Kenny Loggins Expecting to Fly

Call him what you will — king of the soundtrack, captain of yacht rock, or just plain Kenny — but don’t ever count Kenny Loggins out. At this point in his long and mega-successful career, it would be entirely understandable for Loggins, who has made Santa Barbara his home for several decades, to relax, tour with Jim Messina occasionally, and let the royalties from his songwriting portfolio roll in, but he’s not about to stop. In fact, as of Tuesday, January 29, when Finally Home was officially released, he became a member of what could be country music’s next big thing: Blue Sky Riders. The group, which pairs Loggins with ace Nashville singers/songwriters (and husband and wife) Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman in a powerful vocal trio format, has a sound that’s already been compared to Lady Antebellum and Kenny Chesney. They’re also coming off two extremely well-received performances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and at the Sundance Film Festival’s prestigious ASCAP Music Café.

The album, which took a couple of years to come together, combines the lush production, soaring guitars, and pounding drums of contemporary pop with country’s graceful, heartwarming harmonies. There are 15 original songs, all of them the product of an unusually cohesive group writing process. Burr and Middleman are both successful Nashville songwriters, and the craft and passion displayed here communicate both the collective years of professional experience involved and a sense of fun that gives the project the kind of immediacy that just might propel this music up the charts. I spoke with Loggins and Middleman recently by phone, and they shared some of the excitement they are feeling as this music hits the masses. Although Blue Sky Riders are on tour, Santa Barbara is not at the moment a part of their plans. However, since they are booked for the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio on April 28, maybe that’s a good excuse to head out there this spring.

Why did you decide to start a group now?