James Maslow<\/a><\/strong>, actor and member of Big Time Rush<\/a>, marked a new milestone earlier this year when he stepped on stage to make his solo country music debut at the 2026 CMA Fest in Nashville.<\/p>\n The proud moment saw him introducing fans to a side of himself he says they\u2019ve never fully seen before. And while performing a handful of unreleased country songs from his upcoming project at one of the genre\u2019s biggest events may seem like a bold leap, the multi-talented singer, 35, says his journey toward country music has been unfolding naturally behind the scenes for quite some time.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I understand how incredibly generous it is that CMA Fest has put me on, and I haven\u2019t even put a song out yet,\u201d Maslow said during an interview with Music Mayhem<\/a><\/em>, thanking the organizers of the event for trusting his talent to speak for itself in front of countless country fans. \u201cSo CMA Fest, I want to say thank you to the fans that are here and that made it possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Maslow<\/a> pointed out that he has come a long way in the last 12 months from \u201cdipping\u201d his toe into country music to fully committing to it, revealing that he was on-site at CMA Fest in 2025 but didn\u2019t perform at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cA year ago\u2026 I came to CMA Fest and Tayler Holder, and a fitness influencer, and I did this like workout thing,\u201d he recalled of how he got involved in the weekend-long musical event. \u201cBut then I said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ll do a meet and greet.\u2019 I did two. One for Music Choice, one for CMA, and I guess they were like the biggest meet and greets of last year.\u201d<\/p>\n What surprised him most, however, was who showed up. \u201cI\u2019d never seen any of these fans at a Big Time Rush show,\u201d he explained. \u201cOf course, a lot of them knew me from Big Time Rush, right? But hadn\u2019t met them, hadn\u2019t seen them, but they showed up excited that I might do country music. And at that point, I\u2019m like, all right, I\u2019m not just going to dip my toe in. I\u2019m going to give this a real shot. And now we are diving headfirst a year later.\u201d<\/p>\n READ: <\/strong>James Maslow On Moving To Nashville And Launching Solo Career In Country Music<\/a><\/p>\n Now based primarily in Nashville<\/a>, Maslow has immersed himself in the city\u2019s songwriting culture as he continues to build toward his forthcoming five-track country EP alongside a growing circle of collaborators. One of those creative relationships began unexpectedly during a Savannah Bananas event at Yankee Stadium earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, one of my favorite writers I\u2019ve worked with out here\u2026 Okay, so this is actually a really cool story,\u201d Maslow says with a laugh. \u201cI got to play with Big Time Rush, Savannah Bananas game at Yankee Stadium like five months ago or something.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s where he met hit songwriter Sam Tinnesz. \u201cNow, Sam has written some of the biggest songs in the world,\u201d Maslow says. \u201cI mean, he wrote and performed \u2018Legends Are Made,\u2019 like every fricking sports game ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Maslow went on to say that the two of them connected instantly and began writing together alongside producer Austin Bianco. \u201cWe\u2019ve just had the most amount of fun writing out of my home studio, and we wrote a song called \u2018Every Day Of The Week,\u2019\u201d Maslow said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the songs that was the catalyst for this whole project.\u201d<\/p>\n Another standout track, \u201cShe Is,\u201d holds an even deeper meaning for Maslow, who points to his wife and shares it\u2019s \u201cbecause I\u2019m talking about that one right there, my fianc\u00e9e, Caitlin.\u201d<\/p>\n The track also came together through another chance Nashville connection, this time involving Dan + Shay<\/a>\u2019s Shay Mooney. \u201cI met Shay Mooney [of Dan + Shay]. We just happened to be neighbors and had scheduled coffee that morning,\u201d Maslow explained. \u201cSo I go to coffee with Shay, the nicest guy in the fricking world. It runs over. We\u2019re like two hours in. I go, \u2018Dude, I got to get back to a session.\u2019 And he goes, \u2018Well, I\u2019m free. You want me to go?\u2019 I said, \u2018Yep, sure. Come on over.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The spontaneous session turned into one of Maslow\u2019s favorite songs. \u201cMan, he\u2019s just so talented, and we wrote one of my favorite songs,\u201d he confirmed.<\/p>\n As for the music itself, Maslow says fans can expect a blend of modern country influences and his own personal style. \u201cI love Kane Brown<\/a>,\u201d he shares. \u201cHe is so authentic and original, and he made his own sound in country, and I think I\u2019m going to do a similar thing just in my way.\u201d<\/p>\n Maslow also points to artists like Toby Keith<\/a>, Kenny Chesney<\/a>, and rising star Tucker Wetmore<\/a> as inspirations. \u201cI just got to hang with Tucker Wetmore in Australia,\u201d Maslow said. \u201cHe was so down to earth, so authentic and just so freaking talented.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite launching a solo country career, Maslow insists this isn\u2019t the end of Big Time Rush. \u201cAt the moment they\u2019re running parallel,\u201d he says of balancing both projects. \u201cWe just got off a world tour.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, his bandmates have been supportive every step of the way. \u201cKendall [Schmidt] said, \u2018Dude, can I go?\u2019\u201d Maslow recalls with a laugh. \u201cI said, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m pretty stressed already. I\u2019m not going to lie. I don\u2019t know how to say this. Thank you so much for asking because it means the world, but do you mind waiting until like the second show?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Maslow hopes country audiences walk away from his set understanding exactly who he is beyond the boy band fame.<\/p>\n \u201cI want them to walk away with two things,\u201d he says. \u201cOne, this is how I like to sing, and especially a couple of these songs I sing in a way that I\u2019ve never done in the band, and two\u2026 they walk away with getting to know who I truly am, why I\u2019m doing this, and a lot of the lyrics speak to my story and my passions and my beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/musicmayhemmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/James-Maslow-Photo-Courtesy-of-Gulko-Publicity.jpg\")
![\"James](\"https:\/\/musicmayhemmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/James-Maslow-Photo-Courtesy-of-Ruby-Johnson_CMA-2.jpg\")