Country music star Russell Dickerson performed during the 95th National FFA Convention & Expo, and spoke with convention newsroom intern Elizabeth Richwine about the many experiences that led to his success – and advice he has for the next generation.
Q: Can you tell me about your background and how you came into the music industry?
A: I was born in West Tennessee, but I was raised in Nashville. I was always around country music and around the industry. My dad was a minister of music at a church there. So about the time when I started writing songs and thinking, “Yeah, I think I really want to do this,” my cousin, who was in the music business, helped me get registered with BMI, which is a company that pays songwriters, and they’re connected with everybody. So that was kind of my first step to registering as a songwriter.
Q: What guidance could you give to members about following in the footsteps of those before them?
A: I think it depends on what your passion is. I know there’s a lot of pressure from the previous generation to follow in their footsteps, but if that’s what you want to do, and that’s what you’re passionate about, I think you’re going to succeed at it, because you’ll figure out a way to carry on the legacy and you’ll figure out a way to do the best and possibly even better.
Q: How do you navigate that work-life balance?
A: We’ve had a crazy year touring while also making an album, but it really is just setting hard boundaries. So it’s ‘What is my weekend? What are my days to shut down and shut off?’ You have to set that time aside to rest and relax.
Q: Being on the road with a busy schedule makes it harder to keep tight relationships. What advice would you give to members who want to maintain some of the cross-country relationships they have established here at the national convention?
A: It’s just being intentional, really. It’s easy to lose touch with people you don’t see all the time but just making it a priority or setting a schedule helps a lot. My best friend and I try to talk every Friday and with the Internet, you can keep those relationships easier than in the past.
Q: You take to social media to show the little things in your everyday life. What motivated you to do that?
A: Fans only see me for 90 minutes on stage. There’s nothing personal, you don’t get to see behind the scenes. And I just wanted to show those fun, different aspects of life – even how challenging it is. I wanted to really show how much we love the fans. Just to show how much we appreciate them and give them a little backstage pass.
Q: What characteristics or values do you credit the most for your success?
A: I would say persistence. That’s probably the number one thing that helped me. Just keep showing up everyday. It doesn’t happen overnight. It happens over years and years and years and years. Just keep showing up, keep grinding, keep working hard. You have to keep being who you are every day and not trying to follow anyone else.
Q: What do you think is important for young FFA members to know?
A: I would tell them to start doing what they’re passionate about right then. I feel like I was behind. You know, like, Taylor Swift was writing songs when she was 12 or 13. I wish I would have had a jumpstart on that.
