Life on the Road: Tour Buses and Late Nights with Parmalee
Matt and Scott Thomas, Barry Knox, and Josh McSwain of Parmalee are Elaina Smith’s co-hosts for a week! From January 5-9, Backstage Country’s airwaves will be dominated by the band that gave us “Cowgirl,”…
Matt and Scott Thomas, Barry Knox, and Josh McSwain of Parmalee are Elaina Smith’s co-hosts for a week! From January 5-9, Backstage Country’s airwaves will be dominated by the band that gave us “Cowgirl,” “Carolina,” and “Take My Name.”
Parmalee opened up about their favorite parts of touring and the thrill of watching “Cowgirl” climb to No. 1 on the charts.
Parmalee Having Fun on Tour
Smith asked the band how touring was like for them. Matt said, “It was great. We started off doing Fell in Love with a Cowgirl Tour because the album come out and dropped in April. So, we’d just been spending the whole year just having fun, promoting the album, and watching ‘Cowgirl’ move up, and move up, and move up. And so, the ending of the year went out with a bang.”
After their Fell in Love with a Cowgirl Tour wrapped up in early 2025, the band went back on the road for their Feels Like Home Tour in the fall, playing major cities like Fort Myers, Las Vegas, and Indianapolis.
Performing 'Cowgirl' Live
Scott shared a story about the band’s experience performing their fifth No. 1 hit live: “It was actually in a meet and greet. We do a VIP meet and greet, it was just about a month ago. There was probably 30, 40 people in there, kids and grandmas, all singing ‘Cowgirl’ louder than we can sing it. We do an acoustic version, and it was loud.” Josh joked, “That’s the parties we throw, kids and grandma.”
b Scott chuckled, “We’ve covered them all now. I mean, it really has. We’ve seen it grow over the past couple of years where probably, ‘Just the Way,’ ‘Take My Name,’ and even ‘Girl in Mine.’ And now, ‘Cowgirl’ has brought the moms, the kids, and the family. So, we’re like ‘Whoa, okay. Wait a minute, there’s some kids here jamming.’ And it’s neat to see. So, that does feel like a new thing in 2025.”
Smith asked if the band changed the way they spoke during their shows.
Scott confirmed that they try, while Matt said they’ve really been wholesome, but Scott admitted it’s different once the show’s over: “Bus talk is bus talk. But we leave bus talk on the bus,” before adding with a laugh, “Try to.”
