There are no What Ifs about it, Kane Brown has vowed to bring the energy when he headlines the C2C: Country 2 Country music festival this weekend.
The Georgia-born singer, 30, will take to the stage at the London O2 Arena on Friday followed by Belfast on March 9 and Glasgow on March 10 in his biggest European shows to-date.
It’s incredible to think that his first gig here was at the 2,300-capacity Forum just four years ago, but in the US last year he played to a sold out crowd of 35,000 at a baseball stadium.
But then, Brown's rise to country music stardom has been nothing short of extraordinary, overcoming poverty and prejudice to become one of the biggest names in the industry.
Recalling the first time he made the trip over the pond, the Heaven singer told the Standard that he didn’t know what to expect.
“I think this is my third time coming over and the first time, I didn’t know how to take it because I’d never really left the States, never really left me home state of Georgia, so I had no idea if they were going to know my music or anything like that,” he explained.
“I remember my first stage they didn’t want me to get off so we just started throwing out random songs and they knew every one of ‘em and some were louder than the ones I thought were going to be huge hits over there so it was awesome to see.”
Teasing what fans coming to see him at C2C could expect, he said he intended to do something different.
“My show I try to make it where it’s a lot of energy so just be prepared for a lot of up-tempo songs. I usually don’t have a big acoustic set, but I might throw some songs in just for the fans over there.
“There are some that I haven’t played in years that I kinda want to pull back out, so we’re gonna see. It’s probably going to be a way different set list than when I play in the US.
“I might ask Carly [Pearce] if she’ll jump on Thank God with me, hopefully Lauren [Alaina] for What Ifs.”
2024 marks 10 years since Brown first began posting his videos of cover songs and amassing an insatiable fanbase which would eventually lead to him signing a record deal.
In his personal life, Brown is currently preparing to welcome his third child with wife and fellow singer Katelyn, whom he has been married to since 2018.
They are already proud parents to daughters Kingsley Rose, four, and Kodi Jane, two, and Brown can’t hide his delight that their new arrival will be a boy.
“I’m excited,” he admits. “I thought I was going to be a girl dad and I was happy for it, but knowing I’ve got my little boy was like it was God’s plan because we weren’t trying, but he was like, ‘Nah, you needed a son’.”
Of his daughters reaction to getting a little brother, he said: “I don’t think they know what it means to have a brother yet, but they know that there’s a baby in there and Kingsley my oldest, every time that me and Katy are about to leave she gives us hugs then she kisses Kate’s stomach and says ‘bye baby, I love you’.”
While he will inevitably be knee-deep in nappies, don’t think music will be taking a backseat.
“We’ve got new music coming, hopefully a new album by at least the end of the year – I feel like I’m almost done with it,” he assures of his highly anticipated fourth studio record.
