Justin Moore says he remembers playing in El Dorado four years ago.
“I don’t know why I remember this, but it was pouring rain,” Moore said in a phone interview, referring to when he played MusicFest in 2014. “The fans were still into it and we went on and played a whole set. It was a lot of fun.”
The Arkansas native will be returning to play at the 31st annual MusicFest next Saturday and said he has heard about the Murphy Arts District from fellow artists who have played at the venue.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about it,” Moore said. “That’s exciting for that area to have something of that magnitude, and obviously we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to play it.”
Moore said playing anywhere in Arkansas is like “playing back home” for him.
“People from Arkansas get why Arkansas is so special and it’s always fun to be able to play in front of Arkansans,” he said.
Moore first moved to Nashville from Poyen, Arkansas, in 2002 and received a publishing deal writing songs in 2004. He signed his record deal in 2007 and released his first single in early 2008.
“So we’ve been really, really fortunate and I feel really blessed to have had a career that’s now been successful for over a decade,” Moore said. “When I first started pursuing this, I just wanted to get a record deal, and then when I got a record deal, I thought, ‘well let me get one song that’s a hit.’
“And we had one hit and I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a one hit wonder, just let me have a couple,’” Moore said. “And you look up and we’ve had 15 or 20 hit records … Everything from this point forward is kind of like the cherry on top.”
Although his career took off after his first hit, “Small Town USA,” Moore said it didn’t feel like it happened fast.
“Anybody out there, pop music, country music … that perception that it was an overnight success, it was probably a lot of years that they were working up to that,” he said. “Everybody has their own path and their own journey and I’m of the belief that everything happens when it’s supposed to happen, and I’m kind of living proof of that.”
Moore said he grew up listening to traditional country music, including Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams Jr. He added that he also really liked listening to southern rock including Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Allman Brothers Band.
“So that probably is the best way to describe my music,” Moore said. “It’s a mixture between real traditional honky tonk country music and southern rock.”
Moore said his favorite artist of all time is Dwight Yoakam. Moore described Yoakam as the Elvis of country music — “one of those guys you couldn’t take your eyes off of.”
Moore said he never set out to do duets with other artists, “and then I look up at some of the people I’ve done duets with and it’s a bunch of my heroes.”
Moore has played with Charlie Daniels, Hank Williams Jr. and Miranda Lambert, who he considers a close friend. Moore also had a hit song with Thomas Rhett and Brantley Gilbert called “Small Town Throwdown” released in 2014.
He added that the most random duet he has ever done was with Motley Crue, “which was pretty funny and fun to do.”
Moore also said he is excited about a song that will be on his upcoming album that he wrote and sang with David Lee Murphy.
In his music career, Moore said his greatest accomplishment is longevity.
“It may sound a little cheesy, but honestly just being successful now for over a decade into it,” he said. “I never dreamed that would be something that would be possible.”
He added that winning a couple of awards and playing at the Grand Ole Opry has also been really special.
“Just having the success that we’ve had and the number of hit records has been awesome,” he said. “But just basically in a nutshell, just being relevant after all of this time.”
When it comes to touring, Moore said his favorite part of every day is the hour and a half he spends on stage.
“There’s not a whole lot of things out there that can duplicate the feeling of having a chance to go out and connect with people through your music,” Moore added.
When Moore isn’t touring, he’s spending time with his family. Moore and his wife have three daughters and one son together.
A typical day for Moore when he isn’t touring includes waking up around 5:45 a.m. and making his daughters breakfast and packing their lunches for school. When returning home from dropping his daughters off at school, Moore said his wife usually has a list of chores for him to tend to.
“Just like any normal couple,” he added.
Although lately, Moore has been busy helping to open his wife’s new boutique in Benton, Arkansas, The Little Piggy, which is a children’s store.
Moore said something most people don’t know about him is that he loves to cook and he’s pretty good at it, too.
“For me, it’s another outlet for me to be creative,” he said. “It’s something I really enjoy doing and my kids love it, so they like to come help me. It’s another opportunity for us to spend quality time together when I’m home. When we’re gone as much as we are, we try to make the most of the opportunities that we have together.”
Moore said he also coaches his daughter’s softball and basketball teams.
“I’m really hands on,” he said. “Probably the most common thing people tell me at meet and greets is, ‘why are you so normal?’ … And I say, ‘well hell, I am normal, I just have a cool job.’”
Moore said the MusicFest concert-goers can expect to hear a mixture of old and new songs Saturday. Moore said they put together a new show every year, and this is “one of my favorites that we’ve put together.”
Moore said that his main goal is for everyone at the concert to leave feeling like they got their money’s worth.
“We’re looking forward to coming back that way,” he said. “If the last time we were there was any indication of how the crowd will be, I’m sure it will be awesome and I cant wait to get down there.”
Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].