Chris Stapleton on songwriting, family and his first ever Australian tour

Kentucky-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton has won almost every honor a musician can achieve. These include 10 Grammy Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, a number-one album, and millions of devoted fans.

However, it wasn't until last month that Stapleton achieved one goal: performing concerts in Australia. Over the past few weeks, the singer held a series of sold-out arena shows on Australia's east coast, finally giving his Australian fans the opportunity to experience the singer's critically acclaimed live performances in person.

"People have been so warm and friendly and seem genuinely happy to see us, and we’re excited to be here," Stapleton told Beccy Cole of Saturday Night Country. "The weather has been great, the people have been friendly, and the coffee has been amazing."

The trip was long overdue. Australia is an important market for Stapleton's brand of gritty, heartfelt country music. His musical style blends a gritty soul that borrows more from classic Southern rock than the clean country music that dominates the charts. But no matter how large your fan base, moving to the other side of the world isn't easy when you have five children and both parents are involved in the family business.

"We miss our children terribly," the singer admitted. "We had originally planned to bring them, but our older high schoolers didn't want to miss that much school. I don't know what's gotten into them, but when I was in high school, there's no way you could have convinced me to miss that much school."

His wife, Morgane Stapleton, is not only a backing vocalist for her husband's live performances, but she has also been a key figure in the creation of many albums since he rose to fame in 2015 with his debut album, "Traveller." "We've been married for 17 years, it'll be 18 this year," he said. "We have five kids, we work together, we do everything together. We're hardly ever apart. It's a beautiful thing."

While his name is on the album covers and tour posters, and he's the one standing at the front of the stage, Chris Stapleton's concerts are very much a band affair. "It's kind of what I've always done, and I've always loved bands that also make music. Like, I know it's just a solo performer on the cover, but we operate very much like a band, and most of the guys on stage are also on the records," Stapleton said. "It's been that way since the beginning."

Before becoming a stadium-filling superstar, Stapleton wrote songs for singers like Kenny Chesney, George Strait, and Luke Bryan. This work not only taught him how to write songs that top the charts—although he did do that—but also how to maximize the potential of a team. "Because there are so many great musicians in Nashville, I used to hire 'mercenaries' to do this," he said. "But I always found that if people are really involved in the whole process, they become more engaged. They can perform live, and they can also record. There's nothing wrong with doing it another way, but I feel a stronger connection to the music, and I think the players feel a stronger connection to the music when everyone is involved."

From hired writer to chart-topping superstar, Stapleton's journey seems like a huge leap. But no matter what role he plays—headlining stadiums in the United States, appearing on Taylor Swift albums, or collaborating with Snoop Dogg on a cover of a Phil Collins song—his writing background always influences his work in some way. "I've always considered myself a songwriter and always thought about things that way," he said. "Even when playing guitar or singing, I'm always trying to serve the song. I think that's always there subconsciously. I might think of myself as a songwriter first, and then everything else is part of that wheel. Like, I do think that live performance influences songwriting, and your experiences in the world influence songwriting. I do think they're all part of one thing, but for me, the foundation of the whole deal is probably still songwriting."

Even for seasoned songwriters like Stapleton, inspiration doesn't always strike at the most convenient times. This means embracing the ability to write at any time and place, rather than relying on the "right" environment. "I always write ideas down in my phone and voice memos," he said. "If I'm in a good mood, I can write a song after I hang up the phone. I don't have any real rules. Whenever it happens, it happens."

With six shows over nine nights, the Stapletons didn't have much time to sightsee on their first trip to Australia. However, they did take the time to visit some guitar stores. "I may have bought some," Stapleton said with a laugh. "I have a habit of buying guitars. It's better than other bad habits."

It's easy to justify buying a guitar or two when you're Chris Stapleton, especially when these carefully crafted instruments help him unlock creative aspects he might not otherwise have access to. "I do find a lot of inspiration from instruments," he said. "They all feel different and make you do different things. They all have stories, and you can hold them, and they're transformative in a way. They take you to different places. I'm always looking for something that I can mine a song out of, or that makes me do something I might never have done. I often find that in instruments. I like to think about their stories and their lives. I think I can draw some inspiration from that."

It's also a great way for the singer and his band to spend their limited time between shows, and an opportunity to connect over a shared passion. "We spent about two hours in a store in Melbourne just taking things down, playing this and that, talking to the owner and the guys in the store," Stapleton said. "Some friendships happen in those good stores, and that store in Melbourne is a good store. There's a kinship between musicians from all over the world, and you can find that connection through these things with six strings. That's a fun thing for me. If I have any entertainment on the road, that's it."

In recent years, hip-hop, mainstream pop, and electronic music have all permeated country music, but Stapleton's gritty style is deeply rooted in blues, Southern rock, and R&B. When he wants to listen to music to relax, that's what he chooses. "I probably listen more to the music that influenced me than I do to new music," he said. "My wife is more into discovering new music, and I'm still listening to the records I listened to when I was 17. If I turn on music, I find myself turning on the things that inspired me, whether it's Freddie King, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, or anything like that. I live there most of the time. A lot of Southern rock, you know, Skynyrd, all that's in there, but outlaw country and old R&B, you know, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Aretha Franklin, all that's in there. Sometimes I wonder where they came from, because some things you just discover at a certain age."

When it's suggested that Stapleton himself is a particularly influential figure for today's emerging artists, the singer is surprisingly humble. "Well, I don't know if I am, but I hope that's true. I hope that maybe listening to our music will lead people to listen to some of the other people I've mentioned, because some of those people are the cornerstones of music."

Besides other artists, Stapleton believes there's one other thing that's crucial to his songwriting process. "I'm a big fan of quiet," he said. "That sounds weird as a musician, but I think it gives you a chance to, as a friend of mine says, put your antenna in the sky and see what comes down. Sometimes when there's always music on, it can be a bit of a hindrance. I think it's important as a creative person to be able to endure a little bit, and I think anyone creative needs it. I mean, maybe someone can find the noisiest place on earth, and that's their creative space. For me, a little solitude and quiet can definitely unlock some things in your heart."

With his first-ever sold-out Australian arena tour now over, Stapleton hopes it won't be another decade before he and his band enthrall audiences here again. "I'll do everything I can," he said when talking about including Australia in future tours. "We try to spread the love as much as we can, and sometimes we find the capacity is smaller than we want it to be. But that's life. We had a lot of fun, and we love your beautiful country. I don't think we won't be back."