James Maslow, actor and member of Big Time Rush, marked a new milestone earlier this year when he stepped on stage to make his solo country music debut at the 2026 CMA Fest in Nashville.
The proud moment saw him introducing fans to a side of himself he says they’ve never fully seen before. And while performing a handful of unreleased country songs from his upcoming project at one of the genre’s biggest events may seem like a bold leap, the multi-talented singer, 35, says his journey toward country music has been unfolding naturally behind the scenes for quite some time.
“Look, I understand how incredibly generous it is that CMA Fest has put me on, and I haven’t even put a song out yet,” Maslow said during an interview with Music Mayhem, thanking the organizers of the event for trusting his talent to speak for itself in front of countless country fans. “So CMA Fest, I want to say thank you to the fans that are here and that made it possible.”
Maslow pointed out that he has come a long way in the last 12 months from “dipping” his toe into country music to fully committing to it, revealing that he was on-site at CMA Fest in 2025 but didn’t perform at the time.
“A year ago… I came to CMA Fest and Tayler Holder, and a fitness influencer, and I did this like workout thing,” he recalled of how he got involved in the weekend-long musical event. “But then I said, ‘Hey, I’ll do a meet and greet.’ I did two. One for Music Choice, one for CMA, and I guess they were like the biggest meet and greets of last year.”
What surprised him most, however, was who showed up. “I’d never seen any of these fans at a Big Time Rush show,” he explained. “Of course, a lot of them knew me from Big Time Rush, right? But hadn’t met them, hadn’t seen them, but they showed up excited that I might do country music. And at that point, I’m like, all right, I’m not just going to dip my toe in. I’m going to give this a real shot. And now we are diving headfirst a year later.”
READ: James Maslow On Moving To Nashville And Launching Solo Career In Country Music
Now based primarily in Nashville, Maslow has immersed himself in the city’s songwriting culture as he continues to build toward his forthcoming five-track country EP alongside a growing circle of collaborators. One of those creative relationships began unexpectedly during a Savannah Bananas event at Yankee Stadium earlier this year.
“Well, one of my favorite writers I’ve worked with out here… Okay, so this is actually a really cool story,” Maslow says with a laugh. “I got to play with Big Time Rush, Savannah Bananas game at Yankee Stadium like five months ago or something.”
That’s where he met hit songwriter Sam Tinnesz. “Now, Sam has written some of the biggest songs in the world,” Maslow says. “I mean, he wrote and performed ‘Legends Are Made,’ like every fricking sports game ever.”
Maslow went on to say that the two of them connected instantly and began writing together alongside producer Austin Bianco. “We’ve just had the most amount of fun writing out of my home studio, and we wrote a song called ‘Every Day Of The Week,’” Maslow said. “That’s one of the songs that was the catalyst for this whole project.”
Another standout track, “She Is,” holds an even deeper meaning for Maslow, who points to his wife and shares it’s “because I’m talking about that one right there, my fiancée, Caitlin.”
The track also came together through another chance Nashville connection, this time involving Dan + Shay’s Shay Mooney. “I met Shay Mooney [of Dan + Shay]. We just happened to be neighbors and had scheduled coffee that morning,” Maslow explained. “So I go to coffee with Shay, the nicest guy in the fricking world. It runs over. We’re like two hours in. I go, ‘Dude, I got to get back to a session.’ And he goes, ‘Well, I’m free. You want me to go?’ I said, ‘Yep, sure. Come on over.’”
The spontaneous session turned into one of Maslow’s favorite songs. “Man, he’s just so talented, and we wrote one of my favorite songs,” he confirmed.
As for the music itself, Maslow says fans can expect a blend of modern country influences and his own personal style. “I love Kane Brown,” he shares. “He is so authentic and original, and he made his own sound in country, and I think I’m going to do a similar thing just in my way.”
Maslow also points to artists like Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, and rising star Tucker Wetmore as inspirations. “I just got to hang with Tucker Wetmore in Australia,” Maslow said. “He was so down to earth, so authentic and just so freaking talented.”
Despite launching a solo country career, Maslow insists this isn’t the end of Big Time Rush. “At the moment they’re running parallel,” he says of balancing both projects. “We just got off a world tour.”
In fact, his bandmates have been supportive every step of the way. “Kendall [Schmidt] said, ‘Dude, can I go?’” Maslow recalls with a laugh. “I said, ‘You know what? I’m pretty stressed already. I’m not going to lie. I don’t know how to say this. Thank you so much for asking because it means the world, but do you mind waiting until like the second show?’”
Ultimately, Maslow hopes country audiences walk away from his set understanding exactly who he is beyond the boy band fame.
“I want them to walk away with two things,” he says. “One, this is how I like to sing, and especially a couple of these songs I sing in a way that I’ve never done in the band, and two… they walk away with getting to know who I truly am, why I’m doing this, and a lot of the lyrics speak to my story and my passions and my beliefs.”
Follow James Maslow on social media to stay up-to-date with his upcoming new music and endeavors.
