People are gravitating towards Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders because they are doing their own thing. I think people are trying to cut out the middle man and just get to the source and get away from Washington politics.

My guitar, it was new when I got it, but it has a hole like Willie's where it's just worn out from my pinky going back and forth over the wood over all these years. I got Willie Nelson to sign that spot on my guitar. I'm a huge fan of him.

I always say the best applause you can get is when you walk from backstage up to your microphone at a concert. It's also nice to walk up to the mike at an awards show, and that applause is great, too, but the best is when your fans are cheering for you.

No, as an artist, you have to be free to explore all the corners of your heart. There are no boundaries.

I've had some shows where I really plan out what I'm going to say. Then I've had other shows where I'm like, 'Take a sip of the Ole Smoky Moonshine and just let it be natural and cross your fingers that you say the right things.'

I think about me and my dad taking a road trip from Phoenix to Nashville when I was 19. He's no longer here with me, but I still drive that same 1994 Chevy truck. I never have bought a new car.

I mean, the last thing I want to do is be involved in politics.

The radio is not show fun, it's show business. It's money.

You can't write about stuff you don't know about. You have to live it. You have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Live life to be a good songwriter.

I see myself as a serious artist, but yeah, when people come to my shows, they want to hear 'What Was I Thinkin',' 'Drunk on a Plane,' and lots of up-tempo, fun songs.

My dog Jake ran up to Dolly Parton, and he put his nose up her skirt. We were like, 'Oh my God, don't do that.' I didn't know Dolly, and she said, 'Watch out there little doggie, don't start something you can't finish.'

I want to be free to be any version of me I feel like being. I don't want to be McDonald's that serves the same food every time.

Only in country music can you compare an old pickup truck and an old guitar to your wife and turn it into a love song... Thank God for country music.

Country music is always changing but the Opry is always there to serve as a lighthouse for what country music really is. The past, present and future is all encompassed by not only the physical structure of the building but also the radio show.

I really love flying, but it's really nice to jump on a plane, sit back, and let someone else do the heavy lifting, but flying is my main passion for sure.

When I was 13, I was just figuring out how to play 'Eruption,' poorly, by Eddie Van Halen.

I love bluegrass music, I love acoustic music, and I try at the right times to push that a little bit.

A Sunday morning spent reading the paper together, maybe drinking some mimosas, alone, and talking until noon. That would be pretty amazing. Married couples with kids will understand.

I think the great country songs mixed with some of that bluegrass instrumentation - and surrounding all that with a little bit of a rock vibe and energy - is the kind of music I make.

And if I want to get involved in choosing sides, I usually pick hockey or football.

But as far as being an American and loving this country and getting a chance to travel across it every day and meeting people on the road and folks in the military, I love this country on so many different levels.

As a songwriter, you might write every day and throughout the course of a year you might get four songs that are really special.

That's what I love about Nashville and the music community - seeing kids around acoustic music and bluegrass picking parties is the best.

I'm part of the party, getting the crowd fired up, singing songs, pouring drinks, whatever it takes to get them to have a good time. When I walk into the meet-and-greet, someone's always going to have a story, a sad story or a happy story.

Patty Griffin is iconic, and there's no other word to really describe her. She is iconic for a lot of people - not only for me but for a lot of fans. Her voice is one of a kind, and she's such an important figure in the American music scene.

My dad and grandpa were in the army and as a country singer you're constantly playing at military bases all across the country and meeting soldiers and their families and hearing their stories.

I try to make an album that reflects what I love about country music. It's not just all about happy parties all the time. There are some sad songs.

When you go to the Opry for a show or hear it on the radio, you get the whole circle of country music.

I like big shows, a lot of volume and a lot of energy. I love electric instruments. But I do love mixing those with bluegrass instruments and cranking those up, too, with a little bit of that rock energy.

And I'm the biggest country fan there is, but I'm always a little cautious of a slower song or just a song with subject matter.

I'm a huge fan of Billy Idol. I spiked my hair every day like him in 7th and 8th grade.

I'm a member of the George Jones fan club, and I'm a member of U2's fan club.

I also was a huge 'Dukes of Hazzard' fan. I used to have T-shirts that said 'Dierks of Hazzard' custom-made.

I think I've claimed the right to be any version of me that I want to be.

That's what we get to do as songwriters, right? You get to explore stuff.

Whether lyrically or musically, it reaches in there and grabs your soul. That's the stuff I gravitate toward.

I do see the world as being different for girls - especially now, having daughters.

It's not that you can do this calculated move to try to further your career. You just follow what's in your heart, and later you look back and go, 'I was either really dumb or really smart, I can't believe I did that.'

I really can't tell you the feeling I feel, like, being on stage: it's such a high; it's like running a marathon. You just can't get that feeling anywhere else.

I got into rock music at thirteen, listening to Van Halen, learned how to play the electric guitar.

I can act... well, kind of. I'm comfortable in front of a camera.

A typical day for me on tour is a marathon - it's like five days rolled into one.

I try to make sure to get off the bus as much as I can, try to do something during the day that's local to where I am, whether it's hiking or fishing.

I love singing fun songs; I've built a career on them.

My wife is cool enough to let me write about personal things, to be a songwriter exploring the shadowy sides of love.

Most of my read on America is through looking through the front windshield of a bus and hanging out with country music fans backstage.

Being married is one thing, but having kids will completely change you. I still go out and hang with my buddies, but having two daughters will completely change your perspective on the world.

The people I always loved listening to had a little bit of dirt under their fingernails because they had done some living and had these stories to talk about.

I put a lot of pressure on myself. I tell my wife when she's listening to my songs that the slightest hint of whether she likes it or not puts the pressure on me.

I'm surrounded by all these strong women - my publicist, my manager, and my wife - and sometimes I think that women are more evolved than men, and they are able to process a heartache better.