NEED TO KNOW
Brett Eldredge is living the life he’s always dreamed of living.
“I got exactly what I asked for,” Eldredge tells PEOPLE while on a brisk walk down the streets of Chicago before yet another show as part of his Glow Live Tour. “I’m doing the things that I really want to do and still making the music I really want to make.”
Certainly, that somewhat ideal life didn’t happen by accident. It has materialized thanks to a number of intentional and important decisions made by Eldredge in recent years — from cutting back on social media to keeping his personal life private to eliminating the traps of apps on his phone. “I have apps that block my social media on my phone,” says the “Don’t Ya” hitmaker. “I have figured out a much healthier balance with all of it.”
Indeed, the singer-songwriter says he is finding ways to continue to grow his career while still keeping some of the important boundaries he has established around him.
“It’s been really cool to step back from the expectations of industry and decide what I want my story to look like moving forward,” says Eldredge, 39. “I made some big changes in my life and have found a really good balance and still do what I love. There is a place where you can still be yourself and be yourself to your fans and not sell your soul to the content machine.”
He lets out a laugh, but he’s not kidding. “It’s just been beautiful to really explore that.”
Edgar Evan
Granted, remaining a successful artist in this day and age of viral videos and tacky trends hasn’t always been easy for the musician. “There’s never a perfect route of doing things,” says Eldredge, who shares “stuff that really matters to me” whenever “the time feels right. It comes with its own challenges, but I’ve really enjoyed doing it the way that that feels right to my heart.”
And nothing is as close to Eldredge’s heart as the shows he performs each and every holiday season — shows that are quickly becoming family traditions for so many of his loyal fans. “I step out there on stage and I feel that energy and there is nothing like it,” says Eldredge, who has aptly earned the title of “Mr. Christmas” in recent years thanks to the popularity of his festive annual tour. “I want to make it an extremely special moment for everyone there.”
Edgar Evan
And yes, of all the shows that he could do throughout the year, it is these Christmas shows that Eldredge says are the ones he pushes himself to do — despite his fight against onstage anxiety.
“I don’t want to stop doing it because it’s a challenge, because really, the challenge makes it beautiful too,” explains Eldredge, who released his eighth full-length LP and third holiday album, Merry Christmas (Welcome to the Family), last year. “It’s been a powerful thing to learn that. It’s not a normal thing to get to perform, but I feel like I was born to do it when I am up there. I’ve done this a million times and I’m going to do it a million more times. This is an important thing for me.”
It’s essential — not only to sing on that stage but also to share his story on that stage.
“I really do think it’s important for my soul to be a voice for other people,” continues Eldredge, who will conclude this year’s Glow Live Tour in Boston on Dec. 19 and 20. “I’m just a guy up there that gets to sing and gets to tell stories and hopefully those stories relate to others. We’re kind of all communicating as humans in a world where it feels like it’s pulling you away from humanity.”
Jenna Murray
And while Eldredge tries not to look too far into his own future, he hints he may already know who he wants to spend that future with.
“I have an amazing person in my life and I’m very happy about it,” Eldredge says with a smile, though he prefers to keep details of his personal life private. “These moments are really sacred to me and her. I’m very happy and things are going great.”
