Hudson Moore, one of Fort Worth’s very own, will be performing alongside Martina McBride in Sarah Cannon’s Bands Against Cancer tour kicking off in Grand Prairie on Sept. 16. Moore will be opening for the famed country crooner until the benefit tour ends on Oct. 26 in Nashville, Tenn.
“Martina McBride is one of the greatest vocal talents that country music has ever known,” Moore said, “so I'm really excited to share the stage with her.” Although this will be his first time to work with McBride, the Fort Worth native has opened shows for many different musicians in the past including ZZ Top, Alan Jackson, Pat Green and Rascal Flatts.
“It's pretty surreal,” Moore said. “But I think the best way to learn, as an entertainer, is to watch the best.”
The Bands Against Cancer tour, which will also feature country singers Cassadee Pope and Thompson Square, is aimed to connect people affected by cancer with resources and support. Until the tour finale, Moore will be donating 50 percent of his album sales proceeds to Sarah Cannon's community partner, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, to help those facing blood cancer.
In June, six years after his debut album “Fireworks,” Moore overcame the sophomore slump with his album “Getaway” which earned praise from critics and had the video for its single “Some Are” premiere on CMT. The video was co-directed by Moore himself, and exposed his range of musical abilities by showing him playing different instruments including the electric and acoustic guitar, six-string banjo, drums, keys and bass.
“It kind of allows me to express myself in different ways; you know, give more to the song,” he said. “And, I think, by the end of the recording process, I had played like 12 different instruments on the album, so it was really fun.” Moore said that while there is some familiarity in his two albums, he has matured a lot since his debut, so there are some new elements that may surprise fans.
“I've evolved over the past six years as a musician and a songwriter, and I've gotten better and experienced different things,” he said, “So I've gotten to draw on some new material.” One of his recent inspirations came from his wife with whom he celebrated two years of marriage this summer. “Sand in the Bed” was created after reflecting on their honeymoon, and the summer love song has more than 400,000 plays on Spotify thus far. Moore said that inspiration for his music derives from everything from life experiences, to other new artists to random, interesting things he hears people say.
“It really could just come from any different angle,” he said, “you just have to be open to inspiration and follow that, whatever that is.”
Moore said some of his biggest inspirations came from his time growing up in Fort Worth. “Being in DFW, you get to see some of the biggest touring acts in the world come through,” he said.
He described attending local concerts like Wolfdance and catching shows at Billy Bob's, and said that watching performers captivate the crowd gave him inspiration to one day do the same. He said his experience at a Tim McGraw show, his first country music concert ever, was extremely memorable.
“I'll never forget seeing him take command of the crowd. It really inspired me and planted the seed for me,” Moore said, “and, you know, I didn't know then that I was going to be a singer or entertainer, but I feel like that was a really inspiring moment to see him do that.”
Moore, a graduate from All Saints' Episcopal School in Fort Worth, started performing in high school playing solo acoustic at places like the Aardvark on Berry Street. He said that Billy Bob's was also a major training ground for him when he was younger and that getting to play there years later was a dream come true.
“I'm grateful to be from Fort Worth,” he said, “it's a great place to grow up and I wouldn't change it for the world.”