Esten Reflects on Lengthy TV, Movie Career and Music in Podcast
RISON - Charles Esten is the star of many of your favorite movies and TV shows, but after his upcoming visit to Rison, he may just be the singer of one of your favorite songs too.
The acclaimed actor, singer and songwriter sits down for the latest episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast, joining Festival Director Douglas Boultinghouse, Festival Co-Founder Roy Phillips and Cleveland County Herald Publisher Britt Talent.
The episode is currently streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and online at ClevelandCountyHerald.com
Boultinghouse said when distributing posters for the festival all over the state, many people were recognizing Esten from roles beyond the two starring roles featured on the poster - as Deacon Claybourne on ABC and CMT’s drama series “Nashville” (which he was on for six seasons) or as Ward Cameron on the Netflix smash “Outer Banks” (which he wrapped up his run on last season… or did he?).
Many people remembered his improv comedy days on the “Who’s Line Is It Anyway” series when he went by the name Chip Esten.
“That’s the very cool thing about this long career of mine,” he said.
“I honestly never quite know what they’re going to reference when they walk to me. It might be that (“Who’s Line”), it might be Josh from ‘The Office’ or the dad on ‘Jessie’ on the Disney Channel. I never know. It’s all these cool experiences I’ve been able to have.”
In addition to these roles, Esten has also had featured roles on a variety of iconic series and films including “E.R.,” “Married with Children,” “Star Trek,” “NCIS,” and many more, such as the legendary “Cheers,” which was one of his first television roles.
He has also appeared in films like Kevin Costner’s “The Postman,” and countless others. He also has two films in progress, the thriller “Grizzly Night” and sports drama “Signing Day.”
Esten expresses his love of acting and playing characters, but he shares in the podcast the avenue that feels the most “him” is music.
He grew up playing music, writing songs, and led a rock band for several years during and after his college years before that led him into acting.
His first role was starring on London’s West End stage production of the musical “Buddy” about the life of icon Buddy Holly.
“I got up on stage with a Stratocaster and sang all those Buddy Holly songs like ‘Oh Boy,’ ‘That’ll Be The Day,’ ‘Maybe Baby,’ ‘It’s So Easy to Fall in Love’ and more… All those great hits with his story in between,” he said.
That experience, and the years of writing and playing his own music, are what he feels gave him the edge when auditioning for the role of Deacon Claybourne on the series “Nashville” opposite Connie Britton, Hayden Pannettierre, Jonathan Jackson and many more stars.
The fictional role of Deacon opened doors and set Esten on a path he always wanted to pursue… music.
Deacon may have played the historic Grand Ole Opry stage before Esten, but Esten has now stepped into that circle 178 times on his own.
“Once I got there, this incredible combination of talent… that Opry orchestra is insane… and all the Opry members, just that kindness,” he said. “I couldn’t be more thankful to all those wonderful people.”
He shared stories of how Vince Gill and the late Little Jimmy Dickens welcomed him to the circle.
“Every single time I get to play there feels like a blessing,” he said.
He will return to the Opry stage the week after headlining the Rison in the Fall Festival.
When the “Nashville” series ended, Esten wanted to keep making music, so put it out on social media that he intended to release a song each week as part of a project he called “Every Single Friday.”
It turned out, he broke a record doing that.
Esten is a 2018 Guinness World Records title holder for the “Most consecutive weeks to release an original digital single by a music act” after delivering 54 original songs once a week for 54 straight weeks.
He has surpassed 21 million streams for his music to date.
Boultinghouse praised the wide variety of genres Esten showcased within those 54 songs - country, blues, soul, rock, bluegrass.
“You’re not just a country music,” he told the star.
Esten calls those shades of him.
“I rock a little, I do a little blues, some bluegrass,” he said noting it being all over the place as what he calls his “10,000 hours.”
“It was pure love and joy of making music that made it work,” Esten said.
But it all led Esten to where he is in 2024. While the 54 songs were not a cohesive unit, he longed to create a solid album of songs that told a story, that were what he calls a “journey.”
He released that album, “Love Ain’t Pretty” Jan. 26 of this year, and that’s what promoted Boultinghouse to reach out and see if he might be interested in playing those songs in Rison.
Esten expressed his eagerness to visit Rison and the Rison in the Fall Festival, and praised the work Boultinghouse and Rison Shine members have done to revive the festival in recent years.
“I totally respect as I’m a big tradition guy,” he said. “I don’t like things to fade away. It takes new energy and focus to say ‘Alright, this matters to us. Let’s keep it going.’”
While in Rison, Esten said he plans to let his music connect him with the crowd, something he gets to see a reaction to in real time, something he does not get to see when people watch his TV shows or movies.
“Music is so much more me, direct from the spring of what is my heart,” he said. “When I play this music in Rison at the fall festival, they’re going to be right there.”
“That contact, that interaction, that to me is the magic. That’s me saying things directly from my heart and my mind.”
He said when that music resonates with the crowd, that moment is unlike any other, “That’s what I live for.”
Like his song says “I want to make you happy,” Esten also has other wants.
“Well, if I’m honest, sometimes I want to make you sad, sometimes I want to make you a little scared. I want you to rock.” he said. “That’s the beauty of this acting and this music. I get to make people feel something.”
During the podcast, listeners will hear much more from Esten, including the upcoming “Nashville” reunion tour he is planning with Jonthan Jackson, Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen; stories of being the “bad guy” on “Outer Banks” and whether his character could return down the road; plus how performing at Elvis Presley’s Graceland inspired an original Christmas song.
Listeners will also learn about a very special cause near to his heart - the Light the Night event he hosts in Nashville to raise funds for blood cancer research after his daughter Addie survived a childhood diagnosis with leukemia.
“We have so much thanks to give, primarily to God for his healing, but also to the medical staff and all the people that not only did the research to help find cures, the people that went and raised money to fund the research.”
Esten joined the team to raise funds for research over a decade ago. He will host a special concert and brunch in Nashville Oct. 18 for the Light the Night organization.
He encourages anyone in Rison to visit charlesesten.com to learn more about how to participate from anywhere in the world, or to make plans to visit Nashville for the events.
Boultinghouse shared that the Rison in the Fall Festival was initially in the works for that weekend, but was pushed up a week to work with Esten’s schedule and this cause.
“It’s truly wonderful what he’s doing,” Boultinghouse said. “And it’s one of the many reasons we’re honored to bring him to Rison this year.”
Esten will take the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 for a free concert. Leading up to his show will be performances from GRAMMY-nominee Rissi Palmer, The Voice alums BIAS and Marybeth Byrd, as well as newcomer Matt Wilkerson.
Past episodes of the Free Range Conversations podcast with each of these artists are streaming now.
For more information about the festival, visit ClevelandCountyArkansas.com or Rison in the Fall Festival on Facebook and Instagram.