Logan Crosby has been smashing one career goal after another on his road toward becoming one of country music’s top young artists. At 23, he’s already become a reality TV star and has been utilizing social media to help showcase his Nashville record-making ability. His early lyrical success makes it hard to fathom any other career for the Music City musician, but it was just a handful of years ago that the Georgia native’s goal-saving skills as an all-state soccer goalkeeper caused a brief career crossroads.
The “Runaway with You” singer’s soon-to-be released album, 2019, details the journey he’s taken since graduation that year, leaving his small town of Milledgeville, GA, deciding to put away his soccer cleats for good and instead packing his guitar on his way to college and the beginning stages of a blossoming country music career. While he had already established himself as an elite athlete, the conflicting collegiate schedules—early morning practice vs. late-night club gigs—was an unsustainable option.
“I wanted to do college soccer,” he says. “Then I saw that you had to get up at 5:30 every morning and work out, then go to class and study hall and keep up a GPA. I was like, I don’t know if I want to do this. So I gave it up. But I loved soccer—that was my thing.”
While his athletic career came to an end upon his enrollment at the University of Georgia, his days as three-sport athlete in high school continues helping the young artist stay focused physically, mentally, and creatively.
And so far, the reviews have been positive. The 23-year-old independent artist hit a high mark when his title track to his upcoming record was recognized by Sirius XM’s The Highway as a “Highway find”—a major achievement for an indie artist. The just-released single has also received recognition from other platforms such as CMT, Rolling Stone.
While it’s hard matching the sound of your songs hitting airwaves, hitting a PR in the gym can be a solid runner-up in the muscle milestone department. For Crosby, once an athlete, always an athlete—such as putting in the work in order to finally hit your first handstand.
“There’s nothing that beats your song on the radio,” he says. “But it’s kind of the same thing in that you work for something for so long and then you finally get it, you’re happy about it. So when I finally got a handstand, I was like, hey, I can do a handstand!”
Crosby’s rise in popularity came a year ago during his starring role on the ABC reality show Claim to Fame, in which the premise was 12 celebrity relatives living together and competing in challenges without ever revealing their family identity. Turns out, Crosby is the second cousin to country music superstar Jason Aldean, which was revealed late in the season.
Although Crosby’s success is all him—on the road, in the recording studio, and running several miles to stay physically fit—it’s comforting to have a multiplatinum superstar in your phonebook.
“I think the biggest thing that he does for me is that he answers the phone,” Crosby says. “He’s given me advice, or if I’ve sent him a song and ask what he thinks of it, he’ll either say he loves it or doesn’t think it’s so great…those are the things he’s kind of done for me, which has been awesome.”
With summer concert season now in full swing, Logan Crosby’s schedule is quickly becoming full. He’s been touring with Megan Moroney and is about to embark on the North America festival tour, including appearances at this week’s CMA fest in Nashville (June 6-9), as well as opening for the Jonas Brothers at July’s Calgary Stampede before headlining his own southeast tour late summer. So while touring is exhilarating, finding ways to prevent exhaustion are the challenges Crosby is prepared for.
“We got on the road with Cameron Marlowe in January, and we’ve been out almost every weekend since then,” he says. It’s been great. I love to tour and see my fans. So I’m excited for the rest of this year.”
Logan Crosby Always an Athlete
While attending the University of Georgia, Logan Crosby got to witness the Bulldogs football team win two consecutive FCS titles in 2021-22. Coming from a town less than half the size of the university, the raucous, football-frenzied campus was a fun type of culture shock that in a small way helped shape the ideas behind “2019.”
“Football’s a way of life down there,” he says. “When my parents would come to [Athens], it would be like, was there a home game? If there was, then you can’t come this weekend. But the atmosphere was so much fun then to go watch the games and watch. I’m still friends with a few players, and now my little sister just finished her freshman year.”
While studying political science and playing music while at UGA, Logan Crosby left behind his own stellar athletic career at John Milledge High School. Crosby participated in a handful of sports, including cross country, where he says ran a personal best of 5:48 on a team that finished third in the state. “I wasn’t great—I was more of a pusher,” he says. “I was kind of there to pick off a couple guys at the end.”
He only played one season of football, but as a 5’11, 170-pound tight end, and backing up current Las Vegas Raiders tight end Harrison Bryant—6’5’, 230 pounds. The size mismatch played a pivotal role in Crosby’s decision in calling football quits after his freshman season. “[Harrison] may have been the reason why I only played football for a year in high school,” he says. “I didn’t know if I wanted to keep getting hit by a guy that was going to be in the NFL.”
