Last year was kind of a down year for us. We weren’t out there for 200 dates last year, like usual. Don [Herron, the band’s fiddle, pedal-steel and mandolin master] was off playing with Bob...

If you’re putting that energy into performance,” he said, “you’re also getting it back out again, right? You’re giving so you can receive.” He spread his arms wide. “If you were writing songs with it,...