Stars and Strings 2024: Parker McCollum

Audacy Country

We sat down and talked with Parker McCollum about everything from being a new father to hunting! As it turns out, his son who is only a few months old isn't a ton of help with hunting... yet!

Transcript

00:00Are we live right now?

00:05We're recording.

00:06Are they recording?

00:07I don't know.

00:08We all have the mics.

00:09We are ready.

00:10Okay, and go.

00:11It already happened.

00:12Okay.

00:13There we go.

00:14Y'all missed the interview.

00:15And it's over.

00:16Did you get anything yet this year?

00:17I did not.

00:18I've only set two times.

00:19It's kind of funny.

00:20I played a deal in San Antonio on Saturday night, and then our ranch is about an hour

00:23and a half from there.

00:24So I took my three-month-old son to the ranch for the first time, which he's good for nothing

00:29out there, but, I mean, just can't do a dang thing.

00:34But my dad and stepmom, thank you, and my wife went with me, and we had a couple nights

00:38out there.

00:39And I set Sunday night and Monday morning, and the deer that I've been looking at on

00:45camera for two months, within 10 minutes of sitting in the stand the first day, damn near

00:50had his horn in the window.

00:51What?

00:52Yeah, it was kind of crazy.

00:53That never happens.

00:54That never happens.

00:55I know.

00:56I didn't even shoot.

00:57I was like, it's too early.

00:58I don't even want to end it yet.

00:59That's not exactly what will happen, right?

01:00Yes, ma'am.

01:01You're like, it's...

01:02Oh, that never happens.

01:03Wait all year and then 10 minutes into the first sit, he's sitting there looking at you.

01:05But how funny of a problem to have.

01:07That's a good problem to have.

01:08But it was cool to see him up close, see him on the hoof, and kind of get a better picture

01:10of him and really kind of age him better.

01:12And he is like...

01:13He's an old deer.

01:15He's probably...

01:16He's five at least, probably six years old, so...

01:18Okay.

01:19It's time.

01:20When did you first start hunting as a kid?

01:21Oh, well, when I was itty-bitty.

01:23I remember my dad wouldn't really let me go until I was probably six or seven.

01:29Probably because you couldn't be quiet.

01:31Now that I just took major to the ranch, I'm like, oh yeah, he's not going for a while.

01:36But I remember being little bitty and just bawling, crying, screaming when they would

01:41leave to go to the ranch or go to the lease or bird hunt or whatever because I couldn't

01:44go.

01:45I wasn't old enough.

01:46You're like, heart's broken.

01:47You're like, but why won't you take me?

01:48It was shattered.

01:49It was.

01:50And then that first time, do you remember that first time being with him?

01:53First bird hunt, I was probably...

01:54Because we did a long time, a bunch of family friends of ours back home would do a father-son

01:58bird hunt annual deal during dove season.

02:01And I think that was probably one of the first ones I got to go on.

02:03I was probably seven.

02:07Which I had...

02:08I think I was shooting a BB gun and my dad would make me go get the birds, make me think

02:11I shot them.

02:12So...

02:13I brought my son out in the deer blind last week.

02:16He's five.

02:17And we weren't actually hunting.

02:18We just went to go sit.

02:19I'm sure that was eventful.

02:21I was like, I don't know if he's ready to see the actual hunt, see all that yet.

02:27I was like, five might be a little bit young.

02:28I mean, you think about thousands of years ago, as soon as they could walk, they were

02:32playing them.

02:33That is true.

02:34That is true.

02:35There's a survival.

02:36We're all worried about now.

02:37We're like, oh, am I going to scar him for life?

02:38No, it's good for him.

02:39This is good.

02:40This is a good thing.

02:41He got ahold of deer call though.

02:42He was being quiet for about 10 minutes, maybe.

02:43I feel like this is your fault, by the way.

02:47A little buck was standing in front of us and he grabbed the deer call, he started blowing

02:52on that thing.

02:53Good for him.

