Tim McGraw Would Bring Bruce Springsteen on Tour in a Heartbeat

All hail the Boss! Country superhero Tim McGraw is opening up about one of his heroes, Bruce Springsteen. McGraw, who is currently entertaining supersized audiences as part of his Emotional Traffic Tour with Luke Bryan and the Band Perry, was musing about missing the small clubs he used to play as his star was ascending -- which brought him to the subject of Springsteen, who makes a few reprisals here and there at venues he played during his glory days.

"I miss the clubs sometimes and when I used to play clubs," McGraw tells CMT Insider. "Every now and then, we go in and play a club which is a lot of fun ... You miss the small intimate settings, but at the same time, you really enjoy doing this [playing big venues] and it gives you a lot of energy, and the fans love it. I'd like to figure out a way to do both at one time, and there may be a day where that works. The person who pulls it off really well -- he does big shows like this, too, but he also does the scaled-back ones – is [Bruce] Springsteen."

"But I'm no Springsteen," McGraw admits, "so I don't know if I could pull that off. He's got so much charisma and he's such a great entertainer and a great artist that you could just sit there and watch him with a guitar and be mesmerized."

McGraw also reveals that Springsteen is the one artist he would love to share a stage with some time in his career. "[He’s] one of my heroes and really the ultimate performer ... If I could ever do a song, a show or a tour with him, I would do it in a heartbeat."

Since McGraw is also further developing his career as an actor, even though he just dropped out of 'Safe House' with Denzel Washington, he adds that he'd like to share the stage with Daniel Day-Lewis, Clint Eastwood and Sean Penn, all actors who top his "wish list."

The singer/actor/Springsteen fan has nothing but praise for his Emotional Traffic tourmates. He and Bryan share a management firm, so that hastened the process of getting Bryan on the tour as an opener. But beyond that professional association, McGraw digs Bryan. "He's had a great run with his career, but personally I really like him. He's a good guy. I hadn't met him but a couple of times, and we had dinner together a couple of weeks ago just to get to know each other. He seems like a guy that you would like. He's got a lot of charisma. He's got some great music. He seems like somebody that you want to hang around."

While McGraw is only just getting to know the siblings that comprise the Band Perry, he does have an affinity for what they do onstage, saying, "There's something about that family harmony you can't beat. There's such beautiful harmony and there's such tenderness in their voices and such realism there." To find out where you can catch McGraw, Bryan and the Band Perry out on the road, take a look at their Emotional Traffic dates.