I'm kind of at a point in my career where I can get away with traditional stuff and then get away with some more rocky and pop and edgier stuff, too.

'Dirt Road Diaries,' in my mind, is a perfect country guy song. It speaks to the hard-working guy, and I'm excited for the fans to hear that one.

Anytime you have a fellow artist say, 'Loving the new Luke Bryan album,' that's awesome.

It's kind of like a college degree... when you get one, no one can take it from you. When you get to say for the rest of your life that you've got a platinum album, that really means something.

I'm excited to be part of a movement that's progressing country music. There's always gonna be people saying, 'It ain't country anymore,' but I don't get into that whole deal.

A frustration that I've had recently is that a lot of songs that I listen to draw on scenarios that aren't very realistic, so I just wanted to do something that was more down to earth. And I think my fans, who already know a lot about me, will learn something new.

I quite like American music, like The Fray - I'm a massive fan of them - and The Killers. I also like more acoustic stuff like Ed Sheeran; I like this English songwriter James Morrison and another singer called Ben Howard.

My favorite music isn't necessarily the songs that One Direction come out with. That doesn't mean to say I don't secretly really love some of our songs, which I do.

My personal tastes... I actually like quite a bit acoustic and more mellow kinds of things. I quite like American music, like The Fray, I'm a massive fan of them, and The Killers.

If it hadn't been for Jazz, there wouldn't be no rock and roll.

Jazz is what I play for a living.

I had a chance to play with the best musicians that were coming through because I was pretty good myself or else they wouldn't have tolerated with me.

One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz.

The most important part of my religion is to play guitar.

I don't like nostalgia unless it's mine.

You can't beat 2 guitars, bass, and drums.

If it has more than three chords, it's jazz.

When I was in college, I had a jazz radio show. I called it 'Excursion on a Wobbly Rail,' after a Cecil Taylor song. I used to run around the Village following Ornette Coleman wherever he played.

Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.

I want to write, I want to sing. I want to do the same thing for others, have my music, hopefully do that for others one day, not realizing what I sort of had to climb. I had an idea a little bit, but I think that I underestimated the whole thing.

I believe music should reflect yourself in some way and not just yourself at the given time. I feel that when you die or when you're going, someone's supposed to listen to that music and know everything about you. And I just try to get that across.

I don't think the music industry has done any damage to my faith - it's probably strengthened it because it's made me see how necessary and relevant it is. I think if you don't keep your guard up, obviously there's a lot of potential for being half-hearted throughout the whole process because you can compare yourself to other people instead of the ultimate standard.

Dear Hip Hop, we can't scream 'murder, misogyny, lawlessness' in our music & then turn around and ask for equality & justice.

Most musicians remain poor. But the music that they make, even if it does not bring them millions, gives millions of people happiness.