Whether you’ve spent every year at Mardi Gras in New Orleans or have only heard stories from afar, there’s one thing that everyone knows: beads, everywhere. For the city of New Orleans, that includes clean-up.
To assist in those efforts, Dylan Scott returned to his home state of Louisiana to partner with Crown Royal. Those with unwanted beads during the celebration are encouraged to donate them, and will receive a free King Cake from the historic Gambino’s Bakery. Donated beads will be recycled in collaboration with Arc of Greater New Orleans.
“It was a no-brainer,” Scott says, on the phone from New Orleans on Friday. “I wanted to be a part of it. One, just because it’s dealing with my home state, so anything I can do for where I’m from, I want to, and two, it’s for a great cause.”Aside from celebrating in New Orleans, the “My Girl” singer recently notched another milestone: one million units sold. “It’s crazy, I had no idea that was gonna happen, I don’t really keep up with my numbers,” he says. Scott’s team surprised him onstage with a plaque at a recent show in Indianapolis, one of many stops on Scott’s extensive touring schedule.
“We’re on the road every weekend,” he says. “The shows have been crazy lately – if we’re not selling the places out we’re about 100 people from selling it out every night. The fans are showing up, they’re singing the music back to us, so it’s a really crazy time for us.” When we speak, Scott’s in New Orleans; the next day, he’ll travel to Salt Lake City, next week he’s in Alaska, then heads to Michigan. “I love traveling,” he says of the hectic schedule. “To get out and meet people from across the country and see things that I’ve may have thought I’d never see, it’s a blessing.”
The 26-year-old grew up a huge Keith Whitley fan, sprinkled with Maroon 5, T-Pain, and Lil Wayne, influences he says made him who he is now. His diverse influences are shared by his fan base as well. “During our live show I’ll do a Keith Whitley song and everybody usually knows it, whether they’re 16,17 years old or they’re 50 or 55, and they’re singing it back to me,” he says. “As soon as I’m done with it, I start singing the first lines to Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” They sing it right back to me, they go from singing 1980’s Keith Whitley to current day pop music Justin Bieber. It’s just music. Good music is good music.”
Catch Dylan Scott at a tour date near you.