Chris Janson On New Song, ‘Stay Rowdy’: ‘This Is A Song That I’ve Been Wanting To Write For A While’ [Exclusive]

Chris Janson has just introduced his motto for 2025 with his brand-new song, “Stay Rowdy.”

When sitting down to write with Michael Tyler, Thomas Archer and Blake Bollinger, Janson sought to recreate the kind of music that has always inspired him, like that of Hank Jr. in the ‘80s. His intention was to bring that same feel-good energy to his catalog in a bigger and better way than ever before and ultimately, invite fans to let loose and have some pure fun in his live shows.

“I think ‘Stay Rowdy,’ not only is it a great song in my opinion, but for that, frankly speaking, it’s a great soundbite. The chorus hooks people in and it just feels good. It reminds me of stuff that I listen to when I’m riding around in my square body pickup. That culture is alive and well in country music in a big way, and I hope that people are enjoying it for that,” Janson told Country Now.

This is the kind of party anthem that will remind listeners of that sing-along worthy energy that Janson has created many times in the past, most notably with hits like “Fix A Drink” and the 5x Platinum, “Buy Me A Boat.” He further taps into that “all-American spirit” with the brand-new music video that captures his true authenticity as it was shot by his drummer and features the rest of his bandmates jamming out alongside him on their tour bus.

“Stay Rowdy” follows Janson’s 2024 releases “Cheap,” “All American Guy,” and his latest single, “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get.” With every new release, Janson is one step closer to revealing his next full-length project.

Throughout March, the Missouri native will hit the road with his friend Kid Rock for select dates on his upcoming tour. In addition, he has a slew of his own headline dates in store for the year that will find him playing venues across the country as well as some of Country music’s most anticipated festivals this summer. 

For more on Chris Janson’s newest release, his upcoming tour dates, his longtime friendship with Kid Rock and more, keep reading the exclusive Q&A below.

You’ve given us another amazing party anthem with “Stay Rowdy.” What is it that you love about making songs with this kind of energy? 

First and foremost, this is a song that I’ve been wanting to write for a while. I’ve wanted a song like this. I didn’t know it was going to be called ‘Stay Rowdy,’ but I’ve always wanted a family tradition-esque kind of song, right? So that’s what I set out to do, and the song came together really quick. I like writing them like this because people enjoy it live. I mean, my biggest part of my business is live performance and what I’m most well-known for other than just the titles of hit songs and things like that. My live show is a big staple of what I do, and the song makes me feel good. It’s a great time in our country to get rowdy and energized, I think, and touring season just kicked off, so perfect timing on that too. And hell, before it was released, I’d played it three times and all three times the people just went nuts. So it was a no brainer. So we went with it and it has been great. 

What was the reaction like the very first time you performed it live?

It was just fabulous. I mean, people really adapted to it in the way that in the past, I can tell you twice on occasion where that’s happened. Right off the bat, “Buy Me A Boat” was one. I remember where I was at. I was in Minnesota first time I played that and “Fix A Drink” was the other one that people just went right off the bat too. So that’s the kind of reaction I got. 

I read that you wanted to make a song that was reminiscent of Hank Jr. in the ‘80s. What is it about that era that draws you and what made you want to recreate it in your own way?

Even though that stuff was happening really before I was born, it was already popularized, but that’s what I grew up on. I grew up on that music because I’m a product of the ‘90s, of growing up in the ‘90s and things like that. So that’s all I ever heard, and that’s all people were playing around the…I grew up around racetracks and rodeos and just real rural redneck stuff really. And that’s what they were playing. They were playing Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Jr. And Charlie Daniels and I just, I’ve always loved that music so much. It hits; it just strikes a chord for me. And not only that, for just the people of that culture. Man, Hank Jr’s songs, you don’t have to even know who Hank Jr is. People know those songs, man. They know “Family Tradition,” they know “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight,” they know “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound.” Like I said, even if you’re not a Hank Jr. fan, you still know those songs when they come on, they’re like, ‘oh God, I love this one.’ So that’s what I was aiming for with “Stay Rowdy.”

Can you take us into the writing room and share a bit more about how the song came to be?

I set out to write what I call an instant classic, and I’m not bragging on myself or my songwriting, but I appreciate when others do that as well. If it’s something that sounds like an instant classic that they’ve known for years, that’s what I aimed to do with “Stay Rowdy.” And I’m actually kind of aiming my meter at that when I’m writing for the future. Whenever “Buy Me a Boat” happened, which is coming up on 10 years, that was an amazing moment because I was really aiming for something to write, I wasn’t just trying to write a hit, I was just trying to aim at what I liked. And that’s the product you get. And same with “Stay Rowdy,” same kind of vibe that I had going into it. I wanted to write “A Country Boy Can Survive” sort of song with “Buy Me a Boat” and with “Stay Rowdy,” I wanted to write something that was reminiscent of, like I said, the greatest hits of Hank Jr. 

The music video with you and your bandmates on the tour bus matched the energy of “Stay Rowdy” so well. Was it as fun to film as it looks?

That’s the funny thing is that I don’t ride a bus, and so I had to crash their bus to do that. So people have been like, ‘oh man, cool. Tour bus.’ I’m like, ‘thanks, but it’s really my guys’ bus, so I was really kind of crashing their house.’ But if you’re going to have something authentic, wouldn’t you just rather, if you’re going to shoot, like you’ve seen my past videos, Kelly and the kids are in the majority of ’em. My family’s in ’em, my father-in-law, I like to use people that I know and things that I know about. My band, they’re the perfect actors, if you will. They weren’t acting…by the way, my drummer’s not in the video because he was behind the camera. My drummer Josh filmed that…He’s an amazing videographer on top of being a drummer, super, super talented guy. And so we just arranged everybody.

