so he made, like, a little duet to it where he's like, I kind of like that. Maybe I could write a song. Like, stop joking around about how music did you edit with this girl? Well, not. You know how, like, TikTok you, like, respond to it. Yeah. So he actually wrote a song that sounded like a real song you'd hear on country radio. And it's like, it ain't all beer. And so he's singing that lyric and it went viral. Like, he ended up having. I have no idea. Millions, hundreds of thousands. I don't know what viral is, but, like, he literally got a record deal because of it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And who's Toby Keith?

[Kara Burge]

He ended up, like, going into the studio with this song, giving this girl writer's credit.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

She's a writer?

[Kara Burge]

Yes. Stop it. Because it was like, her line. And then they turned it into a song and released it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Is she on the song?

[Kara Burge]

No, but she's like a music teacher somewhere. No, they've never met in real life.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Stop it.

[Kara Burge]

But have spoken several times.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Is she stoked that she's on the song?

[Kara Burge]

Yes. She, like, reached out to him the first time. She got, like, her first. First royalty check. So wild.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Come on.

[Kara Burge]

So anyways, people loved it. And then he had left it did well. Okay. I mean, I don't know, but, like, it was a dream dwell. It wasn't like a radio single or anything, was it?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

He signed with Keith.

[Kara Burge]

Is that he signed him, then he got signed to. No, because that.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

The.

[Kara Burge]

I'm like, how many labels have.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

It's a long thing when you're in this music industry.

[Kara Burge]

Then he went to records, which is where he's at now, and was as a solo artist. Where? Records. Nashville. Okay. And so, yeah, he was like, literally getting calls from record labels being like, we've heard you're not. You know, because now he's. He was not in a Band anymore. He was really just kind of pursuing the song, figuring out, like, do I even have the energy to, like, start this again over from the beginning and, like, rebrand completely to go solo?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I mean, that's scary when you've been in a duo and, like, have to start something because he's starting over.

[Kara Burge]

I know the duo. I mean, it. That was a long. I think at that point it was the seven years. So he's like, financially, is it going to make sense to, like, start this over? Do we have enough time to, like, make this work to support our family and. Or do I just need to go, you know, sell real estate with you or something? Yeah. So we were kind of at a crossroads trying to figure that out. Yeah. And. And it worked out okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So he got the record deal from Beer. Beer Truck. Truck, yeah. He's still on that same record deal with Records.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And so now then he went on to have two number ones.

[Kara Burge]

I hope I'm saying all this right.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

We think this is how it went. We are almost sure. Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

So his number, his first number one was Mind on you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

And that song, I want to say they. They both technically went number one in the same year, which was not.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So this worked out. As soon as he got a solo, it was like, boom.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, it really kind of took off. He. He was on some great tours.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And that's where Gary Allen came in.

[Kara Burge]

Gary Allen was before. It was a little earlier, but what

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

tours did he go on?

[Kara Burge]

Once he was on tour with Sam hunt, with Parker McCollum.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kara Burge]

And then Luke Bryan.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And your son's name is Luke. So I saw you'll have pictures of George and Luke and George and Luke.

[Kara Burge]

Isn't he great?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Because like, like, you got two George.

[Kara Burge]

And we love Luke. Like, he's become such a good friend. And I'm like, what are the chances of George and Luke? Like, I. I always make cheesy jokes. I think one of the first times I met Luke Bryan, I told him, I was like, we named our son after you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Did you?

[Kara Burge]

And he looked at me like I was serious. And I was like, you wouldn't be shocked. I bet a lot of people probably actually do that. I was like, I was joking, but kind of funny. So.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So he went on tour with Sam Hunt. Wait, who'd you say after that?

[Kara Burge]

Parker McCollum. Parker McCollum.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And then Luke Bryant. And now Luke Bryant is on his.

[Kara Burge]

All amazing artists and amazing, like, crews. I mean, he was so blessed. Like, I. I didn't really know Because I've heard some horror stories that, like, you know, if you get on the wrong tours that you. And you're just the opener for the opener or whatever, it can be kind of rough. And he just, like. Like, met so many great people. They were all, like, so awesome and took care of their people and their openers, and. And now he's on his own headlining tour stop, his very first headlining tour, and it's going so well, and it's like, selling out these venues, and we are pinching ourselves like, it is Kara. Awesome.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, but this is what I'm saying. It sounds to me. I know y' all have had hard trials and tribulations, but it sounds to me like you always come back to just, like, appreciation and fun.

