Easton Corbin exudes country. His distinctive baritone has been gracing airwaves for the past decade as his chart-topping debut single “A Little More Country Than That” established Corbin as a mainstay on the country charts. Billboard’s 2010 Top New Country Artist would go on to garner another No. 1 hit with the feel-good “Roll With It” as well as seven top 10 singles, further distinguishing himself from other male vocalists as a tried-and-true country traditionalist who weaves timeless story songs together while tipping his hat to the classic country artists who have come before him.

“That’s what I love and that’s what I do,” he says of his passion for traditional country music. “For me, it’s about keeping one foot in the traditional and one foot in the modern and marrying those two. I’m a country singer: That’s one of the things that I take pride in. I try to hone that craft and try to represent that.”

For fans of his late, legendary father, country music great Merle Haggard, his youngest son Ben Haggard is no Stranger – in fact, he’s been the lead guitarist in Hag’s longtime band of the same name for the past eight years, since he was 15 years old, fitting in easily with veterans like musical director Norm Hamlet and Scott Joss.

When asked what his own musical personality might be, Ben admits, like his father, he feels like a bit of an outsider when it comes to contemporary country music.

“I couldn’t really go out there and sing about drinking a beer on a tailgate under the moonlight,” he laughs. “I want to sing about things I value within my heart. Honesty is always pushing against the grain, in a way. My dad always said it’s easier to force-feed people something they don’t want than actually giving them what they do.”

For Ben Haggard, this is just the beginning of his artistic journey, and he still has plenty of places to go, but he looks well-prepared to kick out the footlights in his own right.