By the way, that was pre-show. You would think that a song like “Stay Rowdy,” you would get rowdy in a show and then do the after party for the video, but we actually filmed that in about 15 minutes time before the show. And then we all smoked cigars and then went on stage and played an amazing show [that] was sold out. It was in Florida, great show outside of Lakeland, Florida. And honest to God, we did have a good time doing it just because we’re not actors. We were just being stupid. And so what you’re seeing there, no pun intended, but what you’re seeing there is what you’re really getting there with the reactions and just the sheer silliness of what’s going on with the situation. 

You mentioned you’re coming up on the 10^th anniversary of “Buy Me A Boat” in March. It is crazy to think it has been that long?

Yeah, it feels like yesterday. I mean, it really does. It feels like yesterday. But hey, that’s great because we’ve had some amazing success since then and I’m grateful for it and continuing to have, and that’s all I ever wanted. It’s all you could ever hope for and wish for, and it’s honestly, I tell people all the time, I’m just living proof of the American Dream and I’m literally living my dream come true every day when I wake up. It’s a great honor for me. 

Are we working on a full-length project at the moment?

Yeah, I think so. I think for 2025, we’re going to probably keep rolling out songs every few weeks so people can expect that, which I’m excited about, like I said. And then probably towards the end of it, traditionally you would package an album, release ’em all at one time, and then wait a long time and go write another album. Basically, what I’m doing is I’m writing in real time and I’m picking up the pieces from the last couple months of things I’ve written, picking my favorite ones, rolling them out like this. And I would assume that we will probably roll them up into one “album,” if you will, probably towards the end of the year. That’s kind of my vision for it. 

You’re going to be joining Kid Rock in March on a couple of dates for his upcoming tour. Will this be your first time on the road together? 

Oh hell yeah. I can’t wait. By the way, I call him Bob because that’s his real name. So he’s been a superb friend to me for many years. And I want to tell you that I met him for the first time at a thing in Iowa. It was called Creek Fest. He was headlining and I was direct support to him. I’d never met him before and I had this really big jacked up tattooed guy come out of nowhere and tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘excuse me, Mr. Janson, Bob would like to meet you.’ And I was like, ‘who is Bob?’ He’s like, ‘oh, I’m sorry, I mean Kid Rock.’ And I was like, oh, okay. So I walked back here and I was so impressed by Kid Rock because you would think that there would be 20 buses and 20 trailers and jets and motorcycle, just everything. There were two Sprinter vans and Kid Rock and his crew. And I went, what the hell is this? And “Buy Me A Boat” had just came out, to put in perspective where we were. I was like, oh my gosh, we’ve made it. We got two buses, and we have trailers and all these kinds of things, that you don’t really need by the way. And so we’re back there and I’m like, ‘God, I kind of feel embarrassed. Kid Rock’s got two sprinters back here. He must be doing something I don’t know about.’ So anyway, I meet the guy, we become friends, we take a picture. I still got it framed to this day, great moment of my life. We’ve stayed friends over these years and had some great times together. Last year I went out, he didn’t do much touring, so I went out and did a date with him last year. It was amazing.

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What was your reaction to finding out you had been invited to join him on the road?

He doesn’t do long tours. He doesn’t have to, I don’t guess. So he’s got these select dates. I’m doing half of ’em and Uncle Kracker’s doing the other half, which is a long time friend of his, of course. And I just thought that that spoke volumes to me because he doesn’t need an opener, he doesn’t need a direct support, he doesn’t need anything. He’s an amazing guy and got an amazing touring business. I can’t say enough good things about him, and he doesn’t need any help out there, but it just goes to show that friends take care of friends. And he invited me, and I took that as a great honor, and I really appreciate it. If he reads this, I thank him sincerely for it. I mean that 

What will a Chris Janson headlining show look like in 2025?

Well, I think the motto is ‘Stay Rowdy,” I really do. Not to keep driving back to that, but it’s just the truth. I mean, the motto has kind of always been that, but it’s just more accentuated at this point. And we have a very good thing going out there that I’m really proud of, great fan base, great shows. We’ve had four or five to kick the year off so far, and they’ve just been fantastic. The houses have been completely packed and everything is just really feeling good. And my business has grown every single year, so I’m proud of that. And it’s continuing to do so. But we’re going to use the overview of “Stay Rowdy” and stay patriotic and have a great time. And you know what? For about 90 minutes or so every night, let’s forget our worries and just enjoy singing some hit songs and then we can all go back to work or whatever we’re doing in our lives. But that’s it, man. Stay rowdy, stay fun, stay patriotic, stay positive. That’s what I’m bringing to the road this year in a big way, and I’m going to make sure that that’s on the forefront…I’ll tell you, we encourage and invite everybody from all walks of life. That’s what we want out there, and that’s what we want as a collective out there, man. It’s nothing but just singing hit songs and having a good time. 

Is there anything else you wanted to share?

I would be remiss if I did not mention that one of my very close friends from the very beginning of me being in Nashville, Ben Vaughn passed away yesterday. And I am going to be honest with you, I felt a little awkward about doing an interview the day after that. But, of course, you can’t help the timing of that. But I just want to say that my heart is with his kids and his family and that Ben is very sadly and sorely missed in our household, and I know it was a huge industry effector. So as this rolls out as we are happy with “Stay Rowdy,” [but] I just want you to know that my heart is heavy over that, and I just want to make it very clear to people that I just didn’t want this moment to be, ‘Hey, moving on with life. It’s all about ‘Stay Rowdy.’’ Not in my world. That’s big on the forefront too. Just want to say that.