Dad Life

• December 18, 2025Country Music, culture, Dad Life, Masculinity

  Beefing Bros: Making Sense of Gavin Adcock and the Fightin’ Side of Country Music

  What’re you looking at, son? You wanna go? Well, it seems like Gavin Adcock can’t get enough of the fightin’ side of country music, and the media (The Dads included) can’t get enough of his bologna. This week, we dive into the beefs, why country music seems to foster this kind of violent rhetoric, what dads should do about it and how the media landscape makes it all worse.  While you're listening, please take two minutes to fill out our listener survey! What do YOU want to hear about country music and modern fatherhood in Season 3? Survey will be live until January 31, 2026. https://countrymusicdads.com/feedback/

• November 21, 2025Country Music, culture, Dad Life

  Why Thanksgiving is the Ultimate Country Music Dad Holiday– and Why It Gets No Respect

  Thanksgiving doesn't get any respect, but we're looking to change that. The beleaguered middle child of the holiday season, Thanksgiving is often overlooked. Yet so many elements of Thanksgiving (gathering with family, romanticizing our past traditions, and reckless binge-eating, among others) seem to make it the perfect holiday for a dad and for country music. We explore why Thanksgiving doesn't get its due and we take our best shot at creating a Country Music Thanksgiving Playlist.

• September 10, 2025Country Music, culture, Dad Life, Masculinity

  The Mustache Rides Again: Greatest ‘Staches in Country Music (and Beyond)

  This week, the Dads talk about a growing trend in country music and on the faces of men everywhere: the mustache. While facial hair is divisive, this episode takes a light-hearted view of the ‘stache, the correlation between masculinity in society and the prevalence of mustachioed individuals and much more. This is just one long “Change My Mind” segment, and you won’t be disappointed. 

• August 6, 2025Babies, Dad Life

  Why Dads Should Take Parental Leave, Plus a Country Music Dads Update

  Dave goes solo for this episode with a brief update on Country Music Dads' plans in the coming months and with a brief rant about parental leave for dads.

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  July 23, 2025Country Music, Dad Life, Interviews, Raising Girls

  Sean Burns Does It All

  This week, the Dads sit down with Manitoba's own Sean Burns. He’s a sideman, a frontman and a radio man -- and he’s your new best friend. Sean has been playing bass and touring with one of Canada’s best underground country stars, Corb Lund, for years. He makes time for his own solo career as a songwriter and purveyor of classic country sounds as the frontman of Sean Burns and The Lost Country.  And he’s also the evangelical lover of traditional real country music and as the host of the Boots & Saddle Show, your humble home of honky-tonk and beautiful country music by beautiful country music singers, he shares his takes on what make great country music every Tuesday on CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg, and then on podcast services around the globe.  Throughout the show, they discuss the balancing act of being a touring musician with a deep passion for the music and being an engaged father to a young daughter. For Sean, it’s all about how the two worlds influence one another and finding the right balance as he navigates his life with his wife and kiddo.

• July 9, 2025Country Music, culture, Dad Life, Education, Playlists, Stay-at-Home Dads

  Family Vacation is a Lie

  ... or how I traveled with kids on summer break, and all I got was this grape snow cone. This week, the Dads talk about the season of family vacations. While these trips are a tremendous amount of work, all the research and our lasting memories suggest that, although these journeys aren’t exactly vacations, the family trip is incredibly valuable to the family unit.  This episode explores some of the research — both academic and anecdotal — that supports our theory that these trips are great for families (if only in the long term), as well as some of the great country songs that can help us through the grind of the summer family vacation or family trip.

• June 25, 2025Country Music, Dad Life, Interviews

  The Doohickeys on Comedy, Dad Jokes and Country Music

  Our guests this episode are The Doohickeys, a comedic country music duo who are on the rise in the Americana and country music worlds. Haley and Jack join The Dads to talk about their journey from house parties and open mic nights in LA to playing the Ryman Auditorium and releasing their debut album, All Hat No Cattle. We talk about their creative process, the current state of independent country music, and about how Jack was once starstruck by Jon Pardi. We also talk about Dad Jokes: the definition, their proper use, and their pun-filled overlap with country music. This pair is hilarious and we hope you enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at their unique brand of comedy and music.

• June 11, 2025Country Music, Dad Life, Interviews

  Tony Kamel Fights With a Smile: On Fatherhood, Real Stories and Finding Hope in Hard Times

  Tony Kamel, a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, clawhammer banjo and guitar player, and father to a four-year-old girl, joins the show to talk about his latest album, We’re All Gonna Live, and to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the stories and real people that inspired many of his songs. Tony shares how his new-ish role as a father and his relationship with his own late father influences his music in an honest, vulnerable and inspiring interview. Listen along as the Dads commiserate with this stalwart of the bluegrass world about shared family calendars, the challenges of being a working parent, and finding hope in the stories of real people in roots and folk music.  

• May 28, 2025Country Music, culture, Dad Life, Interviews

  Daddy’s Got His Blue Jeans On: A Deep Dive Into Country Music’s Pants

  Blue jeans are ubiquitous in country music. Yet dads (and kids) often choose the comfort and flexibility of "soft pants" over the rich history and unforgiving fit of denim. In this episode, the dads explore how blue jeans fit in our kids' active lives, on dads' expanding waistlines and in country music tropes. They're joined by author James Sullivan (who literally wrote the book on blue jeans) to dive deep into the history of blue jeans in America, culture and music. If you've ever wondered where our blue jeans obsession comes from, or whether you'll ever fit into your suddenly "tight-fitting jeans" again, this is the episode for you. To wrap things up, Dave spends the "Change My Mind" segment trying to convince Donnie that even aging dads should embrace the discomfort (read: suffering) of country music festivals in pursuit of growth and, perhaps, the fountain of youth.

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  April 30, 2025Country Music, Dad Life

  Jason Isbell Canceled Shows for His Daughter: Great Dad or Letting Fans Down?

  A few months ago, mega-star and Czar of the Americana Empire Jason Isbell announced on social media that he was sorry to push back a few dates at large venues across the country to attend his daughter’s school play. In this episode, we discuss whether modern families — especially fathers navigating shifting expectations across their various responsibilities — achieve balance or if we should even try to achieve it. In honor of this topic, we discuss work-life balance, the low bar dads have to live up to as parents and some Donnie and Dave's favorite Isbell songs. Donnie also tries to convince Dave it’s time to get a cowboy hat.