Drake MilliganDrake Milligan has heard the label plenty of times: one of modern country’s strongest traditionalists. In 2026, it’s a description that fits but not because he’s trying to prove anything. For Milligan, the sound he’s known for is simply the result of the music that shaped him.
“I think so,” he says of the tag. “Pretty much my influences are mostly traditional country. You know, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, George Strait.” What matters to him isn’t chasing a title, but letting those influences naturally show up in his work. “It’s not an attempt. I’m not trying to be, you know, ‘I’m the most traditional,’” he explains. “It’s just… trying to take some of those sounds and make them new again.”
That mindset carries through to how he approaches making records. Milligan says the balance between old and new tends to “just kind of naturally” happen, even if he’s mindful of keeping his music able to sit alongside today’s releases. “I don’t want it to lose the integrity of what my favourite records were and how good those sounded,” he says.
His new album, Tumbleweed, reflects that philosophy while still pushing him into new territory. “I want a little something for everybody in there,” Milligan says, explaining that he actively avoids repetition. “I don’t want anything to sound too much like something I’ve released before.” That meant branching out more than ever, pulling from a wide range of influences. “There’s a song on here that was really influenced by the music of Marty Robbins… there’s a little bit deeper sad songs on here than I’ve put out before,” he says, alongside tracks with “Elvis or Buddy Holly or… Buck Owens energy.”
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What fans might not realise is how long some of these songs have been waiting for their moment. “Some of these songs were written years ago,” Milligan reveals. “Slow Dancing to a Fast Song is a song that I wrote seven or eight years ago, and I’ve been playing it on the road ever since.” Others came together during recording, written to fill gaps in the album’s energy. “Girl Like You was a song that I wrote during the recording of this album, just because I wanted that kind of energy in a spot on this record.”
Milligan admits he’s tough on himself as a songwriter, often stepping away from songs before deciding whether they belong on a record. “I’m a pretty hard critic on myself,” he says. “I’ll just put it away for like a week and not come back to it.” In the end, it comes down to instinct. “A feeling like this is a song I want to sing every night… a song that I feel like people need to hear.”
That instinct driven approach extends to his live shows too. With more than 300 shows under his belt in the past three years, Milligan says he rarely locks himself into a rigid setlist. “I always keep my band on their toes,” he laughs. “I’m always changing stuff.” Reading the room is key, whether that means stretching out a moment or skipping a slow song if the crowd’s energy is peaking. “I feel like I can read a crowd pretty well,” he says. “I may turn to the band and go, ‘All right, let’s do whatever.’”
Now gearing up for another massive year on the road including a few stops in Australia in July this year Milligan says the schedule doesn’t intimidate him, it excites him. “I’ve had a couple months off recently and I’m kind of, I don’t know what to do with myself,” he admits. “I’m just excited to get back on the road.”
That includes his highly anticipated return down under, following his 2024 appearance at CMC Rocks. “They were wild,” he says of Australian crowds. “I felt kind of right at home… Australians and Texans kind of have a similar thing going.” This time, he’s headlining Lasso Festival and a couple of his own shows in Sydney and Melbourne, a shift he welcomes. “If I know that the crowd’s there to see me, it’s a little bit of pressure off,” he says. “I just have to not mess that up.”
Milligan is also bringing Australian artist Mack Geiger along as support, something he sees as essential to country music’s global growth. “I’ve checked out some of his stuff and I like it, and I can feel a little bit of a tinge of that traditional sound coming through there, which I like. So, I’m excited to see the show.” he grins.
“Nobody is going to understand Australians better than an Australian,” he says. “It’s important… to have those local artists and support local artists, too.”
And as for what fans can expect this time around? Milligan knows exactly what’s still being talked about. “Everybody was pretty dismayed that I didn’t do a shoey last time at CMC,” he says with a grin. “So maybe this time you’ll get to see me do a shoey.”
Traditional, modern, or somewhere in between, Drake Milligan is doing it his way and Australia’s next chapter with him is just getting started.
Tickets to Drake Milligan’s Australian tour are on sale now via frontiertouring.com/drakemilligan
