Justin Moore is a singer and a songwriter, but his favorite role is being a dad to his four children. The father of three daughters and one son is soaking up all of his time with them, including his oldest daughter, Ella, who is 13 years old,, even if she isn’t always as excited about spending time with her father as he is with her.
“It sucks,” Moore tells CMT. “She doesn’t come out of her room. “I’ve seen her room. It’s not that spectacular. I mean, not to stay in there eight hours a day.”
Moore, who lives in his native Arkansas instead of Nashville, makes being present at home a priority when he isn’t on the road. For someone with as much success as Moore has had, the 39-year-old stays very hands-on when he isn’t touring, including coaching his kids in baseball, softball and basketball, although he has his wife, Kate, to thank for getting him into coaching in the first place.
“It was one of those first years I’m sitting there going, ‘They’re costing us runs by not running these kids,” Moore said. “I did this the whole game. Kate goes, ‘You’re coaching next year because I’m not going to put up with this, you sitting here doing this. So I’ve been coaching ever since.”
Unfortunately, now that Ella is in junior high, Moore had to give up his role as her coach, reluctantly.
“I sat like a normal parent and absolutely hated it,” Moore recalls. “She played good. She’s better than I was.”
Music might be Moore’s job, but it’s sports that was, and remains, his first love.
“I love sports probably more than music, to be honest,” Moore reveals. “I just stopped growing at 5’6″, or I’d be doing that.”
Moore is having a hard time with more than just not coaching Ella. His teenage daughter just went to a dance with a boy for the first time, a milestone Moore still hasn’t recovered from.
“My wife’s like, ‘It’s no big deal,'” Moore says. “I go, ‘It is a big deal. It’s a big deal.’ They did the whole thing, the hair getting done, the makeup – I can’t stand it. I was not happy, but it’s part of life, and I know it’s normal. There’s nothing wrong with it, but as a dad, I still hate it.”
The “You, Me & Whiskey” singer just released his latest album, Stray Dog, and will spend much of the next few months on the road. But when he isn’t touring, Moore vows to make the most of his time with his family as he can.
“I know that I only have this small window of time to do these things, and when it’s over, it’s over,” he said. “I’ve realized you’re just kind of whooped for 18 years. But you know, those are memories that we get to create.”
Find music and tour dates at JustinMooreMusic.com.