Frankie Ballard - Pollstar News

Earlier this year, Frankie Ballard hurt his shoulder and busted a rib in a stage diving mishap during a show. He tweeted out a photo the next day of his arm in a sling, captioned “May be worn, but baby… I ain’t wore out.”

He was back on stage the next night.

Ballard’s agent, WME’s Jay Williams, says the country artist is like “the Energizer bunny” of touring.

Photo: AP Photo

“That’s the funny thing about Frankie – when you load him down with 24 dates in a month, he can take another three or four more and be fine with it,” Williams told Pollstar. “It’s so easy to work hard for somebody like Frankie, who is busting his ass every day in every way.”

Ballard first made a name for himself through Kenny Chesney’s “Next Big Star” competition in 2008, and he’s been grinding it out on the road ever since.

The Michigan native has toured with everyone from Gary Allen to Bob Seger (one of his heroes), to Taylor Swift and House Of Blues’ Ones To Watch outing and, currently, with Florida Georgia Line.

“We all knew that Frankie was an incredible live talent with the guitar,” Williams said. “How he commands the stage is unlike a lot of his peers.”

Photo: James P. Hendershot

Ballard also gained attention through his 2014 album, Sunshine & Whiskey, which went to No. 5 on the country charts and has so far produced two No. 1 singles.

All that has led to a pretty broad fan base, ranging from 20-somethings to people who grew up rocking out to Seger in the ’70s.

“He has such a reverence for rock ’n’ roll and country history and he incorporates that into his show, so it’s easy for some older folks to get it too,” Williams said.

Ballard is currently finishing up a new album. Plans are for a packaged theater tour in the fall, spring headlining dates and the summer fair and festival circuit.