Kip Moore has never been one to play by the rules, neither in his music nor his life. The 40-year-old will release his fourth studio album, Wild World, on May 29, where he bares his heart and soul in a way that he never has before –– or maybe will ever again.

“I don’t know if I would have ever learned as much about myself if this had not been my life,” Moore told Esquire, while quarantining at his Kentucky lodge, so he can fill his days with outdoor activities like rock climbing and hiking. “But I’ve truly gotten to a place where I have the confidence to trust whatever my gut is feeling, musically.”

Wild World comes almost three years after his previous Slowheart album, released in 2017. The record spawned two Top 10 hits: “More Girls Like You” and “Last Shot,” but almost killed him in the process.

“I was exhausted from writing, and all of it, in general,” Moore admitted. “I was beat from the years of doing radio [promotion] and touring. There was one year I did like 210 shows. It was stupid.”

Kip opens up about some of those struggles in a track called “Payin’ Hard,” although it remains to be seen if he’ll ever be able to play the song live.

“I had all these regrets on my mind,” Kip admitted. “Did life play out the way it’s supposed to? Maybe it did. But I wish I had done some things different … It’s the only song I’ve ever written that, when it came time to sing it, I couldn’t get through it. I kept breaking down. I’ve been carrying that around for a long time.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever shed the feeling that comes with not just leaving my shows and going home to spend time with my dad before he died,” he continued, adding, “I deal with it a lot. But I think [writing this] helped.”

Kip is scheduled to hit the road later this year with Sam Hunt on Sam’s Southside Summer Tour 2020. Currently, the tour is scheduled to begin on July 10. Find tour updates, and pre-order Wild World, at KipMoore.net.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The GreenRoom PR