He’s opened for Sugarland, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, and Darius Rucker. But with his latest album, Give It Hell Tryin’, the Dahlonega native is poised to make his own name. On June 2, the up-and-coming country singer performs at Terminal West. Here’s a primer:
1. He bought his first guitar from a famous Dahlonega schoolmate.
When Thomas decided to get into music after high school, he looked for other kids who played. “There was one friend who was always carrying around a guitar,” he says. “I asked if I could buy one from him. He sold it to me for $80. His name was Zac Brown.
2. Before music became a full-time gig, Thomas did . . . everything.
Carpenter. Computers. Delivery boy. Worked in a tennis shop. Hotel room service. Pier 1 Imports. McDonald’s. “One of my first jobs was at a country store where farmers would drink coffee and tell stories,” he says. “A lot of my songwriting comes from having listened to those old farmers.”
3. His new single is so catchy, it will have your kids asking, “What’s Jack?”
Since the first single off the new album, “Kick Back (With a Bottle of Jack),” was released, Thomas has discovered its universal appeal. “This is horrible,” he says, “but I even have little kids coming up to me saying, ‘I love to kick back with a bottle of Jack.’ I just laugh it off and say, ‘Thank you.’”
This article originally appeared in our June 2016 issue.
