Trevor Rosen is living the dream with Old Dominion

Country’s Old Dominion received its eighth consecutive nomination for ACM Group of the Year, something it’s won five years in a row. To multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Trevor Rosen, it never gets old.

“I just found out,” said Rosen, the morning of the announcement.

“It feels great. I never thought I’d be sitting here talking about winning it five years in a row. Every year, you get more and more thankful. In the beginning, it’s shock. Then you win a few and you’re like, ‘What’s happening.’ I just feel thankful that it’s turned into a situation where we start talking about longevity. It feels good to be recognized. Whether we win or not, it feels good to be in the category.”

Old Dominion will bring its award-winning ways to the AVA Amphitheater on Friday, April 28. The show is expected to be one of Old Dominion’s first since lead singer Matthew Ramsey fractured his pelvis in three spots in an ATV crash.

“I can’t wait to play shows again, honestly,” Rosen said. “Tucson should be the first one back.”

Old Dominion is revving up to release a new full-length album later this year, and five of the songs have already hit streaming: “Memory Lane,” “Ain’t Got a Worry,” “Freedom Like You,” “I Should Have Married You” and “Easier Said with Rum.”

“This has been some of my favorite stuff, honestly,” Rosen said. “With writing in general and going into the studio, you always feel like, ‘Is there anything left to say?’ It’s always amazing to me when we have new things to say. This is the most excited I’ve been in a long time.

“With ‘Easier Said with Rum,’ there’s nothing like the magic of sitting down with nothing and then somebody has a great idea. Four or five hours later, you have songs you’re proud of. After all this time and success, I wonder if I’m ever going to make up another great song. I have this little inner fear that maybe I’ve written all the good songs I’ve ever wanted to write.”

Since breaking onto the scene, however, Old Dominion has reached No. 1 eight times at country radio, scored more than 1 billion on-demand streams, earned multiple platinum and gold single certifications and headlined arenas and amphitheaters around the globe.

“Memory Lane,” was the No. 1 most-added song at country radio for the first two consecutive add weeks of 2023. This hasn’t been accomplished at the start of a new calendar year since Taylor Swift did it in 2010.

This is something that Rosen never imagined. He grew up in suburban Detroit and attended Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in Riverview, Michigan. He played hockey in the AAA league, a semester at Northern Michigan University and three years at University of Michigan-Dearborn. His goal was to play professionally, but music was always in his life.

“I picked up a guitar in high school and had a little rock band in the Detroit area,” Rosen said.

“I always loved music and I felt, after hockey was done, or during hockey, I always wanted to be a rock star. I loved the magic of writing songs. It was always a mystery to me how people made up songs that weren’t already written. The creation of the music is amazing. It’s like a dream.”

Old Dominion

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, April 28

WHERE: AVA Amphitheater at Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road, Tucson

COST: Tickets start at $45

INFO: casinodelsol.com

This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2023.