While the touring industry has shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, country singer Drew ... [+]
While the touring industry has shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, country singer Drew Baldridge has found a way to safely tour the country and spread some light to high school graduates. In May, the singer’s 2019 single “Senior Year” saw a resurgence with the class of 2020 on TikTok and Baldridge began brainstorming how to help graduates celebrate their major milestone. What began as several Zoom concerts a day for the graduating class evolved into a mini tour booked by the independent artist.
After watching a principal on the news in Florida discussing the school’s graduation plans in the age of Covid-19, Baldridge’s manager called to see if he could perform “Senior Year” at the high school’s graduation parade for 30 seniors. One concert soon turned into 20 graduation performances and over 60 Zoom concerts once other schools got word of what Baldridge was doing.
“I posted all the news clips after that first one and then a bunch of schools started reaching out all around the country,” Baldridge tells me of the outpouring of requests on social media. “I started saying yes and started hopping in a car, hopping on a plane and going all by myself, just me and my acoustic guitar. It's been a really fun and unique little tour that we started doing.”
An independent artist himself, while Baldridge isn’t making money from the graduation tour he is making a lasting impression on high school graduates and at country radio. In May, “Senior Year” spent five weeks on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart peaking at No. 50 with no label backing.
“It was pretty special to have the song jump into the Top 50 with no team,” Baldridge, who lost his label deal in October 2019, says. “It kind of revived me a little bit. I was in a place of wondering, ‘What am I going to do?’ It not only revived these kids, but it really revived me. My soul needed to know that I was making a difference with music and before you know it, we're out on the road playing these shows.”
Baldridge didn’t get paid for his performances and simply asked if the schools could help him with travel expenses. Sometimes that would mean sleeping on a principal’s basement floor or a local country radio station would put him up in a hotel. All the while, he adhered to social distancing guidelines and would take frequent Covid-19 tests before and after each performance to make sure he wasn’t endangering anyone during his travels.
“I really believe as entertainers and songwriters it's our job to entertain people and to bring a smile. I've been lucky enough to find a way to do that in these difficult times,” he says. “I just wanted to bring a smile and that's what this song has done. It's brought a light to these kids.”
While concerts were very different for Baldridge this year, as he was alone with his guitar and no backing band, he says he’ll never forget performing for the graduating class of 2020. The audience at his drive-in shows would frequently attend in tractors while the usual clapping at the end of each song was replaced with honks from each vehicle.
Baldridge says coordinating each concert himself reminded him of the simplicity of his early days, just him and an acoustic guitar sitting on a stage. “It was about the kids; it was about the music. And I think for me sometimes when I write songs, I forget about that,” he says.
Baldridge penned “Senior Year” in 2018 with Jordan Walker (Luke Combs’ “When It Rains It Pours”) and Tim Nichols (Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying”). He says the song has changed in meaning due to his Covid-19 graduation performances, especially the hook of the song where he sings “Never thought it would disappear/ Senior year.”
“At the time we wrote it, I just meant, ‘Hey kids, live it up. It’s going to go fast.’ For the class of 2020, it did disappear literally,” he says. “The last time they walked the halls was in March and they had no idea it was going to be their last time. I really believe God let us write that song two years ago for this moment.”
