Robert Mizzell on family life, current state of the country music scene, and diversifying his income

Robert Mizzell has a lot to celebrate. The country crooner is marking 25 years in the industry this year, he recently surpassed the 10 year anniversary of his marriage to wife Adele and he’s now a proud grandfather to little Lainey, his first grandchild from his daughter Amy and her husband Conor.

Having an adult daughter, two young children and now a newborn grandchild has reaffirmed just how fleeting life can be, Robert says. “It all just happened so quickly,” he tells RSVP Country as he reflects on how fast the last 30 years of his life have passed.

For this shoot, we join Robert at the Westmeath home he shares with wife Adele and their two children, Maisey, 9, and Leo, 5. Robert has owned the home for more than 20 years but he and Adele have extended and renovated it to suit their family. Robert’s carpentry skills and love of DIY have created something of a family compound, complete with a workshop, a salon for Adele to work in, a quaint guest cabin and a play area for the kids. There’s also lots of land that Robert plans to build Airbnbs on for additional income.

Here, we catch up with Robert to talk about the current state of the country music industry, his ten year retirement plan and the secret to diversifying your income.

Read more: Brendan Shine on finding it hard being away from family while touring - and life with his six grandkids

Read more: At home with Robert Mizzell, his wife and kids - celebrating 10 years of marriage & 25 years of music

What’s your ten year plan?

In about ten years time I want to start thinking about getting off the road because keeping a band is expensive and it’s time consuming. I’d like to build some cabins on my property and run them from here. Then, if we decide to go to Spain or wherever for a month, I can hire somebody to come and take care of them. I don’t want to use the word retire, but in ten years time I’d like to be able to step back a little bit and concentrate more on travelling. You see these Americans going on cruise ships and they can barely walk onto them, I don’t want to get to that stage. I want to spend the last 20 years of my good health enjoying myself. Adele and I want to travel and the kids will be up and gone in about ten years time. We never know from one day to the next how things are going to turn out, health wise. But I have a fairly good plan.

You’ve always been good at diversifying your income, be it through music, carpentry or letting accommodation.

Yes, and during the pandemic I drove for DPD for five months. I just had to do something, I’m one of those people that always has to be on the go. I haven’t read a book in probably 20 years, I just need to get my hands on something. I was terrible at school, I had leg jitters for four years sitting in a classroom. I barely finished, I just couldn’t wait to get out of there. It didn’t suit me at all. I’ve probably learned this too late in life, but the only way you’ll ever make money in this world is not by doing a job. That sounds counter intuitive but when people go to work for a wage, they don’t make any money when they’re not there. The only way to make continuous money is through residual income like Airbnbs or royalties off albums. That’s how these guys are still very wealthy, even though they’re not touring anymore, the money is trickling in all the time. That’s my plan to build Airbnbs, it’s not going to make me a fortune, but you can live comfortably, and that’s the secret.

Your daughter Amy had a baby recently. How does it feel to be a grandfather?

She’ll be married two years in December, it’s hard to believe it. They’re getting on great, she’s settled into motherhood quite well. My granddaughter Lainey was born in November last year. It’s funny [being a grandad] because my kids are still so young. She was born almost a year after their wedding, we didn’t expect it so soon. My advice to Amy when she got married was to take off and go and enjoy herself for a while, because once you start having kids you’re tied down. But sure it wasn’t long after that she was expecting.

What would you like Lainey to call you? Grandad, Grandpa or something else?

When I was growing up my grandad was Pawpaw, so that’s what Amy calls me to Lainey. It’s unusual because I still see Amy, in a certain way, as my little girl, even though she’s 30 years old, married and now a mother! It will be the same whenever the day comes that Maisey gets married and has babies, it’s surreal. And then when you can actually hold this little thing. When you have an adult daughter, younger children and now a tiny grandchild, time is of no consequence. It all just happened so quickly.

You and Adele celebrated 10 years of marriage last year, did you do anything to mark the occasion?

We went to Cashel Palace Hotel in Tipperary. We were talking about going to Nashville or Las Vegas, but our anniversary is in December which is already a hectic time with the kids and with work so it didn’t work out. But we’re going to plan a big trip for our 15th anniversary. January for me is out the window because that’s the month I tour with the Three Amigos [Robert’s trio band with fellow country singers Patrick Feeney and Jimmy Buckley].

How are things going with the Three Amigos?

Great, we get on well, it’s a good show with a great variety of music. Sure, we must be 14 years doing it now and it’s getting bigger all the time. We’re doing sold out shows every year. We’re on our annual tour for the whole month of January, I think we’re doing 24 dates. It’s good but it’s so hard on us because Adele has the kids and I’m not really available that month. It’s a crazy schedule.

