After Years of Hard Work, Local Rising Star Corey Kent Headlines with a Texas Legend
By Allie Spletter
Had you told local country musician Corey Kent five years ago that he’d be considered one of country music’s “Next Breakout Artists” and that he’d be playing alongside Pat Green in an upcoming concert, he would have found it hard to believe. A mere five years ago, Kent, a Bixby, Oklahoma native and now a Frisco-area resident, experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows as a musician when the pandemic hit.
Looking back on that time in his life, Corey remains humbled and full of gratitude to be where he is today, given that, just a few years ago, he was navigating an uncertain path back to stardom. Corey shares, “I just have more gratitude than I would’ve five years ago because five years ago, I was able to make a living playing music and had never really had any major obstacles to doing that. [I] just worked hard and was able to provide for my wife and my family.” He continues, “But, when COVID happened, I went from opening on tour with Toby Keith and being able to play with Willie Nelson and all these amazing things to working for a pavement company to make ends meet.”
During that trying time, Kent also worked part-time at a motorcycle shop in Dallas. Eventually, he began playing music again for free at a Mexican restaurant just down the road in Lewisville, as it was the only place he could play live music at the time. “To come out on the other side of that, to have a number one hit and a double platinum single, and to be mentioned in these lists of being the next breakout country artist – it’s kind of hard to wrap your mind around when you’ve gone through the winding path that I went through to get here, but it just makes you that much more grateful because you realize what almost wasn’t,” Kent admits.
Since making his way back onto the country music scene, Kent has achieved over 800 million on-demand career streams and earned several accolades, including being named a CMT Listen Up Artist for 2023 and a Pandora Artist to Watch. He is a member of The Opry Next Stage Class of 2023 and the Sirius XM Class of 2022 and received a nomination for the AIMP Nashville Country Award’s AIMP Rising Artist-Writer of the Year. In June 2023, he released his major label debut album, Blacktop, which includes his certified platinum single, Wild As Her. The song, with nearly 475 million on-demand streams, contributed to his nominations for Breakthrough Male Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Awards and the People’s Country Choice Award for New Artist of 2023.
Having been on tour through the years with the likes of Parker McCollum, Eli Young Band, Cody Johnson, Flatland Calvary, and Koe Wetzel, Kent is currently on the road with his headline tour, Black Bandana Tour 2024, featuring music from his sophomore album Black Bandana. His second album is a testament to his perseverance and against-the-odds inspiration, mixing themes of integrity, resilience, and family with a rock-infused country grit that falls beautifully between Bruce Springsteen and Brooks & Dunn.
Kent’s music and his signature sound have long been touted as rock-infused country with a red-dirt country grit – something on which he prides himself and his music. In such a vast genre, Kent considers his sound to be something that sets him apart from other artists. “I have a tweet that I put out back, I don’t know, a year or two ago, and I said, ‘Rock and roll ain’t dead. It just moved to Texas.’ And I believe that. I think there are so many great Texas country artists that have a lot of rock and roll [in their sound]. You talk about my friends like Koe Wetzel, Treaty Oak Revival, and Whiskey Myers…all of that rock found a place to basically live in country [music],” Kent explains.
“I think the country genre is getting wider, so to be mixing rock with country music – I don’t necessarily think it’s the most unique thing in 2024. I think what sets us apart is that our songs are just extremely commercial but also extremely deep lyrically, which is rare. I feel like a rare combo. It’s not just the typical beer truck country stereotype. It’s songs that really have some heart and some passion behind them,” he adds.
While cities like Nashville and Austin are often the first to come to mind when considering where to find live country music, along with a general excitement and love for the genre, North Texas, Frisco in particular, has begun to position itself as a destination for music and the arts. Next May, Frisco will host the American Country Music Awards (ACMs) at The Ford Center at The Star for the third year in a row, attracting country artists and fans from around the nation and garnering excitement and support for the genre, something Kent feels is an absolute win.
Of the recent rise of country music popularity in Frisco and North Texas, he shares, “It’s been really cool to see the support for country music in general, but also the ACMs. I’d say it’s the one week every year where I feel like it’s more convenient to live in North Texas than Nashville. As a country artist, it’s amazing to be able to walk the red carpet and [afterward] drive 30 minutes and go sleep in your own bed. It’s been amazing for me, but I just think that Nashville and the country music community have realized what a staple Texas is to the [country music] scene. The fans down here are second to none…maybe the hardest fans to win over, but probably the most loyal fans in the world too.”
Next Friday, October 4th, Kent and Texas country music legend Pat Green are set to play Choctaw Grand Theater, something Kent feels is still surreal, though he’s played with some of country music’s biggest names. Green’s Texas country music career spans over two decades, having created music deeply rooted in Texas culture, which has made him a cornerstone of Texas music. Their October 4th show isn’t the first time Kent has had the opportunity to play with Green, though, as he opened for him New Year’s Eve in Austin at the Moody Theater a few years ago, a time in which Kent was able to learn from the storied country artist.
“That was really the first time that we got to meet, and we did some promo for that. I just really learned a ton from watching him interact with the camera and reading lines to promote the show. He was just such a natural, so he rubbed off in that way. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Pat. We went to Cabo last year together for Casey Donahue’s Boots on the Beach Festival, and we got to hang out for a week or two,” Kent recalls. “But in terms of the show, Pat puts on an incredible show.He’s great live, and his songs are great. He’s just an easygoing dude that is one of those staples of the Texas scene. And when they called to co-headline the show together…I don’t know…it still doesn’t quite feel right. Even a couple of years ago, I was just happy to get a call to open for anybody, much less Pat Green. And now to get the call that we get to go in and play this show together – it’s really cool, and it just shows how far we’ve been able to come in just a few short years.”
After his show next weekend, Kent looks forward to getting back on the road to continue his Black Bandana Tour, which has received a great response since the tour began – something he hopes will continue. He shares, “We sold out the first few shows and are making our way back towards Texas and Oklahoma, and then we’ll make our way onto the East Coast. After that, what’s going to be really fun will be headlining our tour in the UK. We’re going to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Glasgow, Scotland, London, and Manchester. It’s just going to be really fun to bring our full band over and play some music even across the pond.”
Corey Kent and Pat Green’s Choctaw Grand Theater show will be held Friday, October 4th, beginning at 8 p.m. For more information visit chocktawcasinos.com or ticketmaster.com. To learn more about Corey, his music, tour dates, and where to find his music, visit corekentofficial.com. You can find Corey on Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) and across social media channels @coreykent.