02:54It was a little coarse though, but it sounds like flatulence.

02:57So he started cracking up and he could not contain himself and then neither could I.

03:02So we're both in the stand laughing and of course the deer ran away, but it was a really

03:06cool experience to be like, just to sit out there with my son and hang out.

03:09That's a big deal, man.

03:10That is absolutely a big deal.

03:11But that's what it's all about, is making memories, right?

03:14I don't know.

03:15I don't go hunting.

03:16I'm not making any memories.

03:17I mean, it's like they always say, you don't go fishing to catch a fish.

03:20It's all about the people you're with and the memories.

03:23Yes, ma'am.

03:25We talked about the song Santa Fe as well with Miranda Lambert.

03:30This is some pretty exciting news.

03:32Can you tell us how all that came about?

03:33I was actually in the studio cutting this record before I completely scrapped it and

03:39switched producers and went and did a whole nother deal.

03:42But I was in singing some vocals on it and then some stuff we'd cut earlier in the year

03:45and she had texted me and said, hey, if you want to sing this song with me, go ahead and

03:52take a listen to it.

03:54If you don't want to do it, all good.

03:55I mean, it could have been Happy Birthday.

03:57I was going to sing it with her.

03:58I'm such a fan of hers.

04:00And I mean, I'm not lying on God.

04:03Ten seconds in, I was in.

04:05The melody's so good from the first second that song starts.

04:08And I don't even think I listened to it all the way through.

04:11I texted her back and I was like, I'm in.

04:14Are there any texts from artists like that, like that just, I mean, I'm sure that kind

04:18of, don't you sit back and go, what is this real?

04:20Is this real life right now?

04:21I've had some good moments like that.

04:23Yes, sir.

04:24Some wild.

04:25And then some not artists, just some athletes and stuff.

04:26Wait, wait, wait.

04:27What athletes?

04:28Like, who were you like, holy moly.

04:31I wouldn't want to drop any names.

04:33You can drop, I'm asking.

04:34You're not name dropping if we're asking.

04:36There's been, I mean, it's crazy.

04:37Like some of the greatest athletes of all time, some of the best quarterbacks of all

04:40time and basketball players of all time just popped up on my phone one day.

04:43So that's never bad.

04:45That never puts you in a bad mood.

04:48But the Miranda thing, like we've been friends for a long time.

04:51She's a Texas girl.

04:52And we've known each other.

04:53I've played shows with her before and we've become good friends over time.

04:57And I'd always kind of wondered if, I'd always wanted to ask her to do a song, but I never

05:01really had the guts to do it.

05:02I didn't want to make her tell me no and or make her have to do something she didn't want

05:05to do.

05:06So I was glad she asked me.

05:07It worked out well.

05:08It did.

05:09Thank God.

05:10And then we're like a month away now from the CMA Awards.

05:13We are.

05:14A month.

05:15No, I'm sorry.

05:16It's next week.

05:17A week away.

05:18It's like five days.

05:19Five days away from the CMA Awards.

05:20Can you talk to us about that?

05:22Because aren't you performing?

05:24I may be.

05:25I don't know if that's been announced yet.

05:26I could be.

05:27No, we can't talk about it yet.

05:29I'm sorry.

05:30Can we not talk about it?

05:31I could be performing.

05:32How about this?

05:33Okay.

05:34How about this?

05:35George Strait is also here.

05:36Can we talk about that?

05:37George Strait is going to accept the lifetime, the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award

05:42at the CMAs.

05:43How cool is it for you to be there to watch that happen in person?

05:46It's pretty good.

05:47I might be a small part of that.

05:49That's where I was leading the witness here.

05:52Maybe.

05:53We don't know yet.

05:54We'll see.

05:55I don't know.

05:56It's going to be very exciting.

05:57Yes.

05:58That's all we know right now.

05:59It will be.

06:00And congratulations on What Kind of Man as well.

06:02We love the song.

06:04And thank you for being here at Stars and Strings with Odyssey.

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