Russell Dickerson | KYGO Performance Studio
Aug 5, 2024, 4:15 PM
Before opening for friend Sam Hunt at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on Friday, Russell Dickerson made a pit stop at KYGO’s Performance Studio and, taking requests from the intimate audience, performed “Every Little Thing,” “Bones” and “Yours” — two of which have spent some time in the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.
The 37-year-old is a Tennessee native, born in the small town of Union City to a musical family, and made his way to Nashville in pursuit of a career in music. Before setting out on his own, he studied music and graduated from Belmont University. In the years following, he signed with Creative Artists Agency and released his first music in the form of an EP, “Die to Live Again,” shortly thereafter in 2011.
Before the singer-songwriter caught his first big break, he spent years traveling across the nation in his SUV “playing for 25 people and $250 a night.” He was accompanied by his wife, Kailey, whom he married in 2013 — she not only took on the role of wife, but of photographer, video producer and, of course, muse.
He was soon rubbing elbows and touring with revered country artists such as David Nail, Canaan Smith and Thomas Rhett in 2015 and 2016. Also in 2015, he released one of his biggest hits to date, “Yours,” which he wrote with Parker Welling and Casey Brown. The song was a sleeper hit and didn’t make the Country Airplay chart until a year and ten months after its release, entering at number 57. Slowly but surely, the song climbed to the number-one spot in January of 2018.
The song became the title track of his second EP, which debuted on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart at number 14 when it was released January of 2016.
Dickerson wasn’t ready with “Yours” just yet. After signing with Triple Tigers Records in late 2016, he repurposed the name for a third time, using it as the title track for his first album. The LP, released October of 2017, premiered at the number one spot on the Billboard Heat Seeker chart and peaked in the fifth spot on the Top Country Albums chart. The album included other hits for the Tennesseean, such as “Blue Tacoma” and “Every Little Thing,” which both peaked at number one on Country Airplay. Yet another “Yours” was released on the album, this time as an acoustic version.
The “Yours” singer didn’t release another album until late 2020, entitled “Second Symphony.” In the interim, he became a father to his first son, Remington, born in September 2020. Dickerson struck gold on “Second Symphony” yet again with its lead single, “Love You Like I Used To,” another number-one hit on Country Airplay. In November of 2022, he released his third album, “Russell Dickerson.” In June of last year, he released his third EP, “Three Months Two Streets Down.” Later in 2023, he welcomed home his second son, Radford.
In 2024 so far, he’s released two singles: “Good Day to Have a Great Day” and, most recently, “Bones.” During Dickerson’s Performance Studio session, he hinted at the release of new music at the end of August.