[Kara Burge]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Is that, like, a common thing?

[Kara Burge]

100%.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Like, even when it's harder, like, okay, but we're still having fun. We're still doing.

[Kara Burge]

Have you. You also need to do this with George, but, like, a hundred percent. You would get that from his energy, too. Like, there's not much that really bothers him. You never see George angry how? Like, I mean, I have, because I see the, like, hard parts of this industry.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But how does he keep his. His cheerful disposition?

[Kara Burge]

He just doesn't take it too seriously.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Where does that come from?

[Kara Burge]

I mean, he does. He works hard. He works harder than anyone in his position, or else it wouldn't have worked. Like, there's so many reasons why that, you know, he just. He just kept going. But I feel like he has always had a really fun light to him that, like, people feel that and they know that he's. He's not only fun to be around, but that. I mean, he's genuinely like. Like, good at taking care of his people and making sure he's leading in the. You know, leading his people in the best way. So what does that come from?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Is that God at the center?

[Kara Burge]

100%.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So is God, like, a huge thing for you guys? Is that the. Is that the foundation?

[Kara Burge]

I mean, our. Our leading, most important priority is our. Is God in our family. And our boys are feeling that. And I feel like we're doing a good job at teaching them that. And the more we've grown and leaned into our faith, the more doors have opened in a way that was like, you know, you can try as hard as you can to do all the right things and, like, work and take every gig and opportunity and travel, but, like, he was just exhausted by the end of it. And I think there was, like, a lot of maturity when he went from post Covid just trying to trust not only himself, but, like, lean on his

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

faith, too, instead of just willing it himself with his human spirit and determination, being like, I'm actually gonna just, like, turn this over to you. God, that's a big moment. It's a big shift. Everything shifts after that. Do you think?

[Kara Burge]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So he really made that shift?

[Radhi Deblookia]

Yes.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How did you do that?

[Kara Burge]

You know, like I said, I want you to bring him in. You really do. Part of me was like, he's home today. Should I tell Caroline that George should come? Because I feel like you'd love talking to him, too.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah, that's a big moment to be able to, like, say, okay, yes, I am determined, and I'm a human, and I have these dreams, and I'm making them happen, but actually, I'm gonna turn this over to God, you know, And

[Kara Burge]

I might not know what it looks like, because I think for a long time he would try and craft, like. Like, I'm doing this to end up in this version of what I feel like success is, but really, like, what is success to us now? And is that so different than what you were trying to fit. Make fit five years ago, 10 years ago, or whatever? And if I'm being honest, I just feel like we've had this conversation very recently. We're like, this is success. I don't know what we're chasing anymore. Like, we have everything that our hearts want. Like, we have safe, healthy children. We have a healthy marriage. Like, we have each other, that we are, like, known and seen and understood by each other. And, like, we have a support system around us. So, like, honestly, we figured out enough. And my husband is very driven to, like, make sure that we have security. He is often, like, anxious. Like, all he wants is to know that, like, okay, I want to know that I've worked hard enough to, like, take care of my family so that we can have the luxuries. Like, we're getting to live. And I just want to make sure that there's enough longevity so that we can do that, so that he doesn't have to tour when he's, you know, 60 years old, play to empty bars anymore. He's like, as long as I can get to the point where, you know, I feel secure enough that, like, this career worked and provided for my family in a way that, like. Like, I can feel peaceful and feel like we didn't just burn through, you know, money on all these stupid things in our 30s, but. And I feel like we're getting to the point where it's like, okay, this is working, and. And I really trust him, and he's made great. Been just, like, a great leader for our family and Cara. So. Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What a ride.

[Kara Burge]

Thank you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I mean, but what a ride for you to be so supportive, because not all. All spouses and partners can go along with this life, you know, but you seem like you're made for it just as much as he is.

[Kara Burge]

I hope so. I mean, yeah, I think so.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

The fact that you're so willing to just be in the season, trust it, like, let one thing lead to another, you know?

