Chris Stapleton may not say a lot when he isn’t on stage, but when he does speak, what he says carries weight. The 42-year-old recently spoke out about the Black Lives Matter movement, urging others to do as much as possible to bring an end to racial inequality.
“I think everybody should be doing more,” Chris told CBS This Morning. “There’s a very broad awakening that I guess has come about, and It’s time for me to listen. And it’s time for other folks to listen.”
Chris admits he wasn’t aware of the problem African Americans were facing in the United States — something he deeply regrets now.
“You know, I thought we were living in a different country. And that’s 100 percent real,” Chris shared. “I feel like the country that I thought that we were living in was a myth. I think we all have a lot of work to do, as individuals and as a society. And if you don’t think that, I think you’re not looking.”
Chris just announced the release of his new album, Starting Over, in November, although he acknowledges he wasn’t sure the time was right for a new set of tunes, in the middle of a global pandemic.
“I think everybody has doubts about everything they’re doing in every moment right now,” Chris said. “If anybody tells you that they haven’t reached a near-breaking point, mentally, in these times, I think they’re probably lying to you. There’s good days and bad days.”
The Kentucky native found a surprising way to help him cope with the challenging events, especially while not able to tour.
“For my birthday this year, in April, my wife asked, ‘What do you want?’ I said, ‘I think I want a bicycle,'” Chris revealed. “So I started riding a mountain bike. I go out in the woods, and I ride a bicycle through the words. It’s helped tremendously in a centering kind of way.”
Chris hopes to be back on the road next year, and for as many years in the future as he can.
“We all hope for the Willie Nelson career, where we’re 85 or 86 and we can go play as much or as little as we want to,” Chris said. “I hope I can make it to 85. I think if I am able to walk out on stage and hold a guitar when I’m 85, I think that’s probably gonna happen.”
