Russell Dickerson is currently headlining his All Yours, All Night Tour, a dream come true for the Tennessee native. But after that tour wraps, he is happily returning to being an opening act, this time for his own musical idol, Tim McGraw, on the upcoming McGraw Tour 2022.

“I will happily open for Tim McGraw any day of the year,” Dickerson tells Everything Nash.

Perhaps surprisingly, it was McGraw himself who personally extended the invitation to Dickerson to join him on the road.

“He literally — on my phone, it said like ‘Unknown Caller,’ or ‘No Caller ID,'” Dickerson recalls. “And I’m like, ‘What’s up?’ And he said, ‘Hey, it’s McGraw.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, there’s only one McGraw.’ He said, ‘Man, I just wanted to personally invite you on tour with me.’ And  I literally, my one dream tour, my one bucket list tour is Tim McGraw. If there’s one country artist that I’ve listened to the most hours of, it’s Tim McGraw.”

Dickerson is a diehard McGraw fan. In fact, when asked what his favorite song from the country music hitmaker is, Dickerson chose one that wasn’t even released as a single.

“It’s called ‘Seventeen,'” Dickerson shares. “I listen to that song so much that I thought it was just like a massive hit. but turns out it was not. Not many people know that song, but it’s ‘Seventeen.’ That’s literally one of my favorite Tim McGraw songs ever that, and then ‘She’s My Kind of Rain.'”

Chances are, most nights McGraw is performing, Dickerson will be happily soaking it all in from the side of the stage. But for now, the father of one is happy to be on his own tour, which is a culmination of what Dickerson has been working towards since “Yours” was released in 2015.

“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for in my career, to have my own headlining tour,” Dickerson tells Everything Nash. “I love opening up for people. I love opening for Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line and all that stuff, but it’s like, this is my show. I get to do whatever I want. I get to play as long as I want. And I feel like this is my moment to shine. That freedom is where I shine. I can bust into an old song or a brand-new song, or a James Taylor song or anything. It’s my night. I can do whatever I want. And I’ve been waiting for that freedom for so long.”

Find all of Dickerson’s upcoming shows by visiting his website.