59 Facts About Kristian Bush

In 2023 Kristian Bush released an EP titled Drink Happy Thoughts on his own label Songs Of The Architect.

Kristian Bush was raised outside of Knoxville in Sevierville, Tennessee, a small town at the base of the Smoky Mountains that was the hometown of Dolly Parton.

Kristian Bush was exposed to instruments from an early age, and picked up his first violin at age 4.

Kristian Bush's grandparents made a "weird deal" when he was 12 and lost the Bush Brothers company, a deal they were ultimately bitter about, but it allowed Bush to grow up and be whatever he wanted.

The family eventually relocated to Knoxville and by age 11, Kristian Bush agreed to play one season in the Knoxville Youth Symphony, before earning the right to lay the violin down for good and start learning the guitar.

Kristian Bush did swimmer electives throughout high school and college, and would write music in his head to the rhythm of his swimming strokes.

Kristian Bush attended Avon Old Farms Boarding School in Avon, Connecticut, graduating in 1988.

Kristian Bush then attended Emory University in Atlanta, earning a degree in Creative Writing.

Shortly after completing college, Kristian Bush introduced himself to Atlanta songwriter Andrew Hyra and his sister Annie, who were performing at a club in Knoxville; the two had recently moved there after completing college.

In 1990, Kristian Bush played guitar and sang backup vocals on Big Back Porch Songs, an album by the Hyras.

Big Back Porch Songs was never released but Kristian Bush was given a copy.

Kristian Bush released an album shortly afterwards, Politics and Pocketchange, which the Hyras were featured on.

Billy Pilgrim, like Kristian Bush, became inactive for a period; during this time, he occasionally performed at Eddie's Attic and produced work for artists such as Ellis Paul, Beth Wood, and Evan and Jaron.

In 1997, Kristian Bush announced that both he and Hyra were working on separate solo albums; however, neither album was released.

In 1999, Kristian Bush took interest in the newly developing format of online music distribution.

Kristian Bush began releasing demos, outtakes, and live performances from Billy Pilgrim on the website MP3.

Kristian Bush appreciated that he was able to release music easily without anyone else's approval.

Kristian Bush cited U2s The Joshua Tree and Thom Yorke as inspiration for the album.

Kristian Bush later discussed starting a band with Hall in 2002 and held auditions for the lead singer; Nettles was fifth to audition, and Kristian Bush said she "blew it out of the water".

In 2003, Kristian Bush met with the two at a Starbucks to discuss starting a band together; the trio officially formed Sugarland the next day.

Kristian Bush described the experience as his "second first record", understanding the experience and knowing the pressure associated with the first attempt.

Kristian Bush was unaware of what happened and was kept in the dark for a long time.

Kristian Bush was eventually evacuated to his bus but was forced to remain on the scene.

Kristian Bush recalled "all sorts of silence" as Nettles and the downstairs crew watched footage of the accident on the news.

In years following, especially the immediate days following the event, Kristian Bush was discouraged from talking about the accident due to pending lawsuits.

Kristian Bush returned home and continued working out the details of his pending divorce, finalizing it in November 2011.

Unsure of what to do going forward, Kristian Bush purchased a house in Nashville and began reaching out and working with established songwriters in the area, accepting any work that was offered to him.

Kristian Bush mainly wrote music only when he needed to for Sugarland, but now found himself writing songs constantly.

Kristian Bush was encouraged by the people around him to write a solo album.

Kristian Bush began considering the venture, and looked through what songs he had written following the hiatus; he was surprised to find he had a collection of 300 recorded songs, and focused on what collection of songs he should release first.

Kristian Bush began playing and writing for those he had worked with in the past, although they were reluctant to give him an opportunity because they did not know anything about how he performed separately; he realized then that the momentum from Sugarland would not carry over into his potential solo career.

The game's director Dave Kerr responded suggesting a collaboration and Kristian Bush agreed, performing the mandolin for a monster representation of himself, the "Shugabush".

My Singing Monsters would later feature a cover of "Love or Money", with Kristian Bush doing a gibberish rendition of the lyrics.

Kristian Bush hosted "Music Mondays" on his website, where he released his works and discussed the story behind it.

Kristian Bush found himself writing and recording music much more frequently, purposefully not thinking about where or when the song would be released.

Kristian Bush's studio burned down, his mom passed and he gathered the fortitude to keep going.

In 2014, Kristian Bush signed for Gallimore's Streamsound Records as a solo artist.

Gallimore noticed that Kristian Bush was hiding a lot when it came to his current situation, and recognized that it was a "very, very painful" time for him.

The solo album consisted of feel-good music and lyrics; Kristian Bush himself admitted that he was unsure how that came to be given the circumstances.

Kristian Bush collaborated with the best in his field to ensure people weren't showing positive reception simply because he was famous, including Will Jennings, Paul Overstreet, Bob DiPiero, and James Blunt.

Kristian Bush announced the solo album, Southern Gravity, in 2014, and released "Trailer Hitch" in July.

Kristian Bush was fascinated meeting people who were both fans of Sugarland and "Trailer Hitch", but having rarely heard him sing in the former, were surprised to find that he sang the song.

Kristian Bush referred to Southern Gravity as his "third first album".

Kristian Bush was a lead performer at the January 2016 30A Songwriters Festival in Seaside, Florida.

When Kristian Bush learned about Hyra's attendance at his final show he performed "I Won't Tell" from their album Bloom; Hyra joined him onstage and sang harmony, to the standing ovation from the audience.

Kristian Bush had been given the green light for a second solo album, and Hyra was a carpenter and performed casually, so no plans for a reformation were made at the time.

In February 2016, Kristian Bush signed a new publishing, producing, and label deal with Broken Bow Records, to record under their imprint Wheelhouse Records.

Kristian Bush makes a guest appearance on the show later in the season.

Also after Southern Gravity, playwright Janece Shaffer reached out to Kristian Bush requesting that he write a song about a character for her playwright Troubadour; set in 1951, it's about the life of fictional country star Billy Mason.

Shaffer requested a second song, so Kristian Bush wrote three songs to pick from; Shaffer used all three.

Ultimately, Kristian Bush would write the entire soundtrack for the musical.

The music felt deeply personal to him, with lyrics that he felt reflected his career and music reflecting that of the 1930's, which Kristian Bush drew inspiration from in his music.

Kristian Bush planned not to release new music until later in 2017, but early exposure from Bobby Bones, a fan of his music, caused him to release "Sing Along".

Kristian Bush explained that the song was about a past relationship that ended some time after his divorce, with lyrics that would remind them about the good times they had.

On May 31,2019, Kristian Bush released a new EP, Summertime Six Pack.

Kristian Bush has co-written with actress and singer Rita Wilson on three of her albums; Rita Wilson, Bigger Picture, and Halfway to Home.

In 2019 Kristian Bush formed a new band with his brother Brandon, and friend Benji Shanks called Dark Water.

Kristian Bush presented coverage of the 2017 CMA Music Festival on BBC Radio 2.

Kristian Bush has a son and a daughter from his marriage, which ended in 2011.