It’s a happy and sad day for Home Free, and their loyal fans. Home Free announced the release date for their forthcoming new album, Crazy(er) Life, out on March 29, while also sharing some disappointing news. Home Free’s Austin Brown has decided to exit the all-vocal group, which he joined in 2012, to pursue other interests.
“After 12 years, I’m truly amazed looking back at what we’ve built together,” Brown says. “These guys have become so much more than friends; we’re brothers and we always will be. I’m grateful for their unwavering support throughout this journey and moving forward, and I will always be their biggest fan! Lord knows I wouldn’t be who I am without them and whoever is lucky enough to join this amazing group next is truly in for the ride of their life.”
Home Free will continue with Tim Foust, Adam Rupp, Rob Lundquist and Adam Chance, while they search for someone to replace Brown.
“We’re going to miss our baby brother,” Foust says. “The tour bus will be eerily quiet. But we’re eternally grateful for Austin’s immeasurable contributions to this band, and we also embrace each new beginning. We can’t wait to find out what the future holds for him and Home Free.”
Brown plans on continuing with Home Free, including on their upcoming Crazy(er) Life Tour, through the fall.
The Crazy(er) Life album, Brown’s final record, is Home Free’s celebration of how much everything changed for the talented singers after winning NBC’s The Sing-Off in 2013.
“As the name of the tour suggests, that goes hand-in-hand with an album, also called Crazy(er) Life,” Tim Foust told Everything Nash, explaining their decision to tour less. “Turns out, it’s another ten-year retrospective. We decided to do all-new recordings of all of the songs that we released on our first album after The Sing-Off.”
Home Free is continuing to add dates to their Crazy(er) Life Tour, although with fewer dates than any of their previous tours. a trend that will likely continue in the future.
“Honestly, it was sort of a by-product of the forced time at home during COVID,” Foust explained. “We’ve never been home that long, so we didn’t know what that was like. And after we got over the shock of it, we realized we kind of liked being at home, actually. And our families actually like us at home, too. So far. We’ll see.
“Maybe by 2026 we’ll be touring more again,” he added with a laugh.
Brown met Home Free while performing on a cruise ship. He, along with the other members of Home Free, have also continued to release music on their own. Brown recently released “I’ll Go First,” a tribute to his wife, Amberly.
“We became friends, and we were just casual friends. She friend-zoned me for a long time,” Brown recently told Everything Nash, speaking of their relationship. “And then, turns out, we friend-zoned each other. And then three or four years ago, COVID started, and we came home.”
“He invited me over to go fishing, and then kissed me over the fishing pole,” Amberly added with a laugh. “And we’ve been together ever since. Yes, it was magical. We still fish together. We have a YouTube channel that we kind of do that on now too.”
Pre-save Crazy(er) Life here. Find all of Home Free’s music and upcoming shows at HomeFreeMusic.com.
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Well Home Fries have been here before. Some of us may still have some residual trauma from that time when in 2016 Chris Rupp announced he was Moving on to other projects. Change is uncomfortable, but it is necessary for learning and growth. Austin needs this and Home Free and the Fries will Support him with it. Home Free will be just fine they will find , welcome and nurture another fine young artist. Austin will forever be part of the Home Free extended Family. The Family is always growing.
I may not be sure of my own coping skills at the moment *chuckle. I am 100% Sure that this will turn out to be a net positive for everyone. I can’t wait to see them out there somewhere this Tour. I can’t wait to see if we’ll get an album from Austin or will we get to see him on Broadway someday? There’s a whole lot more that Austin has every right to explore in his skill set box. lets get ready to enjoy this ride with all of them!