Texas country singer Aaron Watson just reached a career milestone of sorts: His first Top 10 hit on Billboardโs Hot Country charts.
โIf I said I didnโt do a double back flip with excitement, Iโd be lying,โ he said last week from a concert stop somewhere in Kansas.
In late December, โOutta Style,โ off his 11th independently released studio album โVaquero,โ climbed to No. 10. The album itself spent four weeks on the charts, peaking at No. 2.
It wasnโt Watsonโs first trip up the Billboard charts: He has seen three of his albums, released on his own Big Label Records, land on Billboardโs Top 10. His 2015 album โThe Underdog,โ which includes two songs co-written by Tucsonโs own Troy Olsen, debuted at No. 1.
โIt became the first independent album in the history of country music to chart No. 1,โ said Watson, who will play the unofficial Tucson Rodeo concert on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Desert Diamond Casino.
So why the fuss over a single that peaked at No. 10?
Watson doesnโt get mainstream radio play too often. Heโs not the Nashville guy whose music is in steady rotation on stations owned by conglomerates whose names start with the letter โC.โ
Heโs just that guy whoโs been doing country music longer than he can account for and never once got discouraged because he didnโt become the next George Strait or Tim McGraw.
โI was never bitter, and Iโm still not bitter. God has blessed me in lots of other ways,โ he says in his deliberate Texas drawl that punctuates everything he says with an awe-shucks sense of sincerity.
โLifeโs too short to be bitter.โ
So what changed over the course of a 20-year career that has seen him perform 2,500 shows and counting?
For starters, his prolific touring, including hitting 40 states and 10 countries over the past three years.
โBefore we started getting any mainstream radio play, our touring schedule became very, very diverse, playing tours over in Europe and all across the U.S.,โ he said. โBut I think โReal Good Timeโ album charted 10, โUnderdogโ charts No. 1, โVaqueroโ sells nearly double what โUnderdogโ did and becomes the ninth- or 10th-most-successful album release in all of country music last year. I think it was a combination of people finally started listening as well as weโre making better music and writing better songs. ... I think at some point, too, they realized, โMan this guy loves country music and heโs not going away.โโ
And then thereโs his fans, a devoted base of folks including in Tucson, a regular tour stop. They like their country on the neo-trad side, with references to cowboys and rodeos โ which will play well with Saturdayโs Tucson Rodeo audience โ and getting the girl and keeping the home fires burning.
โWe have a fun show. Itโs a family friendly show so mamas can have peace of mind that they can bring their kiddos and thereโs not going to be any dirty words or things like that,โ said Watson, who refers to his fans as family.
โWe always treat our fans like family, and they have taken such good care of me,โ he said. โIโve always said music is not an industry, itโs a family business.โ
With his newfound mainstream radio success, itโs fair to ask Watson if heโd ever consider jumping to a major Nashville label.
โWhy would I? Thereโs a lot of major label artists whose last three albums havenโt charted,โ he said. โIโm an independent artist who has grown his label to be a force to be dealt with.โ
And besides, he has an 8-year-old daughter whoโs already put her daddy on notice: Sheโs entering the family business. She wants to be an actress and a singer.
โSo my job as her dad is, I need to continue growing my record label so that in 10 years, itโs ready for her,โ he said.
