Mike Aiken, ‘Nashville Skyline’ Music Video [Exclusive Premiere]
Singer-songwriter Mike Aiken is premiering the music video for his song "Nashville Skyline" exclusively with The Boot. Press play above to watch and listen to this anthem devoted to the hardscrabble life of a Music City road warrior.
Aiken got behind the camera himself to shoot some of the footage for his "Nashville Skyline" video, while Sean Dugan filmed the pieces in Nashville itself. The clip took about three months to film, with Aiken and his wife Amy snapping shots of state welcome signs as they traversed the country on tour. The Music City-focused clips include shots at the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge and sights in East Nashville, along with scenes filmed inside a vintage Airstream trailer.
"The inside of the Airstream didn't lend itself well, plus it has no air-conditioning and it was 98 degrees outside," Aiken admits to The Boot. "Note that the Airstream was completely illegal during the shooting — no insurance, no registration, etc. — but we slapped some plates on it and off we went downtown to shoot the bridge scenes.
"I told the camera man to keep shooting if I got stopped by the police," he adds, "but luckily I didn't get stopped."
As for the song "Nashville Skyline," Aiken says that it's all about the "grittier side" of what it means to be a "hard-working, roaddog Nashville musician."
"I didn't want a fancy tour bus and glamour. Most of us don't live that life," he shares. "It was during the short, first test drive with the Airstream that I thought it would make a great platform to create the video."
Born in New York and currently living in a sailboat in Norfolk, Va., when he's not on the road, Aiken is part sea captain, part performer, and has logged more than 30,000 bluewater miles on the seas and even more out on the road on tour.
Aiken released his most recent album, Wayward Troubadour, on which "Nashville Skyline" appears, in 2018. Fans can keep up with his goings-on at MikeAikenMusic.com.
50 Country Albums Everyone Must Hear Before They Die
More From TheBoot
![18 Years Ago: Jo Dee Messina Runs the Boston Marathon](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2015/04/jo-dee-messina-boston-marathon.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![14 Years Ago: Alan Jackson Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2015/04/alan-jackson-hollywood-walk-of-fame-star.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![35 Years Ago: Dolly Parton Serves as Host and Musical Guest on ‘SNL’](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2015/04/dolly-parton-saturday-night-live.png?w=980&q=75)
![53 Years Ago: John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ Is Released](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2015/11/john-denver-birthday1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![35 Years Ago: Garth Brooks Releases His Debut Album](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2017/04/garth-brooks-debut-album.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![32 Years Ago: Wynonna Judd Hits No. 1 With Debut Solo Single](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2017/04/wynonna-judd-she-is-his-only-need-no-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![29 Years Ago: George Strait Records ‘Check Yes or No’ and ‘I Know She Still Loves Me’](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2017/04/George-Strait.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![33 Years Ago: Patty Loveless Earns First Gold Album With ‘Honky Tonk Angel’](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2015/04/patty-loveless-honky-tonk-angel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![55 Years Ago: Bob Dylan Releases ‘Nashville Skyline’](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2019/04/dylan-nashvill.jpg?w=980&q=75)