Kiefer Sutherland Loves Country Music for the Storytelling

Acclaimed actor Kiefer Sutherland is pursuing his dreams of country music, a genre he appreciates for its innate ability to tell stories.

Kiefer Sutherland Loves Country Music for the Storytelling
Kiefer Sutherland; Photo credit: Chris Hollo for Grand Ole Opry

There’s no better place to kick off a tour than with a performance at the Grand Ole Opry. Thus, Kiefer Sutherland chose the legendary venue to launch his current Reckless Tour, which will take the singer/songwriter/actor across America and over the pond to Europe for 18 shows in June.

“The first time I played the Opry, I was so taken back by the sense of community that they have,” Sutherland says, seated in his Nashville publicist’s office, wearing black jeans, black sweater and a warm smile. “It’s not always like that in the film industry, but these artists really want the other artists to do really well. That was something else. I was really taken by that.”

In addition to the sense of camaraderie, Sutherland is equally appreciative of the Opry’s history. “The very first time I played there we were at soundcheck and I was standing outside of the circle just kind of looking in at it,” he says of the legendary circle of wood, taken from the Opry’s original stage at the Ryman Auditorium. “I was just thinking of all the people that walked on that wood, stood there and stomped their foot. One of the musicians in the Opry band was walking by and he looked over and said, ‘Go on. Step in it. You’ll be alright,’ and it was so sweet and generous. Even then I still kind of just stuck my foot out like I was getting into a lake that I didn’t know where the bottom was. They are so generous there and the audiences are so fantastic.”

Following that April 10 appearance at the Opry, Sutherland embarked on an ambitious tour that will take him to 24 cities by the time he wraps the U.S. leg on May 28 in Long Island, NY. He has shows scheduled at such impressive venues as Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA., the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J. and the Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, CA. On June 7th, he’ll head to Cologne, Germany and will play 18 cities by June 30.

It’s a hectic schedule that might intimidate a lesser artist, but Sutherland loves performing live. Though he’s well know as an actor who has appeared in numerous films such as A Few Good Men, The Three Musketeers, A Time to Kill, Stand By Me, and Young Guns as well as starring in the television series, 24, and his current hit, Designated Survivor, Sutherland is a former rodeo cowboy and longtime musician. In 2016, he released his acclaimed debut album, Down in a Hole, and is currently working on a new album due this summer.

Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland; Photo credit: Beth Elliott

“In writing the second record, having played 250 shows in between the first record and the second one, consciously or subconsciously I started writing for the set,” he says of his live shows influencing his new material. “It was like, ‘You know I could really use a good uptempo song right here, right now.’ I didn’t want to do a rock song and a good honky tonk song is exactly where that led, so it was really about filling out the rest of the set. It was country music that I really loved playing and so it kind of fed itself into that. Also the country genre just lends itself better than any other genre as far as I’m concerned to storytelling.”

Sutherland is a fan of country music and before launching his own tour, he had a chance to attend Brad Paisley’s show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. “Actually going to see Brad Paisley, I realized that I need to do it a lot more,” he says of taking in other shows. “You finish shooting on Designated Survivor and at the end of the week, you are just exhausted. So I miss some opportunities…but I was just so impressed with his guitar playing and just how much he does of it in the show. It was me trying to learn something there and it got me so excited that I couldn’t wait for the next day to go to rehearsal. I do think it’s important to kind of re-inspire yourself like that.”

He got a chance to chat with Paisley that night and really enjoyed the visit. “He was really a nice man. And I got to meet Brad’s mom. She was precious and his dad,” he says of Sandy and Doug Paisley.

Sutherland also got a chance to give Paisley some important, practical advice regarding his new pet. During Brad’s Nashville show, opening act Dustin Lynch presented Paisley with a live goat as a thank you for having him as an opener on the tour. Lynch even brought the little goat, which he’d named Tele (as in Telecaster) to the after party, where she was visiting with all the revelers. “I told Brad whatever he did, don’t leave the goat in his bus,” Sutherland laughs. “When we were filming Young Guns, I got a goat and left it in Lou Diamond Phillips trailer as a joke and it ate the couch and most everything in there.”

Sutherland is excited about hitting the road and performing. “This will be the first time we’re taking our own lighting and lighting person,” he says. “We’ve never had that before, so that’s a big deal for us. Between that and the 10 new songs for the set, we’re hoping that’s going to work.”

In a career full of highlights, Sutherland says performing live in front of a crowd offers a unique thrill. “It really is that two-hour moment where that shared experience is happening,” he smiles. “Sometimes people will come for a more mellow evening and you figure out how to adjust your show for that. You can get a sense of that or if they want the rockiest night, you can feel that too and just embrace the unexpected. That’s what has been really the great reward of touring and I never expected to love it to the degree that I do. It’s just an amazing kind of moment to be able to share it with a bunch of people.”

Sutherland acknowledges that some concert-goers are coming out of curiosity to see if the actor can deliver the goods as a musician. “Someone asked me, ‘Does it bother you that people are coming to maybe see a car wreck?’ And I say, ‘No I’m glad they showed up. It’s our job to make it a good race instead of a car wreck.’ Any reason you come, we’ll be grateful to have you.”