Proud papas Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Charles Kelley and Luke Bryan reflected on being dads in honor of Father’s Day on June 17.
Darius Rucker: daughters Caroline and Dani, son Jack
“I think if you asked my kids what kind of dad I was they would probably say . . . Dani would say that I was a fun dad. My little daughter would say that I was a fun dad. She thinks I’m a lot of fun. I think if you caught them at the right moment, they would say I was mean [laughs] because when I’m home, I’m not afraid to discipline them. I’m all fun until it’s not fun anymore and then daddy’s not the fun guy. I think that they’d say that I was a fun dad, I’m a loving dad and I think they would say that. I’m gone so much that when I’m home, I just shower love upon my kids. I say ‘I love you’ probably 50 times a day. We hug, we kiss all the time. I’m always wanting them to know how much I love them. So I’d hope they’d say that I was a loving dad.”
Keith Urban: daughters Sunday and Faith
“The first thing is probably just having someone call you dad. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m her dad! That’s amazing.’ That’s probably the first thing to me. I don’t know, I mean, the different personalities that our two daughters have, that’s amazing. It’s such a long list I think. I think for the people that haven’t had kids, which I hadn’t for a long, long time. I didn’t have kids until later on, and being around it is not the same as having them, you know? I realize that it’s not something that can be explained until you actually sort of have it, so I’m glad I got to experience that.”
Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum: son Ward
“Gosh! I mean, being a father, it really puts a lot of things into perspective about making sure you do shut off that side of your brain, that work side of your brain and focus on what matters most. I think in the past, I think I’ve always had it in the back of the mind—work, and once you have a kid, you see something that you love more than yourself. I don’t know. It just really is making me realize how fast time moves and to really and try to enjoy these little moments with my little son and my wife, Cassie.”
Luke Bryan, sons Bo and Tate, nephew Til
“Last year, my Father’s Day was—Caroline was perfect in asking me what I wanted for Father’s Day—and I said I want to go camping with the boys on a little trout stream. So, I went and borrowed, I knew a buddy who had a pull-behind trailer, you know, camper. We get the camper hooked up, get to the campsite, it’s 98 degrees. I had loaded a lawn mower in the back of my truck. By the time I got done mowing an acre of four-foot tall grass for the campsite, mosquitoes, couldn’t get the camper—you know, the camper never works like you want it to. It may just be a day around the pool at the Bryan house [this year]. I hadn’t really put my mind together for what I want for Father’s Day, but I won’t be mowing an acre of grass for the RV moment.”
