David Nail to Hit the Road With Gavin DeGraw

Now that David Nail has scored himself his first No. 1 hit with ‘Let It Rain,’ he is beginning to get more recognition as an artist. Now, he’s preparing to hit the road with pop-rock singer Gavin DeGraw for a mini tour kicking off in March.

“I can remember when I got the phone call [about the tour],” Nail tells Taste of Country. “I’m a huge Gavin fan, and I have been since his very first record. We’ve covered one of his songs in our show — off and on — for a couple of years now. My [booking agent], with the help of my management, tried to push for something like that. Obviously those conversations probably originated long before ‘Let It Rain’ went No. 1. From following Gavin, it seems like he has a strong appreciation for Nashville and for our format here.”

The thought of the tour and blending the two musical formats is something Nail is looking forward to, especially to see what kind of doors it will open from there for his fan base and country music as a whole.

“It’s funny … for the last, probably, six to twelve months, I would hear people off and on comment about ‘I wonder why a pop act doesn’t go out with a country act’ or vice versa,” notes Nail. “I think I always thought in the back of my mind that given that opportunity, that would be a cool thing. I’ve already played some of the venues that we’re going to go back and play, and the club owners are fired up about it. They think, ‘Hey, what better way than to bring country listeners to Gavin DeGraw, and hopefully bring pop listeners who never really entertained the thought of maybe listening to country music, much less getting into it.’ Hopefully we can do that together.”

“And if nothing else, selfishly, [I get] to be able to go out 10 nights in a row to hear arguably who I think is one of the best singers — probably in the Top 3 — in any format,” Nail continues. “I’ve had the privilege of seeing him live a handful of times, and the guy is just phenomenal. I definitely think it’s going to cause us to step up our game, hopefully, and at the end of the day, hopefully we can kind of convert some people over to not just me, but to recognize that there’s a whole host of artists over here that they should probably be paying attention to.”

The first night of the tour will happen on March 8 in Lexington, Ky. A complete list of the dates where the two will be performing can be seen below.

David Nail/Gavin DeGraw 2012 Tour Dates:

3/8 – Lexington, Ky.

3/9 – Pontiac, Mich.

3/10 – Saginaw, Mich.

3/11 – Grand Rapids, Mich.

3/13 – Nashville, Tenn.

3/14 – Chattanooga, Tenn.

3/16 – Oxford, Ohio