As we approach the end of the year, it’s usually the time where families gets together and spend quality time with one another during the holidays. Even our military are taking the opportunity to spend the holidays with their loved ones if they can. Base*FEST Powered by USAA is back –this time to spread the holiday cheer for our troops with great music by some of the top artists. Headlined alongside DNCE, country duo Thompson Square performed with them at the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida. Speaking with Keifer Thompson, the co-founder and singer of the country duo spoke about their origins of the band, their role in Base*FEST Powered by USAA, and their plans for the holidays.
How did you start this band with your wife?
Keifer Thompson: We moved to Nashville in 1996 and met her at a singing competition. After about three years of dating and marriage, we started singing together because we wanted to be together all the time; we had the same dreams and aspirations. That’s when we formed Thompson Square and once we did that, everything kind of changed for us. It’s how it all got started for us all those years ago.
Has your love of music brought you guys together?
Keifer Thompson: Yeah it has. Shawna has been doing this since she was 10 years old and I’ve been doing this since I was 15. It’s all we’ve ever known really.
With your music, what has inspired you guys to write these powerful lyrics?
Keifer Thompson: Well we love to write and life in general inspires us whenever we get inspired. That’s when we write a song, its just part of the process for us as a band. It’s something I can’t live without. I can’t just do performing; I got to write as well. It’s a 50/50 thing for both of us. You got to be pretty sensitive for the writing aspect of it.
Were there any great songs or albums you enjoyed working on?
Keifer Thompson: We’ve enjoyed working on all of our albums. We’ve had two and we just finished working a third but it’s been really fun process. If we didn’t enjoy working on it, we wouldn’t be doing this.
With this new album coming up, is there anything you can tell fans on what to expect when it comes out?
Keifer Thompson: This is by far the best album we’ve ever put out because we don’t have any outside influence. We were able to record the songs that we wanted to record and write the songs that we wanted to write. We just finished the record so it’s some of the coolest things we’ve ever been able to do on a record. We’re really excited about it.
You just performed for the troops at Base*FEST. How did you get involved with that?
Keifer Thompson: We’ve done a lot of shows for the military. My dad was in the army and Shawna’s dad was a helicopter mechanic in Vietnam. We’ve been involved with them for five to six years now and we just keep getting more and more shows for those men and women. We just got back from Japan playing in Okinawa for the military. It’s just something that’s very near and dear to us. We’re a mascot for the foundation for the USO this year. On my motorcycle ride that I do every year, we raise money for the USO. If I could play military shows all year long, it’s probably what we would do because Shauna and I absolutely love it. It’s one of the most rewarding things we could ever do. I’ve lost some friends in Iraq and it’s just important. It’s an honor for us to be able to do this. Very proud of it.
What is it like to perform alongside DNCE who are headlining the show this year?
Keifer Thompson: It’s an interesting build. I’m really excited about it. I’m a huge fan of those guys and their music. Some of my guys in the band are in a pop band as well, so they’re really excited to be able to see those guys play and get to meet them. I think it’s cool to bring two genres of music like that. It’s going to be an interesting night; we are looking forward to it. They’ve got great music so as long as the music is great, I don’t care what genre it is. I think they’re fantastic.
With the third album, you’ve had some singles leading up to the new record. Will we be expecting any more singles to be released before the third album drops?
Keifer Thompson: We’ll probably drop two or three, maybe four songs before we release the record, which is probably going to be in April. In the second week of January, we will release the first one and it’ll go right to Spotify. That’ll be the first one that drops and we kind of take it from there. It’s going to be so much new music next year, I think every six to eight weeks there’s going to be a different song released before the record comes out.
As we approach the holiday season, do you have any plans for the holidays?
Keifer Thompson: We do. Shauna and I have been on an acoustic tour for about six weeks, then we went to Japan and Hawaii to play for our military, so we’ve been gone for about two months straight. We just bought a new house and we’ve moved in last night. I think for the rest of the year, we’re not traveling. We’re usually the ones that travel everywhere else to see the family but we got a two-year-old boy named Cooper and it’s time to be home, so this is going to be our first year really in a house we’re going to be in for many years here in Nashville. Our plans are just to start our tradition with our son and just be together as a family. We’ve got some family coming a little bit later but our plans are really just to be home, be together, enjoy each other’s time, and enjoy our friends in Nashville. Christmas is my favorite holiday so we kind of go crazy on it and I just can’t wait to settle in and get off the road for a little bit.