[Kara Burge]

Well, and I think, like I said earlier, he sees me and, like, we know each other so well. He just caters to my needs, too. Like, we both meet each other where we need to be supported, and that's not always the same every single year. So, like, my. The way I needed to feel supported and loved when I was a new mom looked a lot different than. Than now. I just need to feel kind of independent and not a mom all the time. But, like, he's really good at, you know, taking care of me and vice versa, because that's. The work works. Otherwise, we would just, like, miss each other because he'd be exhausted when I'm, you know, like I said earlier, he's always coming home and ready to recharge where I'm like, hey, I need to get out of this house. So, like, we kind of have to balance for each other and see where we're at.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So what would you say now that you've been on this journey for, what, 15 years? It's almost like a long time. Looking back to your younger self, what

[Kara Burge]

do you want to.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What would you tell your younger self?

[Kara Burge]

Oh, like, oh, my gosh, wait till you see this. Because we would have had no idea. What would I say to my younger.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What advice would you give your younger self?

[Kara Burge]

I would tell myself it's. I've always been a Christian and a believer, like, since I was saved at church camp in middle school when I was, you know, probably 12 years old. But I would just tell myself, lean into my faith first before you try and figure it out on your own, because that's where I really, truly have found peace. And I've gone through seasons where I'm like, I'm super anxious because I have a new baby and I'm still learning how to do all these things, or I'm still trying to make friends, or I'm trying to figure out my career or trying to figure out how to make money. But whenever I truly felt, like, connected in my spiritual life and my relationship with Jesus, that's when I really experienced peace of, like. But it doesn't matter if we don't get to this level of what we call success, because we could live anywhere. As long as I can feel peaceful and know that in my heart I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. And I'm serving in a way that, that, you know, God needs me to. And that might be my family, it might be my friendships, it might be something much bigger, and I don't know what that's going to be. But I. I think once I prioritized my relationship with God, it just got easier and it felt so less intimidating, you know?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I love that, Kara.

[Kara Burge]

Thanks.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So what's on the bucket list? Are you just flowing?

[Kara Burge]

We're about to go to Australia.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What?

[Kara Burge]

Yeah. With our boys. Yes. And I.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Are they so excited to see, like, kangaroos?

[Kara Burge]

Been more excited because I don't really. I haven't gotten to, like, travel like this much, like, very rarely left the country other than, like, a few tropical vacations. So we're super excited. He's playing CMC Rocks, which is in Brisbane. Apparently there's a bunch of country festivals over there. And when are you going? March 9th.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

OMG.

[Kara Burge]

I know. So I am, like, in planning mode. I'm having so much fun. I. I'm anxious about flying so far with my kids. I mean, I. I told George I think about the flight as much as I think about the trip. It's a 15 hour flight from LA, so first we got to get to LA. Yeah. And then over the ocean. Yeah. For 15 hours.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

But we'll go and, like, spend two weeks and I'm so excited.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh, my gosh. And the boys are gonna love it.

[Kara Burge]

Yes. I can't wait. Yeah, we're gonna do like, the Sunshine coast is like a bunch of beach towns, so I. That's probably what I'm most excited about. But we're flying into Sydney, so we're gonna see the big city and like the harbor and. And we're gonna go the Australia Zoo. So super excited. Yay. I cannot wait. And then after that, we're almost like, to summer.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Can you believe it?

[Kara Burge]

It all happens so fast. And I am just so ready for it to be summer. Oh, my kids love school, but I'm like, y', all, I don't like having a schedule.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So how old are what grades are then?

[Kara Burge]

They're in first and third. Okay. So yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Then just Freedom of no Schedule.

[Kara Burge]

Freedom of no schedule. And I cannot wait.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And y' all tour as a family, too. Like, so they'll go on the road,

[Kara Burge]

Try as much as we can over the summer. And then, like, with a lot of weekend runs, it just depends. Like, these bigger tours that he was on, they were great to travel with family, because I'm like, we could meet him in a big city and then just bus home or something. Even if we could only take two nights to be there for the weekend. So that's. And then I'll try and do the same thing, like, when I can get away, just me for a few days. It makes it so much easier.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Do the boys stay with your sister?

[Kara Burge]

Okay, So I said, only have my sister here. Recently, George's sister also moved here.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Girl, you are living, right?

[Kara Burge]

And she's living with us right now. It's so great.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kara Burge]

You've been wondering, right? So that's Katie, Georgia's sister. And. And we're trying to convince her to stay in Nashville because she came here for.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

She married. Married, Single.

[Kara Burge]

She's single.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So she's, like, in your house.

