Blake Shelton recently sat down with Access Hollywood where he talked about a variety of topics, including his upcoming headlining Back to the Honky Tonk Tour. The 18-date trek, which kicks off on Feb. 16, and runs through March 25, finds Shelton bringing fellow country singer Carly Pearce and rising country outlaw Jackson Dean for the ride.
When asked if his wife Gwen Stefani and three stepsons Kingston, 16, Zuma, 14, and Apollo, 8, will also join him on the trek, Shelton says, “Man, I hope so. It’s always hard touring, and school schedules never line up.”
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Although he’s crossing his fingers for his family to join him out on the road for now, the “No Body” singer adds, “there’s always a long weekend that we can find in the span of a couple of months that they can come out. I’d like to have [them] come out at least one weekend and see what we’re doing this time. They usually come out at least once, and Gwen normally gets the chance to come out maybe a couple more times, but I don’t have anything planned yet.”
“There’s nothing I would want more than to be able to say Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani. I know we would sell out every show two times over if I could do that,” Shelton said of his pop superstar bride who he has collaborated on “Nobody But You” and “Happy Anywhere” with. “But it literally is a surprise for the audience and me half the time when she comes out because I don’t know until a day or two beforehand if she’s going to have the opportunity or not.”
Shelton announced last year that he will film his final and 23rd season of The Voice after having joined the cast of the show during its launch in 2011. He also recently revealed that he plans to pull back from his career to focus on his family.
Opening up about his reasons for reevaluating his priorities, Shelton said, “I think being a stepdad has changed my perspective. I’m not the first person I think about anymore. Even to the smallest little things when you go, ‘I think I’ll do this,’ the very next thought is always, ‘Well. Wait a minute. How’s that going to work? Or what will they think? Or how will that affect a schedule?’ So I think the only way for me to do that right is to step away from being committed to something like The Voice that demands a lot of your time. There’s no way around it. If you’re going to do it and do it right, you have to be 150% in. I feel like those days are behind me for now. I got a more important job.”
While Shelton takes his “more important” job seriously, he notes that he has become the more light-hearted and comical addition to his stepsons’ worlds (Stefani shares her three sons with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale).
“The kids have known me to be an idiot since day one,” he joked. “I don’t think they’ve ever seen me be serious. Maybe a handful of times in an emergency or something, but most of the time I’m pretty goofy. I joke around with ’em and I want to be a positive influence, but I also want to be a lot of fun. That’s the kind of parent I want to be, and whatever my role is or how they view me in their life, they have a mom and a dad, and then now they have a Blake. And I want that to be fun for ’em.”
And while Shelton makes his step kids and wife his priority, he still has plenty of juggling to do. Along with wrapping his final season of The Voice and heading out on tour, he has a new show called Barmageddon, which premiered on December 5 on USA Network. Shelton is also breaking new ground in Las Vegas with a brand-new Ole Red location.
The four-story 27,000 square foot venue will mark Shelton’s largest Ole Red, to date, and the first in the western United States. Ole Red Las Vegas will be positioned near Caesars Entertainment’s Horseshow Las Vegas, at the Grand Bazaar Shops on the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.
“If you are going to do something here, you’ve got to do it big,” Shelton said, during a preview event for the location, according to a press release. “Every time I’m in Vegas, I want some country music, and Ole Red is the remedy for that.”
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Some features in the Ole Red Las Vegas location include a main dining floor with a laid-back atmosphere that transforms into a late-night honky-tonk with a Vegas-styled vip-section. The top floor will feature a more sophisticated look with lounge seating, and bottle service as well as private event space for large groups. Folks can also be sure to check out the rooftop, which offers a dazzling view of the Las Vegas strip.
Ole Red Las Vegas is expected to open in late 2023.
