Fresh off the release of his EP “Cut Me Some Slack,” Chris Janson is sure to show Minnesota country fans a real good time when he takes the stage at Ramble Jam Sept. 20 at the Dakota County Fairgrounds.
Janson released his self-titled debut EP last week with Bigger Picture Group. The five-song release, produced by Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band), features Janson’s brand new single “Cut Me Some Slack” and his Top 40 hit “Better I Don’t.”
“The EP is a prerequisite of what’s to expect from the record,” Janson said during an interview last week with MinnesotaCountry.com. “It’s all true stories, and some gospel.”
Janson is currently in the studio working on his first full-length album that he expects to release by the end this year or early next year.
Janson has opened for Merle Haggard, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr., and has logged more than 150 live shows so far this year.
“When I come to Minnesota, I just love the people,” Janson said. “The people up there are so great to me.”
As an avid outdoorsman, Janson said the beauty and landscape of the North Country struck him the first time he came to Minnesota.
“I thought, oh I bet the white tail hunting is good up here,” Janson said.
But Janson said his favorite part about playing in Minnesota is the country fans.
“The country fans are unbelievable up there,” Janson said. “It was something I didn’t expect for whatever reason, and it was a pleasant surprise.”
Janson, a multi-instrumentalist, brings a style of his own to the stage.
“You can expect a real good time,” he said. “A set full of high energy and real good country music.”
Originally from Perryville, Missouri, Janson moved to Nashville, and on his first day in town, secured a year-long, four-show-a-day gig at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on Nashville’s Lower Broadway.
He lived on tip jar money in a tiny apartment learning to work a crowd—impressing tourists, locals and celebrities alike.
Along the way, Janson has caught the ear of Neil Young, Rob Reiner and members of Guns N’ Roses, and toured Europe with Hank Williams Jr.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Janson said. “It’s a huge honor and blessing to be here … to be one of the fortunate few to have anything at all going on like this is an absolute blessing.”
Janson is a family man, too.
“I’m 100 percent a family man,” he said. “There is nothing more important to me than my kids, my wife and my family.”
In fact, it was Janson’s wife, Kelly Lynn Roland, who first told him he had a hit with the song “Truck Yeah.”
Shortly after the birth of their youngest daughter, Janson said he was playing demos and songs for his wife.
“One of the songs I played for her was ‘Truck Yeah’,” Janson said. “It was a song I wasn’t even going to turn into my publisher—and my wife looked at me and said, that’s a smash hit.”
Shortly thereafter, through a mutual friend, Janson’s wife got “Truck Yeah” in front of Tim McGraw, and it eventually became the fastest-rising single of McGraw’s career.
“It doesn’t usually work like that,” Janson said. “To be noticed in that way … like I said, I’m truly blessed.”
Most recently, Janson wrote the title track for Justin Moore’s forthcoming new album, and tour, “Off the Beaten Path.”
“For any musician to be recognized, whether you’re the artist singing it or the songwriter writing it and someone else singing it, it’s a huge honor,” Janson said. “To get noticed is big. It’s that 1 in a million chance.”
Janson said he’s planning working his own dates in 2014, but he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of touring with another artist.
Janson takes the stage at 4 p.m. on Sept. 20 at Ramble Jam, and we hope to see you there!
Sign up for your chance to win two day passes here.
Contributing Writer: Shawn Hogendorf