When Thomas Rhett was choosing opening acts for his “Bring the Bar to You Tour”, it certainly helped that he already knew Parker McCollum and Conner Smith, because Thomas says, “I love gettin’ to tour with my friends.”

Thomas first got to know Parker through his dad, Rhett Akins, because they co-wrote Parker’s #1 song, “To Be Loved by You” together. But also, Thomas has a secret weapon for knowing who and what is cool at any given moment. He says, “My brother’s like 16 years old. He’s been a fan of Parker for a while. I kinda live in dad world the majority of the time, so my 16-year-old brother is kind of my cool radar.”

Now, Thomas says, “I’ve gotten to know Parker pretty well and he’s awesome. I love his music, I love his style, I love the bits of Texas country that he’s gonna bring to this tour.”

As for Conner Smither, Thomas has developed almost a mentorship and friendship with him. “Conner, just in a way, just feels like my little brother. We both started in this career when we were 21. He’s 21 now, and I’ve loved getting to kinda help coach Conner a little bit and listen to his songs, write songs with him. And he’s turned into a heck of a performer and a heck of an entertainer, and has kind of already gained some cred, you know, in and around college towns and doing his thing that way.”

And Thomas says both Parker and Conner lived up to his other big requirement for anyone who goes on tour with him. “I felt like it was gonna be fun, you know. And touring should be fun.”