Thomas Rhett
#
10
Ranking
BIRTHDATE
BIRTHPLACE
Valdosta
,
GA
,
USA
36
5
'
10
"
Thomas Rhett is a Tennessee-raised country superstar and son of Rhett Akins who parlayed a teenage love of drums and a college-era publishing deal into a record-breaking run of 20 number-one singles, a Billboard 200-topping album, and one of country music's most devoted family-man fan bases, fueled by deeply personal songs about his wife Lauren and their five children.
Current Tour & Setlist
Thomas Rhett's headlining "Soundtrack to Life Tour" launches July 9, 2026, at GEODIS Park in Nashville, a co-headlining stadium show with pop star Niall Horan, then hits more than 20 cities including Greenville, Hartford, Hershey, Columbia, Grand Rapids, Louisville, Austin, Sacramento, and Kansas City, wrapping October 24 in Omaha. Emily Ann Roberts opens every show on the tour, with ERNEST, Kashus Culpepper, Zach John King, Vincent Mason, and Conner Smith rotating through support slots on select dates. Fans can expect signature hits including "Die a Happy Man," "Marry Me," "Life Changes," and "Look What God Gave Her."
Early Life
Born Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. in Valdosta, Georgia, and raised in Hendersonville, Tennessee, he grew up with country music at the center of family life through his father, Rhett Akins, a 1990s hitmaker who later became one of Nashville's most in-demand songwriters. Thomas began playing drums at age 9, went onstage with his father as a kid, played in a punk rock band called The High Heeled Flip Flops in high school, and grew up knowing artists like Tim McGraw and Brooks & Dunn as family friends.
Career Highlights
While studying communications at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Thomas Rhett formed a cover band and performed at frat parties and local gigs. His father then persuaded him to take the stage at a Nashville showcase, where EMI Music publisher Ben Vaughn, the same executive who had signed Rhett Akins years earlier, offered him a publishing deal on the spot. He dropped out of college at 20 to pursue songwriting full-time, co-writing hits for Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, and Lee Brice before signing with Big Machine Records' Valory Music Group in 2011 and releasing his debut single in early 2012. His third album, Life Changes (2017), made history by debuting at number one on the all-genre Billboard 200, and he has since racked up 20 number-one singles on the Country Airplay chart, more than any other artist in the chart's history.
Family & Personal Life
Thomas Rhett married his childhood sweetheart Lauren Gregory on October 12, 2012, having first met her in kindergarten, dated briefly in high school, and reconnected at a graduation party in 2011 where he finally confessed his feelings for her. The couple have five children, daughters Willa Gray (adopted from Uganda in 2017), Ada James (born August 2017), Lennon Love (born February 2020), and Lillie Carolina (born November 2021), and son Brave Elijah, born in February 2026.
Awards
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