Old Dominion earned one of the most coveted spots on a tour this summer when they were invited to hit the road with Kenny Chesney for his 2015 The Big Revival Tour. While most acts would be thrilled upon receiving such an invitation, at first, the five-man group had an entirely different reaction.

"We thought it was a joke," bass player Geoff Sprung recalls to The Boot. "They were like, ‘You guys made it. Kenny wants you on the tour,’ and we were like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ And they were like, ‘No, we’re serious.’"

Explains drummer Whit Sellers, "We had always teased, like, ‘So we’ll be on tour with Kenny next year …’"

All kidding aside, the "Break Up With Him" singers acknowledge that the tour changed the the entire trajectory of their career.

"We were in this weird spot where we’re playing these crappy little fairs, and then on Saturday we would get to go play a stadium," lead singer Matt Ramsey explains. "The whole crew, and Kenny himself, everybody treats you like gold. The fans are amazing. Nobody’s getting into fights, and everybody’s just having a good time. The whole atmosphere, from beginning to end, is amazing."

Adds Sprung, "The pacing of it is so different: In a club show, you’ve got an hour and a half, and you’ve got a whole bunch of people that are waiting for your music. You play a couple, you take a break, you come back. You build the hills and valleys. With this show, we had to hammer it -- 20 minutes of fury."

Quips Ramsey, "You get drunk a lot sooner on those days."

Performing in sold-out stadiums and arenas gave Old Dominion incentive to eventually reach bigger audiences as a headliner themselves.

"I think you learn how to make your show bigger, too," guitarist and keyboard player Trevor Rosen notes. "We’re used to playing clubs and things like that, so the first couple shows were a learning experience. Not that we changed the way we played much, but just learning how to project in the bigger area."

Clearly, Old Dominion impressed their summer tour boss. The group has been invited by Chesney to join his 2016 summer tour, a joint stadium trek with Miranda Lambert.

"We’re not even really looking forward to it, but catering’s good," Sellers says with a laugh. "Pack your lunch, go to work."

Old Dominion's freshman album, Meat and Candy, is out now. A list of all of their upcoming shows is available on their website.

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