Ernest, a lifelong Braves fan, returns to Truist Park for country fest

Ernest’s two loves have always been music and baseball, which made him an ideal candidate to be one of the four headline performers at the first Braves Country Fest on Saturday.

“Atlanta is the perfect place for it,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think the Atlanta Braves and country music have always been sidekicks in a way. It’s going to be great.”

Before he was an award-winning songwriter and artist, Ernest’s life largely revolved around baseball. He played at Lipscomb Academy in high school, where his dad, Ernie Smith, coached for over four decades. Ernest helped his team reach consecutive state championships in 2010 and 2011 against Gibbs — where his future friend and collaborator Morgan Wallen was then playing — and won the latter title.

Ernest had an ERA in the 2.50s and a .528 average during that Ohtani-esque campaign (“A bunch of singles were part of that average,” he admits). He and Wallen wore their high school jerseys when they performed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2023.

Ernest’s earliest MLB experiences came at Turner Field. His father was friends with Jim Lovell, a decades-long Braves employee. He grew up with Dodgers’ All-Star Mookie Betts and they remain friends. Ernest has developed relationships with Freddie Freeman and other major leaguers over the years.

“I’ve always had a connection with the Braves, growing up watching them and obviously being in Nashville,” he said. “Then now, at this time in my life, I have a bunch of friends who are in the league, so I still get to be around baseball all the time. Any time I get to combine music and baseball — I played one year of college ball and dropped out to pursue music, so I’m happy that the worlds are still so close.”

Indeed, Ernest earned a baseball scholarship to play at Freed-Hardeman University just outside Nashville, but he suffered a heart attack at 19 because of a viral infection that changed his calculus. He ultimately decided to make baseball his past and pursue music.

There’s no lingering ‘what if’ there: “As a righty throwing 85, 86 (mph) with a decent curveball, only being 5-foot-9, we’ve seen how this goes,” he said. “If I was throwing 100, maybe. But I think I’m right where I need to be.

“I still go throw a baseball. I still keep up with baseball daily and I will coach my son one day. I’ll always be around it. But I’m fine. Running miles at 6 a.m. in college ball kind of (freaking) ruined my love for it. Those pitcher-only runs are no joke.”

The transition to music worked out quite well. Ernest is one of the most important figures in country music, having released four studio albums and cowritten numerous hits for artists like Wallen, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Post Malone and Thomas Rhett.

In May, Ernest released “Deep Blue,” an oceanside country album that’s suitable for summer and sure to echo throughout Truist Park this weekend. He also cowrote other hits, including Langley’s “Lovin’ Life Again” and Moroney’s “Cloud 9,” both of which were further popularized on social media.

“Half of it, it’s super cool to be a behind-the-scenes guy and have your fingerprints everywhere,” he said. “The other realistic answer is the more that’s the case, the less pressure I have on my artist career (laughs). So I can just do what I enjoy doing.”