Has the industry picked up again since the lull during the pandemic?

No, it’s never been the same. Business is down across the board, dances have been cut way back, it never really recovered from before Covid. We’ve lost a lot of venues too.

You’re celebrating 25 years in music this year, have you noticed a change in the industry?

Yes, I’m 25 years on the road so I’m still trying to reinvent myself to keep people interested in what I’m doing, it’s not easy to do. I think the biggest problem we have is we just don’t have the venues anymore. The other thing is I think some of the fans just got that bit older, they got comfortable staying in during the pandemic and they’re just not up for it anymore. There’s lots of reasons. The age mix has gotten better, there’s more younger people in the crowd. But the numbers have fallen back. It could be a financial thing, people’s work/life schedules are different now. People are working harder and longer hours. Back when I first moved here in the 1990s, it was a great country because people went out four nights a week. That doesn’t happen anymore. We live this reduced mundane lifestyle now that revolves around Monday to Friday. That being said, I talk about people not going to dances, but we don’t go anywhere either! Any spare time we have we want to be here to enjoy the house with the kids.

With less shows has the industry become more competitive?

It’s funny because people that follow me, follow me and some of those same people might follow Jimmy [Buckley] or Patrick [Feeney]. But the crowd that goes to see the Tumbling Paddies are not coming to see me. You might get a few of them but the Tumbling Paddies have a different audience. Whereas my shows are more about dancing and cater towards a different crowd. It’s hard to compare but we still get a lot of young ones coming and dancing. My problem now is trying to keep myself young enough to stay in the top ten country artists. I’m not a baby anymore. I think when I get to a certain age and I can’t fool them anymore I’ll just retire quietly.

Have you noticed a rejuvenation of the country music industry lately, with new artists like Beyonce bringing more attention to the genre?

Every ten years or so you get new artists and new talent into the industry that freshens it up a bit. Beyonce… I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t think it was country at all. I went to Country2Country a couple of years ago, and this guy came out with a baseball cap and a medallion around his neck and I’m just like, “Dude, that’s nothing to do with country music.” I’m not saying it’s not good, but it’s not country. I’m more of a traditional country artist and that’s what I’ve always done, I’ve got some modern stuff too but I’m still clinging on to the music of the 70s, 80s and 90s, I grew up with that. You look at some of the country artists of today and then you look at someone like Dolly Parton and her longevity. I don’t care what anyone says, I don’t think Taylor Swift is going to last, but Dolly’s music will stand the test of time. Taylor Swift is grand, I’m not saying anything bad about her, I wouldn’t be into her music, but I don’t think people will be talking about her in 40 years time. They’ll still be talking about Dolly though… she’ll probably still be alive. Guys like George Jones and Johnny Cash paved the road for country music and that can never be covered over.

Is it hard trying to come up with new music after all these years?

It can be. When I’m doing an album I like to go outside the boundaries. I probably could be more popular if I recorded the exact stuff that I know people want to hear, but I think I reached my limit with that. I’ve been writing songs and I’ve started searching for stuff to record, going back a few years because modern country music just doesn’t have the same feel to it, some of it is like rap music.

You’ve got a big trip to the states coming up, as well as a new album and tour in the pipeline…

We’re going to visit my brother in Kentucky. He’s got a big house down there with a swimming pool and I think we’re going to do nothing for two weeks. I’ve started the album and I hope it will be out by the end of September. Then my Nashville Song Book tour runs from the 3rd of September to the 15th of November. It’s a great concert and it’s visual as well as musical, we have a big screen that play videos, starting off in the 50s with Hank Williams and it moves through the years all the way up to Shania Twain and Garth Brooks. I narrate the show and talk about the artists while singing a selection of their songs. There’s a lot to look forward to and I’m always happy to be busy. It’s even sweeter when you have a happy home to come back to. Me, Adele and the kids are lucky with this place. I’ve lived here for 25 years and we’ve extended and added on bits and pieces. We’ve designed it to have lots of room to run around and play. Leo loves working away in the workshop and Maisey is hopping around on her pretend horses. It’s great.

■Find out more about Robert’s new album, or buy tickets to the Nashville Song Book tour and his summer special Boogie on the Brava in Spain, from 25th June to 2nd July 2025, on robertmizzell.ie.

Interview by Megan Martin

Photography by Kate Nolan

Hair and makeup by Lauren Egerton

IG: @laurenegerton, @makemeblush.ie

Styling for Adele by Jasmine Boutique, Mullingar. W: jasmine.ie

Styling for Leo and Maisey by SweetPea Kids Boutique, Mullingar.

W: sweetpeakids.ie

Read the full interview and see all the fabulous pictures in this issue of RSVP Country - on shelves now

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