Over the past decade, Chris Stapleton has become one of the biggest successes in country music, continually earning awards and honors as well as headlining massive tours around the world. As is the case with many careers, retirement usually happens at some point, and for Stapleton, that may be sooner than fans are hoping for.
During an appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Stapleton discussed his decision to one day take a step back from releasing music and touring, explaining that it’s something that’s been on his mind much more as of late. “I’m at a bit of a crossroads. I don’t know when I’m gonna make another record or write a new song, I’m probably not really in the mood. And that’s ok with me….,” he said. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll even go play.”
A large part of that decision revolves around his family, who the Grammy winner wants to prioritize and spend much more time with in the next phase of his life. Stapleton and his wife, Morgane, share five children; son Waylon, born in 2009, daughter Ada, born in 2010, twin sons Macon and Samuel, born in 2018 and a fifth son born in 2019.
“I want to make a thoughtful decision about what I do with the rest of the time I have on this earth,” Stapleton shared. “I’ve got babies. I’ve got some that are almost out of the house. They gave up a lot for me to be sitting here with you. I owe them some things, I think, some time in particular. I’ve done more than I’ve ever set out to do.”
Though he joked that part of his retirement plan is to shave his signature beard so he can disappear, he told Shepard that he’s “not hanging up my spurs” just yet. Which is in accordance with his schedule, as Stapleton’s long-running All-American Road Show tour just announced nearly 30 new dates across the U.S. and Canada this year including stops at stadiums like Fenway Park in Boston and Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where he’ll open the run on May 23.
While he didn’t say whether this will be his last run on the road, Stapleton explained that he wants to give fans who come to see him his all. “I’m just saying I’m looking for the fire. I need the fire. And I want the fire to lead,” he said. “Sometimes that’s more elusive now than it used to be. … I do think that I’ve done enough. It’s not about doing something else. It’s about, for me, wanting to do something else.”
“I think I owe it to the people that might listen to what I do or come see me play live that they get 100% of whatever I’ve got left in me. I feel very resolute in that, and if I don’t think I can deliver on that, I have to evaluate.”
As for what else he may explore once he steps away from a career as a country music star, Stapleton mused, “Now I have to get a new dream.”
“It’s important to find that. For me, fuel is the search,” he explained. “I’m gonna have to search for something. I’m gonna have to hunt for something. I don’t know what that is or where it’s going to come from.”
