{"id":166188,"date":"2024-05-23T02:56:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T06:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/?p=166188"},"modified":"2024-05-23T09:30:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T13:30:05","slug":"parker-mccollum-raising-canes-acm-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2024\/05\/23\/parker-mccollum-raising-canes-acm-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Do It For The Right Reasons: How Authenticity United Parker McCollum and Raising Cane’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

The authenticity debate perennially rages within country music, but it has never once applied to Parker McCollum. Even as his sound has evolved and his resume has grown to include multiple #1 hits, successful concerts, and high-profile awards show moments, the artist has remained unapologetically sincere \u2013 and undeniably country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Authenticity also applies to Raising Cane\u2019s Chicken Fingers, which parlays its \u201cOne Love\u201d mantra into consistently delicious, high-quality chicken fingers served by unequivocally upbeat, engaging team members. Founder and CEO Todd Graves embodies that authenticity, never wavering in his display of legitimate passion for the business he is in, the food Raising Cane\u2019s serves, and the people who provide customers with consistently special experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ongoing partnership between Parker McCollum and Raising Cane\u2019s is therefore utterly sensible. And their shared authenticity was on full-display during the Academy of Country Music Awards week in Dallas.<\/span><\/p>\n

After taking the stage in support of ACM Lifting Lives and working a Raising Cane\u2019s food truck, McCollum visited the brand\u2019s Dallas headquarters on the morning of Thursday, May 16. During his Todd Graves-led tour of the facility, McCollum and the executive took a moment to meet reporters and social influencers for an immensely enjoyable, wholly down-to-earth media event.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While indulging in Cane\u2019s\u2019 famous Box Combo, McCollum answered questions related to his passion for the brand\u2019s food, his excitement for that night\u2019s ACM Awards, his new music, and the ongoing evolution of country music. McCollum\u2019s sincerity was on display with each comment, providing a front row seat to why he and his music have proven so resonant with country music fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

This commitment to authenticity is by no means an aversion to change. McCollum\u2019s desire to progress as an artist is, in fact, a key reason why he recently halted efforts on his next album \u2013 likely delaying the release until 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like we were rushing it, and I just kind of put the brakes on it recently,\u201d explained McCollum. \u201cI didn\u2019t just want to phone it in \u2026 I need to go back in the woodshed and put more time in and make sure I get this right. I didn\u2019t just want to put out a record that sounded like the last two.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The authenticity is also not breeding any snobbiness on McCollum\u2019s part. The artist spoke positively about the surge of recent pop and hip-hop crossovers, trumpeting the resulting attention as a win for the genre and the artists within it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love country music from way back in the day, and I like a lot of the new stuff,\u201d declared the artist. \u201cJust to be in the conversation, just to have any kind of a platform in a genre that\u2019s going so global right now \u2026 I feel like that\u2019s a win for everybody involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McCollum added that by expanding the reach of country music, the growing pop and hip-hop influences should also serve to extend careers in a genre already famous for longevity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Authenticity does, however, mean that McCollum is never going to <\/span>lose himself<\/span><\/i> as he writes and records future records. The artist proudly declared himself \u201ccountry\u201d rather than <\/span>\u201cpop country<\/span><\/i>,\u201d and though he cannot totally ignore ubiquitous modern trends, he will not let them pull him away from the kind of music he has always dreamed of making.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the time I was a little kid, till today, I\u2019m still sitting around trying to write songs that George Strait, or Randy Travis, or Reba [McEntire], or Dolly [Parton], or Townes Van Zandt, or any of those [artists] would listen to and think that was quality country music and did something for the genre.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McCollum\u2019s approach to authentic country <\/span>songwriting<\/span> aligns perfectly with Raising Cane\u2019s approach to the restaurant business. Rather than focusing on new <\/span>types<\/span><\/i> of food to sell, the organization instead channels its creative energy and ambition into making its core offering <\/span>consistently exceptional<\/span><\/i>. The enthusiasm with which the available employees discussed their production process \u2013 from ensuring food quality, to evaluating suppliers, to improving the dine-in and take-out experiences, to scaling tastefully \u2013 reflected the kind of straightforward yet rare honesty on which lasting customer loyalty is built.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the connection between the Cane\u2019s brand and McCollum is not simply a symbolic one. It is something that actively brought the two parties together, evidenced by the manner in which Graves and McCollum raved about the other throughout the event.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe likes to hunt, I love to hunt. He\u2019s a family man, I\u2019m a family man.\u201d noted McCollum. \u201cWe put a lot of time into working very hard but also spending a lot of time with the people that we care about, the people we love \u2026 We\u2019re just very like-minded, and at the end of the day, it\u2019s really about friendship. You can have all the success in the world, but if you\u2019re not surrounded by the people that you\u2019re really happy to be around, that you truly love and you care about, everything else seems like it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very organic, the chemistry between him and I was very genuine. We were fast friends, and we were friends long before we ever did business together. Once it came time for me to start thinking about being part of the Raising Cane\u2019s team, and vice versa, it was an easy yes. It\u2019s a very, very genuine relationship. They\u2019re one of our big tour sponsors. We\u2019ve got Raising Cane\u2019s on all our 18-wheelers for our Burn It Down tour this year. Any time we play in a Cane\u2019s market, I\u2019ve got enough on my bus to feed a small village. They take really good care of us, and we try to take really good care of them, and it makes the business aspect of it really easy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to be around people that lift you up and inspire you,\u201d offered Graves. \u201cWhether it\u2019s fried chicken or being a country music star \u2026 it\u2019s doing things for the right reasons. What I like about Parker is that he\u2019s always trying to get better \u2013 [as a] songwriter, singer, what he does to give back \u2026 his headlining ACM Lifting Lives raised $700,000 \u2026 that inspires me \u2026 I want to be around people that fire me up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That desire to surround oneself with sincere, admirable people also explains the wonder with which McCollum was approaching that night\u2019s ACM Awards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe big win for me is being thought of in the likes of Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Reba McEntire, and all the incredible talent in country music that comes together for a night like the ACM Awards,\u201d articulated McCollum. \u201cWhen I was a kid, my big dream was to be a country music singer. Now I walk the same halls, and do the same interviews, and play on the same shows and the same stages as all these people who were huge country music superstars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A 2024 winner for Visual Media of the Year, McCollum would go onto perform the victorious, chart-topping hit \u201cBurn It Down\u201d during Thursday\u2019s ACM Awards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBurn It Down\u201d recently followed \u201cPretty Heart,\u201d \u201cTo Be Loved By You,\u201d and \u201cHandle On You\u201d to become the artist\u2019s fourth career country radio #1. <\/span>The ever-popular Raising Cane\u2019s continues to expand its reach, opening in new markets and winning new, passionate fans along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McCollum and Cane’s Founder-CEO Todd Graves discussed music, chicken, and ambition ahead of last week’s ACM Awards.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1047],"tags":[9315],"adace-sponsor":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo It For The Right Reasons: How Authenticity United Parker McCollum and Raising Cane's<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The authenticity debate perennially rages within country music, but it has never once applied to Parker McCollum. 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