The big question coming into the first day of the Oro Valley Music Festival this weekend: Will headliner Chris Young and opening act Cassadee Pope share the stage at some point Saturday, Oct. 13, to sing their chart-topping duet “Think of You?”
Young isn’t saying yes, and he isn’t saying no.
So we’ll take that as a more-than-likely.
But don’t be surprised if you see Young, who launched his career after winning “Nashville Star” in 2006, hanging out in the audience while Pope performs.
“That’s one of the best things about festivals, honestly,” Young, 33, said from a New Mexico concert stop in mid-September. “Besides everybody just being outside partying all day, actually being able to sit and watch other people’s shows is just a really, really cool part of that. I will walk out back and forth a couple of times during the day and check out who’s on the show.”
When we caught up with Young, we asked about his show, his songwriting and his induction last year into the Grand Ole Opry.
Having a really good year: “When you start out the year with a whole bunch of sold-out arenas and we’re going back out in the fall, I’m not mad about it. I’m enjoying myself. It’s been going great. ‘Hangin’ On’ is now in the top 10. ‘Losing Sleep’, the first single off the record, came out and was No. 1, platinum song.”
Mixing up the set list: “People are going to hear the hits when they come to the show, but we’re going to mix it up. We’ll probably play maybe one album cut. I don’t play too many things that people haven’t heard before. I’ve been lucky now at this point of my career. I remember when I started I was playing whatever the single was at the beginning, the middle and the end of my show. Not being able to do that anymore and actually being able to cut some stuff (from the show) sometimes is just a really cool feeling. But we will throw in a couple of surprises for sure.”
On Grand Ole Opry induction: “That’s something that’s been on my bucket list for a long time. So, yeah, it’s still a big deal.”
On making music: “I’ve always been writing constantly, even when I’m not on the road. Now it’s just kind of one of those things where I’ve had people cut some of my songs. I’ve cut more of my stuff, especially on the last record. ... But I think for me, just being able to sit down, put pen to paper and be able to create something is always something that’s going to be special.”
Feeding off the crowd: “If you’ve got a crowd that’s losing their minds, that’s obviously going to affect you in the best way. I really do enjoy getting out there on stage when it is a festival setting and it is outside and everybody is having a good time, being able to get out there and make people happy. That’s one of the great things about being a musician: My only job is entertaining people for the 90 minutes or whatever I am up there on stage.”
Songs he loves singing live: “There’s a bunch of those now, which is cool. Still ‘Getting You Home’” — co-written by Tucson native Cory Batten — “which was my first No. 1, my first hit, that one still always gets everybody. Obviously, ‘I’m Comin’ Over’ does that to people. ‘Aw Naw,’ which wasn’t a No. 1, it was just a big ol’ hit and went to No. 3, that song plays like it was a multiweek No. 1.”
