As Russell Dickerson closes in on a (short) break from Thomas Rhett's Very Hot Summer Tour, he's gearing up to begin recording new music. The Tennessee native has balanced life on the road with songwriting throughout the past couple of years, since the release of his debut record, 2017's Yours, and while he's revealed some of those new songs at live shows, more are still to come -- including some tracks co-written with none other than the members of Lady Antebellum.

"I’ve been writing all summer with my writers, new writers, Lady Antebellum -- we were out on tour with them. Definitely will be cutting some of those songs," Dickerson told The Boot on the blue carpet at the 2019 CMT Music Awards in June. "I’m just excited for the world to hear it."

Rhett and Lady Antebellum are just two of the all-star acts with whom Dickerson has toured. He's also taken the stage with Florida Georgia Line and Carly Pearce, among others, and has been out for headlining dates of his own. Spending time around so many big names has helped Dickerson learn what to apply to his own live sets along the way.

"I always watch these huge artists do their show because I want to learn from them. I want to know what do they do that makes the crowd react, and why did the crowd react?" Dickerson explains. "[I'm] introducing some of that stuff into my set as well. I’m a huge fan of just all these guys."

Although he's been on the road, Dickerson has taken a bit of time to reflect on his two No. 1 songs in 2018, "Blue Tacoma" and "Yours," which launched his career. "I wrote "Yours" almost four years to the day that it went No. 1. For four years, I fought for this song. I knew that it was gonna be a breakthrough for me. I knew that it was gonna catch on. Finally, it did," Dickerson reflects. "That just opened the floodgates ..."

The reason these milestones are so major to Dickerson is because of the hard work he puts into his career. From being a Belmont student to a co-writer to a solo artist, he's just grateful to be where he is.

"It feels incredible because I know what it feels like to not have that. For so long, you just want people to pay attention to your music," Dickerson says. "Is this for real?"

LOOK: Russell Dickerson, Dustin Lynch + More on Thomas Rhett's 2019 Very Hot Summer Tour

More From KRFO-FM