If you go
› What: Josh Turner in concert.› When: 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26; doors open at 7 p.m.› Where: Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.› Admission: $39, $49, $59 and $89 (plus fees).› Phone: 423-757-5580.› Website: tivolichattanooga.com.
Country singer Josh Turner is a 15-year veteran of the country music struggle. He's seen plenty of successes, like hit songs "Why Don't We Just Dance," "Long Black Train," "Your Man," "Firecracker" and "All Over Me." But he also knows the music business is a constant grind where fans and the industry are only concerned with what you've done lately.
That knowledge is why he felt he needed to shake things up for his new record, "Punching Bag," which he is just wrapping up recording.
"The business is constantly changing, and unless you change you can get left behind," he says in a telephone interview. "I felt I had to freshen some things up, take a step back. I parted ways with my longtime producer. It was nothing personal. It was strictly business."
He chose Frank Rogers as the new producer, and after a brief getting-to-know-each-other period, he says, they settled into a working relationship.
"Once we picked three or four songs, it was smooth sailing," he says.
The final song list hasn't been selected yet, so Turner can't say for sure how it will sound, but it will be different.
"I still do not know what will end up on the record," he says. "I would call it more contemporary, and I hate to say that because that's just one song. "Hometown Girl" is more mainstream, but another one is very redneck and hillbilly."
Turner says his push for change was far more about remaining relevant than being trendy. He didn't want to jump on the "bro-country" trend and sing about pickup trucks and girls in short shorts under the moonlight. He says even the record labels "have become disillusioned with that already."
"I've watched those trends come and go in my 15-year career. I wasn't chasing a trend, but I wanted to appeal to the people who like trends," he says with a laugh. "I wanted it to fit into country radio without compromising the Josh Turner sound and who I am."
His years in the business have also taught him that once the record is out, the hard work begins. That's when he and his band hit the road.
"It's a battle," he says. "Nobody is throwing me a bone because I've been in it for 15 years. I'll be out there grinding and out there doing it like I always have."
Soon after beginning work on "Punching Bag," his fifth studio album, he realized "in hindsight that I was putting way too much pressure on myself and overthinking it."
So he quickly changed course. "This go-round, there was none of that [pressure]. I just went in and had fun, and I think it made it better."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.