There’s No Place Like Home
“Muskogee and the state of Oklahoma have gone above and beyond to support us,” Zach says.
“They’ve put us on radio, and they’ve downloaded our singles and bought our records,” Colton says. “All of that led to things like being nominated for a CMA and an ACM. That’s huge.”
“People still show up when we come back home and play,” Zach says. “That never gets old, and there’s nothing like playing to a hometown crowd.”
“We love coming home – we look for any excuse to come home and see Mom and Dad,” Colton says. “It’s especially great you can come home and actually give back to the community that has changed your life. So whether it’s a community fundraiser or, you know, someone is sick and needs to raise money to pay doctors’ bills – we’ve done a lot of that and those events always mean a little bit more to us. We’ll be there if we can.
[pullquote]One time, we got into a fight on a trip home from Nashville and my dad said, ‘Look, if you want to fight, go to your room and don’t come out until you write a song together!’ We did, and it ended up being a single.”[/pullquote]“We’ve teamed up with Salvation Army over the last few years, and that thing has grown and ticket sales have doubled every year pretty much,” he continues. “It’s just been awesome to see that flourish and do well.”
The brothers were accompanied by their proud mom, Tammy Swon, who has grown to cherish the days when the boys come home as they now live full time in Nashville.
We wanted to know what it had been like raising these boys.
“Get on up here, Mom,” Colton says. “I’m going to give you an intro. So this little lady here is our mother, Tammy Swon. And she’s about as tall standing up as we are when we’re sitting down.”
“They were a lot of fun – ornery, of course,” the reluctant-to-interview Tammy says. “And when they did get in trouble, most of the time their punishment was to go to their room and write songs – that was usually a good punishment for them!”
“One time, we got into a fight on a trip home from Nashville and my dad said, ‘Look, if you want to fight, go to your room and don’t come out until you write a song together!’ We did, and it ended up being a single,” Colton says. The whole room laughed on that one.
“[Their dad] was the one that kind of pushed them to do things right,” Tammy says. “He just wouldn’t let them do it halfway. If they wanted to play a song, he made them listen to it and do it right.”
“It makes you appreciate Mom and Dad and home a lot more – being gone this much,” Colton says. “Really, the chances of making it in this business are slim to none. If you can pay rent and eat then you’re doing something right. And they definitely got us to that level. You couldn’t ask for better parents.”
“Family means everything,” Tammy says. “I’m very proud of them.”
“She’s more proud of him (Zach) than me,” says Colton. “He’s the favorite!”
“Yes, that’s true,” Zach calmly adds in all seriousness. “I will absolutely back that up.”
100 Shows in 100 Cities
“We’ve been friends with Carrie Underwood for many years – grew up a town apart basically,” Zach says. “She’s been really supportive since we were on The Voice. She took us to dinner when we moved to Nashville and she let us pick her brain – and she sang on our first record!”
The friendship with Underwood led to the brothers opening for the powerhouse headliner on her 2016 Storyteller Tour that kicked-off on January 30 in Jacksonville, Florida.
“It’s going to be a big year,” Colton says. “People are so excited. She’s selling out everywhere, and I can’t believe that we’re on it [the tour]! That’s a huge, huge blessing. It’s just been awesome to be part of this journey with her and that she is letting us ride on her coattail a little bit in the process.”
“The BOK Center – that’s a bucket list place to play,” Zach says. “I remember about three years ago watching Carrie Underwood and Hunter Hayes at the BOK on her last tour, and I remember telling Colton, ‘Man, I wish that we could play in here one day.’”
“And now we’re going to,” a big-eyed Colton replies.
The Swon Brothers and Carrie Underwood will entertain the hometown crowd at Tulsa’s BOK Center on April 27.
“I hope we don’t fall or rip our pants,” says Colton.
“I mean, I have ripped my pants plenty of times on stage so we’ll cross our fingers that that doesn’t happen,” Zach says.
