Kip Moore

Kip Moore is a Georgia-bred singer/songwriter with an affinity for big country hooks and everyman themes. Arriving at the peak of the so-called "bro-country" phenomenon of the 2010s, Moore's breakthrough hit "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck" became one of the classics of the genre: a big, shiny tune about good times, cold beer, cute girls, and reliable vehicles. After it took off in 2012, a few more hits followed, though it took him three years and one scrapped record before he delivered Wild Ones in the summer of 2015. With Wild Ones, Moore wove elements of '80s arena rock and heartland roots music into his contemporary country, a synthesis he perfected on 2017's Slowheart. The blend of intimate country and widescreen rock allowed Moore to move in different emotional directions, whether it was getting introspective with 2020's Wild World or putting emphasis on open-road and barroom anthems on 2023's Damn Love. 2025's Solitary Tracks was an ambitious and reflective set, and also his longest release to date.

Born and raised in Tifton, Georgia, near the Florida-Georgia state line, Moore was the son of a golfer and a painter. He spent most of his school years playing sports, but his attention turned toward music while he was attending Hanceville, Alabama's Wallace State Community College. Moore transferred to Georgia's Valdosta State University on a golf scholarship but was soon lured away by music, getting his first gig at a local Mellow Mushroom restaurant and playing with a band. Once he graduated from college, he decided to live in Hawaii for a spell before heading to Nashville in 2004. Earning a paycheck as a manager at Abercrombie & Fitch, Moore chipped away at music, starting to earn a reputation in songwriting circles and placing songs with Jake Owen and Thompson Square. In 2008, Creative Artist Agency's Marc Dennis brought Moore to the attention of Joe Fisher at Universal Group Nashville, which signed the songwriter to a deal and paired him with Brett James, who wound up producing Moore's 2012 debut album, Up All Night.

First came the single "Mary Was the Marrying Kind," which went to 45 on Billboard's Country chart, but the record that launched Moore's career was "Something' 'Bout a Truck," a single released in September 2011. Over the next few months, it climbed to number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart -- it also reached 29 on the Hot 100 -- on its way to a double-platinum certification. In the wake of its success, Moore released Up All Night in April 2012, and its next two singles were also Top Ten country hits: "Beer Money" went to seven in the second half of 2012, while "Hey Pretty Girl" became a platinum hit in early 2013.

The first sign of Moore's second album arrived in October 2013, when he released "Young Love." This topped out at 26, which wound up better than his next single, "Dirt Road." Released in April 2014, "Dirt Road" "stiffed" according to Moore, so he and his label decided to scrap the planned second album and have the singer/songwriter compose a brand-new record. The first single, "I'm to Blame," reached 26 in the spring of 2015, and the full-length Wild Ones showed up in August 2015. Wild Ones debuted at four on the Billboard Top 200, but its singles didn't crack the country Top 20. An EP, Underground, arrived in the fall of 2016. The following year, he issued the full-length Slowheart, which featured the single "More Girls Like You."

"More Girls Like You" cracked Billboard's Country Airplay Top Ten in 2017, as did its sequel "Last Shot." Moore released the EP Room to Spare: The Acoustic Sessions in 2018. Late in 2019, he issued "She's Mine," the first single from his fourth album, Wild World. A relatively inward-looking record, the set peaked at number five on the Country Albums chart, but it only had its lead single chart; a 2021 deluxe version of the record featured the single "How High." A series of non-album singles arrived between 2021 and 2022, including "Good Life," "Crazy One More Time," "Fire on Wheels," and "If I Was Your Lover," which featured Morgan Wade in one incarnation.

Moore launched his fifth album with the release of its title track, "Damn Love," in February 2023. Hailing back to the 1980s vibe of Wild Ones, Damn Love also contained its fair share of drinking songs, and reached 39 on the Country Albums chart. In late 2024, Moore began the album cycle for his next release, turning out a handful of singles including the motivational "Learning as I Go" and the soaring "Flowers in December." Another single, "Bad Spot," appeared at the top of 2025 ahead of the February release of Solitary Tracks, his sixth full-length. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine