Cole Swindell bringing hits to Cedar Rapids

Cole Swindell is a star, but the Georgia native is an inveterate songwriter who paid his dues in Nashville.

Swindell made a name for himself as a songsmith by penning hits for Luke Bryan with “Just a Sip,” “Beer in the Headlights” and “Out Like That,” and he co-wrote Florida Georgia Line’s “This Is How We Roll.”

The Georgia Southern University alum broke out as a solo artist a decade ago and continues to pen tunes.

“I moved to this town to be a songwriter,” he said. “All I ever wanted to do was write songs.”

Swindell hit the charts in 2013 with his debut single, “Chillin’ It,” which hit the Top 5 of the country charts. “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight” and “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey” each landed on the charts — and Swindell was on his way.

Swindell has become a hit machine. “You Should Be Here,” “Middle of a Memory” and “Flatline” are part of his hit parade. The fan favorites are catchy, but what makes the tunes special is the attention Swindell pays to the lyrics, which have always been significant for him.

“I’ve always been about lyrics,” Swindell said while calling from Nashville. “The words are why I fell in love with country music during the ’90s. I still love those songs from Tim McGraw and George Strait. But not everybody feels about lyrics like I do. A good melody is all some people might need to love a song. But I like telling a story and hearing a story as a music fan. The lyrics are my favorite part of a song.”

Swindell, who will perform Friday at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in downtown Cedar Rapids, still has a knack for writing infectious tunes. “Stereotype,” which dropped in 2022, is the bard’s latest and fourth album. The summery tunes, including “Every Beer” and “Down to the Bar,” hit home. “Stereotype“ has an abundance of ballads, as Swindell is morphing and maturing as a recording artist.

“I love what I do,” he said. “I’m just trying to get better. The best way to do that is to work at your craft. I’ve always been all about that. Another way to improve is to surround yourself with talented writers. I’ve done that and it’s paid off. I’ve been asked about the secret of success. There’s no mystery. It’s about putting in the work whether it’s about writing songs or anything else.”

Swindell is like many country stars who were athletes who turned to sports like his pals, Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks.

“I always loved country music and sports,” Swindell said. “I played sports through high school and since I guess I wasn’t good enough to play sports in college I started playing the bars.”

It makes sense, since the common denominator between playing sports and music is all the hours practicing when no one can see the determined and ambitious performer. Musicians and athletes each take what they worked on and execute whether it’s on a stage or a field.

“There is something to that,” Swindell said. “You got to be fully committed if you want to make something like what I do as a profession. You put in the work but don’t lose sight of being yourself.”

If Swindell didn’t go to Georgia Southern perhaps he would be in another line of work.

“I never performed before I went to college,” Swindell said. “But as soon as I started performing in bars and at parties in college, I knew that I wanted to be a singer. The cool thing about college is that you just don’t learn in a classroom. There’s so much you learn after making friends and experiencing things during that period of your life.”