This week's co-host on 'CMT Country Countdown USA' is Randy Houser.  The Hawk's popular countdown airs Sunday night 7-10pm on 98.1 The Hawk.

Randy spent last year on Brad Paisley's Country Nation Tour as well as Dierks Bentley's Riser Tour.  Lots of Hawk listeners from the Binghamton caught the show and gave us great feedback.

This year, he's out on Luke Bryan's Kick The Dust Up Tour, where he'll play his first stadiums!  "Just the experience of playing a stadium, I can't imagine what that's going to be like.  It's fairly daunting.  I'm looking at it going, 'What am I gonna do to entertain 60,000 people?'"

Randy told the Hawk's Lon Helton, he picked up one idea from Dierks Bentley: "I bought a Jeep, so now I do some sight-seeing in my Jeep on show day.  A few weeks ago I was in Upper Michigan, and there was 4 feet of snow, so I ended up getting stuck in the snow for over an hour.  My phone was dead, didn't have a shovel, no wench on my Jeep, and it too about an hour to dig my Jeep out.  So today, I'm putting a wench on that Jeep.  I'll let it dig me out next time."

Randy recently had the experience of a lifetime, seeing his first-ever Garth Brooks show, and actually meeting Garth and Trisha Yearwood. "When I was 16 years old, he changed country music." But you didn't see him back then? "We didn't have the funds, so I got to hear about it back then, but by God, the first time I got to see Garth Brooks, I got to hang out with him! You could never find more gracious people to just sit and talk to."

Randy had an even better example of just how gracious and down-home Garth & Trisha can be: "I have a guy who works for me, and he took my Jeep out to have it fixed, and he goes into the waiting room, and realizes he's sitting next to Garth & Trisha who are getting something worked on at the same place!  So my guy spent an hour there talking with Garth & Trisha, and he couldn't get over how cool and how normal they were."

Last December, Randy performed on the finale of "The Voice," where Craig Wayne Boyd was named the winner.  It wasn't a coincidence, because Randy has known Craig for a long time. "That was such a cool experience.  Craig Wayne Boyd came to Nashville soon after I did.  I've watched him work really hard. He can play anything.  He's open shows for me, and he's just a good guy.  I'm very proud that Craig won that thing."

Randy's son West is about to have a birthday: "West will turn 3 on March 6th.  He consumes me.  I see so much life in him, he's hilarious, he laughs like I do, he loves to make you laugh, really smart, has good manners, and he is my best friend.  I'm watching my best friend grow up so he can do stuff with me."

Listen for more with Randy Houser Sunday night 7-10pm on 98.1 The Hawk, on line at 981TheHawk.com or download the Hawk app Radio Pup to your smart phone or tablet.

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