[Kara Burge]

Very living. Eligible bachelorette. Oh, my God. You're also male listeners.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Lucky, though, to have her living with you.

[Kara Burge]

We really are. Joy and her golden retriever.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Stop it.

[Kara Burge]

That I'm obsessed with.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kara Burge]

I freaking love her dog.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And does she just, like, love the boys?

[Kara Burge]

Yes. It's wonderful. And it's so great for her to, like, be part of their lives in this season. She's their godmother. And, like, it's. I. I hope I'm speaking for Katie, but I feel like it's as fulfilling for her as it is for them. And it's just. It's been really special, a really special time. And she won't live with us forever. She's probably about to get her own place. But she came here, and she's. She's, like, finished her masters in occupational therapy, and so now, you know, it depends on where she finds therapist. Yes. You've got to connect them list. I'm going to reach out to her.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You got to connect with Amanda because

[Kara Burge]

doesn't she work in the nicu?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Mina's had so many amazing jobs. I don't know.

[Kara Burge]

I just remember maybe her telling me her friend in the nicu, she probably

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

has a lot of resources.

[Kara Burge]

When G was in there, there was an occupational therapist would come, like, bend his little foot, and it was like, this big. And I was like, well, that's the sweetest job ever. I Want that job.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And now your sister in law is an occupational therapist.

[Kara Burge]

I know. Hoping she finds a job in Nashville instead of Austin. And we will can convince her to stick around.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Seriously, she needs to talk to me.

[Kara Burge]

Okay. Okay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay. I always wrap up with Leave youe Light and it's just super open and unless. Is there anything else we need to share? Am I missing anything?

[Kara Burge]

I don't think so.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Kara Burge]

Yay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Just. I just love your life. I love your inspiration. I love your. I love your ability just to flow and find joy and fun. Like I would say finding the fun and the joy in all situations is a common theme with you and George.

[Kara Burge]

Yes. I love that.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Thank you. And it's carried you through.

[Kara Burge]

It's like blessed.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Blessed you though. You know, having fun isn't just like partying and like raging. It's like actually just enjoying the season that you're in for what it is. Like, I'm telling you, like hearing you say that like all the corporate people came to his shows and then you're selling all your corporate people houses. It's like finding that fun in anything. It just carries you through. And what a. What a thing for us all to remember. Honestly, like, have fun with your life. We're here. Have fun. Like, let it be fun.

[Kara Burge]

Yes. I. I try and teach that to my kids and I feel like they're. They are figuring it out. Not only fun, but just. And I feel like that comes from gratitude.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

Like just being so aware of how blessed we have been and how we can pay that forward. And like I tell my boys, just love like Jesus.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Kara Burge]

Listen, if it's a hard day, just try and be a light. Just be. Just love like Jesus. Okay. And I feel like. I feel like it's working.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

So that leads me to my last question, which is leave your light. And it's just dropping some inspiration. What do you want people to know?

[Kara Burge]

I want people to know about me. Specifically about.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Or you or just like if you're gonna drop some inspiration. To sum it up, like, what do you want to leave? What kind of like nugget do you want to leave with people?

[Kara Burge]

I would say, let me think about it. No pressure.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

This is the moment. Kara. It all hinges upon this.

[Kara Burge]

Okay. I would leave with. I think staying connected in my marriage has been probably the most important thing in this career. But also like, that is my life and that is who I am as a mom and as a wife. Just staying connected. Seeing my spouse and my family and my children for their needs and like making sure that Everyone feels seen and loved has really, like worked for us and has, you know, supported us. And I think that comes from our faith that just putting my relationship with God first and, you know, making sure that I feel like I'm led and prayerful and just leading in gratitude in everything that I do.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I love that.

[Kara Burge]

Does that work?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

That's wonderful. Kara Burge, thank you so much for joining me. Where can everyone keep up with you and George because we need to follow his career as well. Where can we keep up with all the socials?

[Kara Burge]

I think I'm Araberge K A R A B I R B I R G E G E and George Burge. Okay, George.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay. New song for George is.

[Kara Burge]

Yeah, it's called Ride, Ride Ride. It's out and it's already like on the charts. Yes, it is.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yes, it is.

[Kara Burge]

Somewhere in there. I can't remember.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Thank you for coming on. This was so fun. I'm so glad to reconnect with you too. I love it.

[Kara Burge]

This was so fun. Yay.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, bye.

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[Kara Burge]

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