Teaming up with Elaina Smith on Backstage Country for a week, Russell Dickerson gave fans a glimpse behind the chaos and the unhinged energy behind RussellMania 2026.
Russell Dickerson Considers 'RussellMania' His 'Bucket List Tour'
Smith told Dickerson that she considers him to be one of the most fun, live, high-energy shows. She also asked him how RussellMania 2026 is different from his previous tours. Dickerson said, “This is my bucket list tour here.” He added, “I mean, we're playing Red Rocks, and to even just hear the words like, it might sell out. I'm like, I could cry right now. Yeah. And we're playing the Greek in LA. We're playing Ascend in Nashville and all these venues.”
Dickerson chuckled, “I could cry right now. I'm gonna weep when we're there. I know.”
Failing as a Guitar Tech
Being able to headline Red Rocks is a big deal for the Tennessee native. “This is a great story. One of my favorites to tell,” Dickerson said. “I’ve worked Red Rocks. I was a guitar tech for Chris Tomlin. I was like, 19. No idea what I'm doing,” he chuckled. “Neither did they, by the way. They roast me for being a terrible guitar tech. But anyway, so we're playing Red Rocks. If you know the area, it’s like scorching during the day, and then it drops to like 60 degrees. So terrible for tuning guitars, right? I got everything ready in the, you know, 100-degree heat. Went and ate dinner, came back. It was dark, and it was freezing. It was so cold. And I had so many guitars that I was responsible for. And they're old, vintage, you know, Les Pauls and Telecasters and acoustics. Everything is so far out of tune. Show starts. I'm scrambling the entire show.”
He continued, “They get to this halfway point, whatever, and they had added a whole acoustic Red Rock special worship moment. And I just completely forgot about that guitar. So I'm like, ‘Holy crap!’ I run and get it and they're like, ‘Give me the guitar.’ I'm like, ‘No, no, no, no, no. I'm tuning it.’ I'm trying to tune it. It's so far out of tune.”
Dickerson said when Tomlin strummed the guitar in the most intimate worship moment at Red Rocks, he felt it physically. “I felt it. I felt the spirit of God leave Red Rocks because of my out-of-tune, so far out of tune guitar,” he joked.
For tour dates and venues, visit his website here.
