Jack Ingram Thankful for His ‘Party’ Invite

"For 13 years before I broke into this world, it wasn't 'cause I wasn't trying to. I wanted to play the ACMs in 1997 when my first major label record came out. I was wondering why I wasn't invited to the show," Jack tells Entertainment Weekly. "So, for me, it wasn't like I said, 'I want to go over there!' and all of a sudden the doors opened for me. It was me banging on the doors, and finally one opened."

So now that the door has opened, Jack wants to invite his fans in, too, so they can get to know him and understand his music.

"Not that I want to be Mr. Slam On Everything, but I spent so much time over the first few years of this new process just being glad to be at the party. Like, 'Hey! How you doin'!? Thanks for having me!' I haven't had the ability to get into any real conversation, me with the audience. Up until this point, it's all been small talk."

To do that, Jack plans to keep following in the path of those he admires including Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, and Willie Nelson.

Those musicians, he says, "knew who they were and what they were about...They came across as men having an opinion and being able to stand up behind it. Now, in this world, there's a lot more focus on people's opinions. There's a lot more access to all of this stuff. So for me it's been an exercise in learning how to be opinionated and be myself," says Jack. "To figure out how not to be a d---, but also let people know, Hey, man, this glitz and glamour stuff? You can have it. Let's get down to real songs, and real stories, and real things. That's what this music has always been about to me."

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