A native of a small town in East Tennessee, the adopted son of a loving family and the proud father to a family of his own, Atkins understands regular lives because he still leads one. "People always talk about image – "You're the guy in the ball cap, the All-American country boy,'" says Atkins, who does indeed still favor caps to cowboy hats. "But if the songs don't connect with the folks listening, then none of that stuff matters. I try to sing songs with an honest view of ourselves, of myself, of the struggle, of the laughter," he says. "It's about being human."
Hometown:
Cumberland Gap, Tennessee