David Nail’s Upcoming New Album Was a Surprise to Him

As he was climbing to the top of the charts with "Whatever She's Got" last year, David Nail opened up about his lengthy battle with depression and the treatment he'd been seeking. Now, the Missouri native is working on a new record, and he hints that it will be the strongest album he has ever recorded.

"With this record, I had no expectations of making one, period," Nail tells The Boot. "I took the first two and a half months off this year and was writing a lot, and I wrote a couple songs that I wanted to go in and record, just really as demos. My producer was like, ‘Hey, let’s get the players that played on the last one, and whatever comes of it comes of it,’ and the label caught wind of it and asked me if we had any other songs."

The 36-year-old also scored an opening slot on Little Big Town's Pain Killer Tour, and while LBT have been forced to cancel a few of their tour’s summer dates due to member Jimi Westbrook’s vocal cord surgery, Nail still has dates remaining with the country quartet. After headlining his own 2014 I'm a Fire Tour, Nail says that he is more than happy to open for the "Girl Crush" singers.

"I’d be excited to play any show with Little Big Town. They’re my four favorite people, probably in this business," Nail says. "They’ve been so good to me. They’re such great friends. They’re so encouraging. We’ve been out with them before, and I’ve never played a show with them where I haven’t looked over to the side of the stage and seen at least one of them watching our show. I think that’s the biggest compliment you can give an artist, that you care enough to go out there during your routine of getting ready for a show and go out and see theirs.

"They’re great people," he continues. "They get off the bus every day, and they’re in the best mood in the world. There must be some room they go to, where they 'MF' everybody and tell everyone to go to hell, and then they get off and they’re all happy again."

Nail says that he plans to reveal a brand-new tune while on the road with LBT.

"We’re getting ready to release something new ..." Nail hints. "... We’re trying to get our set all figured out. We’re so excited about it. There’s probably going to be more new stuff than the other three records combined."

And while most artists would have at least a bit of trepidation about releasing a new set of tunes, especially on the heels of a project as successful as I'm a Fire, Nail says that he is confident.

"I feel like, more so with this record, there’s been bits of fate involved, and something kind of underneath the rug that’s led us in the direction to where we’re at," Nail says.

Keep track of all of Nail's upcoming shows at DavidNail.com.