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Kip Moore Says Dirt Road May Ruffle Feathers

The last time Kip Moore was in Chicago, we talked all about dirt roads. Well, actually just one dirt road -- the one that led him to his brand new single.

"'Dirt Road' was written around growing up in the Bible belt," Moore explained. "It's about me as a teenager, trying to figure out why I always felt so bad leaving Sunday service at our Southern Baptist church. I was trying to wrap my head around it at 13 years old, trying to process all the hellfire and damnation and wondering why you're feeling so bad.

"That's a lot for a kid. Some people will get their feathers ruffled. I know that. But for me, I have to stay true to what I want to write. So many people chase a trend, but I've always said I never want to do that."

Sounds pretty different from his first few easy-to-love hits, right? And that may be the case for the rest of Moore's upcoming sophomore album. This new stack of tunes will be all kinds of different from his debut album Up All Night.

"I'm gonna always change as an artist," he told me. "The next album is very different. And then my third one will be different from my first two."

Why?

"Because I get so tired of getting a record that sounds just like the last one," he said. "It's like people keep doing the exact same thing."

Moore talked about the evolution of his creative process.

"There's just more confidence now in capturing what I want to capture the way that I heard it in my head," he said. "And the songs are different lyrically because my life is different now. But it will be more personal and will invite you in more than the last one. It kind of lets you into my life. It's not gonna be for everybody. Some might turn it off, but I realize I can't please everybody."

And because Moore grew up with a dad who never made a lot of money but worked tirelessly, his new album album is more blue-collar than his last.

"I think this one will speak a little more about the hardworking everyday man," he said. "I've always had a soft spot for that. So there will be songs that are like tell-offs, ones that are reckless and with no apologies."

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