The Dirty Heads are getting ready to hit the road with country star Jake Owen for a run of co-headlining dates that, on paper, might look like a sonic mismatch. But David Foral — the Dirty Heads bassist and longtime creative force behind the band — isn’t worried about genre lines.
“I think it’s all barbecue music,” he laughs while talking to The Pier. “After a long, hard day of work, you want to come home and relax. Reggae has always drawn me in with that vibe, and country is very similar. Whether you’re at the river or grilling steaks, both genres set the mood.”
The tour, which kicks off October 23 in Jacksonville, FL, is a chance for Dirty Heads to meet a whole new audience—many of whom may have never seen the band perform or even heard their music. “We like playing festivals like that, too,” Foral says. “You look out halfway through the set and see people pointing, going, ‘Oh man, who are these guys?’ That’s a great feeling.”
While Dirty Heads have always embraced genre fluidity—bouncing from reggae to hip-hop to alt-rock with the same breezy confidence as their Southern California roots—sharing the stage with a mainstream country artist like Owen is a new lane entirely. But Foral says the band is more than ready to adapt.
“We’ve made pretty diverse music over the years, so we can cater the setlist a bit,” he explains. “We’re still going to bring the harder hip-hop stuff, but we also want to make sure people aren’t completely turned off. At the end of the day, we’re still Dirty Heads.”
The timing couldn’t be more relevant. With artists like Jelly Roll and Hardy tearing down the walls between country, rock, and rap, genre cross-pollination is not only accepted—it’s celebrated. “The Grammys just created a new category for contemporary country,” Foral points out. “It shows how fast things are evolving.”
Offstage, Foral’s creative pursuits continue through his production duo Left Coast Sound and his visual art and design work. But when it comes to touring, he’s laser-focused on creating moments—and this tour is shaping up to deliver a few.
“Country fans, reggae fans—everyone just wants to have a good time,” he says. “And if we can bring something new to the table and earn some new fans along the way, even better.”
As Foral puts it, “You’re just as likely to hear a Sublime track on Broadway in Nashville these days as you are Morgan Wallen.”
