Country Music Dads

Recent Posts

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.
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.
May 14, 2025Country Music, Interviews

Ted Russell Kamp: A Founding Father of Alt-Country

Ted Russell Kamp, a Los Angeles-based musician, songwriter, producer and country music dad, joins Dave and Donnie to talk about the evolution of modern country music from his perspective as one of the forefathers of the modern alt-country movement. Ted's balance between touring, producing, songwriting, and building a family is unique and inspiring. We also explore his time with Shooter Jennings, his recent solo work and drop a boatload of stories from his time on the road and in the studio.
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.
April 16, 2025Album Review, Country Music, Dad Life, Masculinity, Raising Boys

Luke Combs’ “Fathers & Sons” Reviewed: An Emotional Country Gut Punch for Modern Dads

If you're a dad in need of a good cry, consider this your warning: Luke Combs’ album Fathers & Sons hits hard. In this episode, the Country Music Dads give a full, unfiltered review of Fathers & Sons because, honestly, it was inevitable. The Dads weigh in on the best and worst songs and the overall impact of this album on country music, modern fatherhood and their emotional state of mind. Plus: Dave goes full throttle in an impassioned “Minivan Rant” and tries to change Donnie’s mind once and for all.
April 2, 2025Children's Books, Country Music, Education

Country Grammar: Children’s Lit with Some Country Grit

The Country Music Dads dive headlong into the world of children’s literature, pop culture and its intersection with country music. We discuss the viral video of Ludacris’ incredible rapping of the book Llama Llama Red Pajama, discuss our favorite kids' books, which ones would make incredible country music songs and who should cut them.