Crosby, however, excelled in soccer, which at the time was just beginning to blossom in a traditionally football-dominant region. He not only earned all-state honors his senior season, the Man City fan set several records for career saves during his high school career. “I loved soccer,” Crosby says. “It’s like a chess match. I know a lot of people think you’re just kicking a ball—and you are—but there’s so much more that goes into the game.”
What was more impressive than his shot-saving ability, Crosby once scored a goal from his net, launching what he calls perfectly kicked shot followed by a perfectly timed bounce over the opposing goalie’s head and straight into the net. Unfortunately, his family never made the trip to witness the moment.
“It’s the one game that my parents didn’t come to when I was in high school because it was a four-hour drive away,” he says. “I told my coach to call my mom and tell her I scored. She thought it was a joke, and I was like, no, I actually scored.”
Drew DeSirey; Editor_ Sean Roberts
Logan Crosby’s Fitness Routine To Stay High-Energy
When not on the road performing, the now-Nashville resident normally starts his day around 6:45. Then it’s straight to the gym at 7:30, where he hits Iron Tribe Gym for about an hour before heading home, eating, showering then off to the office at 10 where he’s busy writing songs for the day.
“I try to keep a routine, because it just feels good,” Logan Crosby says. “It feels good to wake up have a routine and be able to have some normalcy.”
During his goalkeeping days, Crosby workout routines were heavy on agility drills in order to successfully move laterally at the drop of a dime—or in his case, at the misdirectional launch of an opposing kick. It also required lots of squats and leg movements—including burpees—to be able to get off the ground quickly and regain position. A ton of wrist and arm exercises were part of the program as a training method to help prevent any accidental goals slipping through. “You want to catch every ball that comes away,” he says. “Because you’re the only person in the field that can use their hands.”
Now as a singer, cardio takes top billing when it comes to putting on a high-energy concerts. Crosby, who will one of dozens of artists performing at this week’s CMA fest in Nashville, still relies on a good run whenever he can, even if it takes a little longer to complete than his cross country days. “I still like to run, but I couldn’t run a 5:48 to save my life,” he admits.
When it comes to the weightroom, The mornings are for pumping iron, and although he no longer trains like a tight end, Crosby has been steadily increasing his numbers in moves like power cleans. It’s not just about looking good onstage, he says, it’s also about being in peadk performance shape.
“My arms aren’t huge, I’m not going to lie,” he says. “But I enjoy just feeling strong on stage. I can take deep breaths and I can sing. Plus I have the stamina to stay up here then that that’s great.”
While he enjoys pumping iron, mastering body weight moves—such as his recent handstand accomplishment—that makes him almost as proud as putting out hit records. Especially when he gets to show off to his family. “I texted my sister, who’s a gymnast,” he says. “I said, Hey, I can do a handstand. She said, ‘That’s a terrible handstand.’ I never said it was a good one. I said, I could do a handstand.”
Logan Crosby on Keeping Country a ‘Family’ Tradition
When it comes to making authentic, from-the-heart country music—such as “2019” and “Girl Next Door,” Logan Crosby tries to stick to the family plan, courtesy of some cousinly advice from Jason Aldean.
“I think the one thing he told me was to be myself,” he says. “The only songs you know how to write come from your life and your truths. Just be yourself and don’t let anybody change you. And he’s always been that way.”
Using that wisdom as a template, Crosby came up with 2019 as a reflection of taking that first uncomfortable step away from home, and embarking on a new path to music success.
“It tells my story from 2019 until now,” he explains. “Coming from a town of 17,000 people, [you realize] there’s a lot of people in the world, and you start to live and see and experience things. You get a fake ID and start sneaking into bars. You fall in love for the first time, fall out of love, go on a TV show, kind of did all kinds of stuff. I just wanted to take all of those things and put it into a record. And so that’s what we did.”
While the ultimate goal is to becoming an arena-filling, platinum-selling superstar like Aldean, life on the road as an independent artist are quite nice so far the 23-year-old. For now, Crosby enjoys the process—including putting his music out on platforms like TikTok for fan critique. “The cool thing about having social media is that you can go directly to your fans, which is super cool,” he says. “And for the longest time, I didn’t want to, and I don’t know why.”
Best of all, Logan Crosby the consistent pace he’s setting for himself—onstage and in the gym—on his way to the top of the country charts.
“I remember playing bars and clubs in college, and there were five or six people there,” he says. “The fact that people would show up at all in those days, I was like, I have a fan! That’s insane! Then the shows get bigger, and then you start writing songs. So I’ve never looked at it as a struggle, just because I always just loved what I was doing and getting paid to do something I would do for free.”
