S E118: George Birge: 10-Year Town, TikTok Virality and Country Music Grit | Ep 118 Try That in a Small Town Podcast
S E118: George Birge: 10-Year Town, TikTok Virality and Country Music Grit | Ep 118 Try That in a Small Town Podcast  
Podcast: Try That in a Small Town Podcast
Published On: Mon Jul 20 2026
Description: In this episode of the Try That In A Small Town podcast, the guys sit down with hitmaker George Birge to unpack his long road to “overnight success” in Nashville. George talks about grinding for a decade before his first number one, the moment Luke Bryan said “Play that motherfucker” about his song, and how TikTok flipped his career with Beer Beer Truck Truck.He shares how Clay Walker pushed him back into being an artist, how a Bobby Bones performance turned Mind On You into a life-changing hit, and why Jason Aldean giving that song back was a defining act of class. Along the way you’ll hear wild road stories with SEAL Team Six and Post Malone, getting wrecked by Gary Allan’s weed, the art of building a live set, and how country music’s community creates careers that last decades. They close it out with golf at Augusta, Idiots of the Week, HVAC disasters, fan etiquette and plenty of laughs.Timed Highlights: 0:03:12 – Four number ones in a row, why Nashville is a “10-year town” and how hard it really is to break 0:04:35 – Building relationships with radio and listeners, and the pressure of chasing every hit 0:05:04 – Luke Bryan mentor story, Chesney’s jet and the “Play that motherfucker” cowboy song moment 0:07:40 – Why country music is a “big happy family” and how fan relationships create 20–40 year careers 0:08:53 – Shouting out Kurt and Tully on a surprise Jason Aldean number one and how labels plan chart runs 0:10:00 – Original Glory beer spot and investing in America’s small towns 0:11:14 – The magic and misery of the grind: why it’s good that success doesn’t come easy 0:12:20 – First number one, confidence, and how belief changes the way you write and perform 0:13:20 – Mike Eli’s tough-love advice: “You just need to go get your ass kicked” 0:15:30 – Sprinter van nightmare in Kentucky, the meth’d-out “mechanic” and character-building on the road 0:17:49 – Moving from one recognizable song to multiple hits and the freedom of building a real setlist 0:18:38 – Covers as a “cheat code,” winning crowds in clubs and finding the sweet spot with 90s country medleys 0:20:19 – Club days: Dwight Yoakam medleys, Sweet Child O’ Mine into Paradise City, and stretching 90 minutes 0:22:40 – Teaching an audience how to listen to your ballad and earning the right to play the slow songs 0:25:26 – Lessons from touring with Toby Keith: zero ego, human jukebox and knowing when to turn it into a honky-tonk cover set 0:28:19 – Tailgating with Toby Keith, SEAL Team Six and Post Malone on the bus in Virginia Beach 0:29:48 – Post Malone’s country roots, respect for the genre and doing it the right way 0:30:09 – Pivoting to “just” being a songwriter, asking out of the duo deal and heading to Clay Walker’s beach house 0:33:33 – Writing Clay Walker’s We All Need A Bar Sometimes and Catching Up With An Old Memory and hearing the band’s take from the studio side 0:36:35 – Refusing to quit, irrational optimism and how things fall into place when you keep showing up 0:37:38 – Clay Walker says “Get on TikTok” and the birth of Beer Beer Truck Truck from a country-music hater’s video 0:39:41 – Going viral overnight, crediting the original TikTok creator and landing on The Bobby Bones Show 0:39:47 – Playing Mind On You live on Bobby Bones, getting a record deal and watching it go number one 0:41:03 – Jason Aldean had Mind On You on hold – and gave it back so George could release it as his debut single 0:45:08 – George’s Mount Rushmore: Aldean, Gary Allan, George Strait and Tracy Lawrence, and how that shaped his sound 0:46:47 – First-hand weed disasters: Gary Allan’s tackle box, the volcano, numb legs and the best pineapple ever 0:52:23 – Willie’s Remedy, tequila pairings and trying to “just sleep” through a THC drink gone wrong 0:54:08 – Tequila on the road, giving up whiskey in the summer and survival strategies under 100-degree stage lights 0:55:16 – Golf talk: college golf background, shooting 75 at Augusta and winning the BMW Celebrity Pro-Am 0:57:31 – John Daly, a 27-minute Knocking on Heaven’s Door and golf-country crossovers 0:58:08 – Weekly segment: Idiots of the Week – ducks on dashboards and Jeep duck culture 0:59:35 – People touching injured shoulders, hugging the sling side and unintentional pain 1:01:16 – HVAC conspiracy: the AC “just happens” to die right after the service check and buying a new unit 1:06:42 – Language rant: the word “literally,” dictionaries caving and when words stop meaning what they mean 1:08:37 – Fan behavior: phones in faces, reading the screen mid-song and completely losing the lyrics 1:10:19 – Fist bumps, picks, Sharpies mid-solo and why some fans think they’re on stage with you 1:12:00 – World Cup tangent, flops, drama and sports rants 1:13:40 – Peacemaker Coffee plug and sending George beans for the bus 1:14:23 – The hosts on why George is great for country music, closing thanks and merch reminders______________________________________________________________________________________________SPONSORS: The Try That in a Small Town Podcast is powered by e|spaces!Redefining Coworking - Exceptional Office Space for Every BusinessBook a tour today at espaces.comFrom the Patriot Mobile studios:Don’t get fooled by other cellular providers pretending to share your values or have the same coverage. 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