Trace Adkins on Nashville’s Boom, Real Country, and Rowdy Road Stories :: Ep 45 Circling the Drain Podcast

Country icon Trace Adkins gets candid about buying his Tennessee farm, Nashville’s explosive growth, and why “perfect” modern records leave him cold. He shares wild stories with Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, and more, plus visions for a catfish joint called Hot Mamas.

Trace Adkins is back for part three, and this time he goes deep on life at the farm, Nashville’s real estate explosion, and why old-school, imperfect records still hit harder than today’s polished tracks. From Merle Haggard in boxer shorts with a joint over his ear to Waylon cussing the bugs onstage and Buck Owens’ brutally honest “low note” advice, Trace tells the kind of stories only a true country legend can.

He and the guys also riff on Nashville turning into a “clean New Orleans,” soccer vs. hockey, the changing studio scene, in-ear monitors vs. wedges, health food vs. fried catfish, and his dream of opening a catfish joint called “Hot Mamas.” If you love real country, road stories, and unfiltered opinions, this is your episode.

1:01 How Trace found his dream 100‑acre farm (and paid more later for 30 acres)

2:55 Nashville’s growth, California money, and $3M homes in former farm fields

3:35 “Clean New Orleans” vibes: Broadway, CMA week, and 250 people a day moving in

5:19 Murfreesboro, Franklin, Gallatin: when the outer ring gets just as crowded

6:07 Getting outside 840 to keep “country living” alive

7:26 Little League moms, grocery store encounters, and a fan story gone sideways

8:18 Why Trace hates soccer and loves hockey fights

10:37 Being a Titans fan, the Music City Miracle, and growing up with the Saints

12:20 Nashville before the Titans and Predators: massage parlors, Printer’s Alley, and a ghost town downtown