Country Thunder — the largest Country music festival brand in North America — extends Season 3 of its popular podcast “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer” with a brand new episode out today (12/4). Episode 7 titled, Life As A Worldwide Roadie With Tom Mayhue features legendary tour manager Tom Mayhue—who’s sought-after and entrusted by the likes of The Boxmasters (Billy Bob Thornton & J.D. Andrew) and Guns N’ Roses. Country Thunder CEO and host Troy Vollhoffer speaks to Mayhue in-depth about what really happens on tour, his longstanding friendship with Thornton, and the biggest differences between the road back-in-the-day and the road of today.

The conversation reaches deep into Mayhue’s past. As the story goes, he initially harbored ambitions to be on stage as a guitarist. Though it didn’t pan out how he’d first envisioned it, he made his way into the music industry, nonetheless. A big break came when he first signed on to work with Guns N’ Roses. He canvassed the globe with the band during their era of world domination in the late eighties and continued through their historic record-breaking reunion in the twenty-tens.

He says, “As far as my Guns N’ Roses stuff and seeing the guys get back together again, I was with them through all of their heights and success, and then saw the breakdown and breakup of the band. Seeing it all come back together again, the kindness, and the respect the guys had for each other…that was definitely one of the shiniest moments in my career.”

In the discussion, Mayhue also marvels at Thornton’s work ethic. He goes on, “This is my 44th year of touring. I don't care if it's doing rock shows, making movies, or doing whatever. We’ve got to keep going. That’s the one thing I love about Billy. I can barely keep up with the guy!”

Plus, he chats about a pivotal moment with Axl Rose and Trailer Park Boys, which unexpectedly led to Mayhue’s acting debut.

“We were out with Guns N’ Roses, and Axl said, ‘I want you to meet my friend, Mike Smith. He has this comedy troupe out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and you’ve got to check these guys out’,” he recalls. “So, I started hanging around Smith. He would come out to Guns N’ Roses shows and come on stage and do his song ‘Liquor and Whores’ with the band. He asked me, ‘Do you work with Billy Bob?’ I said, ‘Yeah, he's one of my best friends.’ Then, he asked, ‘Do you think he would ever do something in a Trailer Park movie?’ And I said, ‘Why don’t you write something for him and I’ll give it to him.’ Smith went home, wrote a little thing, and emailed it to me. I gave it to Billy, and he burst out laughing and said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll do this.’ He told Smith, ‘I’ll do it, if you get Tom Mayhue a side part.’ He said, ‘Done,’ and they wrote a little skit. I played Mini-Me’s security guard!”

It’s truly been a stacked year for “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer,” with Season 3 guests including The Boxmasters (Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew), MULTI-PLATINUM Country superstar Cody Johnson, history-making award-winning band Old Dominion, Tennessee-born singer and songwriter Larry Fleet and GRAMMY® Award-nominated, MULTI-PLATINUM Country star Cole Swindell. Prior, Season 3 launched in September with an episode featuring 23x No. 1 hitmaker Tyler Hubbard. Now, the podcast has steadily emerged as one of the premier Country music podcasts, elevating Vollhoffer as an industry tastemaker and sharp businessman. Over the course of its first two seasons, he sat down for insightful, revealing, and often hilarious interviews with the likes of Jake Owen, Blake Shelton, HARDY, Gavin Adcock, Koe Wetzel, Dierks Bentley, Bailey Zimmerman, Ashley McBryde, Marty Stuart, and many more. During Season 1, the podcast notably shook the charts and reached #1 in Music among Apple Podcasts in the U.S. Not to mention, the Dustin Lynch episode debuted in the Top 1% of all podcasts. Following this success, all episodes in Seasons 2 and 3 performed better than 95% of podcasts in their first seven days. Additionally, with the expansion to video in Season 2, Blake Shelton’s episode received over 105K views, with Jordan Davis and Gavin Adcock each gaining over 95K views.

With cameras rolling and tape running, he engages in funny and freewheeling discourse with major Country talent as well as buzzing acts. The episodes are filmed from Vollhoffer’s tour bus and home studio, providing an unfiltered vignette into the lives of artists as they tell stories, recall memories, and share unwavering passion for music.

The podcast stands out as a must-listen for Country aficionados and music lovers of all kinds, thanks to its intimate format, exclusive insights, and a lineup packed with all-star guests. Its momentum reflects Vollhoffer’s own imprint on the industry; he was recently featured in MusicRow magazine’s “My Music Row Story,” underscoring his long-standing impact on live music production and festival leadership.

 

 

ABOUT COUNTRY THUNDER:
Country Thunder Music Festivals thrives as the world’s preeminent Country music festival brand. Led by President and C.E.O. Troy Vollhoffer since 2005, it continues to set the tone for Country music and culture. This global powerhouse encompasses annual multi-day events in six major markets across two countries, earning “Festival of the Year” at the ACM Awards three times and entertaining millions of fans to date. Its stages have welcomed GRAMMY® Award-winning generational superstars, genre-busting trailblazers, and rising talent alike. Beyond boasting a reputation for once-in-a-lifetime collaborations, it has perennially provided a launchpad for breaking acts. Between those powerhouse performances, each location features an immersive concourse consisting of numerous cuisine and beverage options, local vendors, and various attractions. Dubbed “a pillar of country festival culture” by Holler., American Songwriter has hailed it as “a country music lover’s dream,” while The Tennessean summed it up best, “For three decades, the Country Thunder brand has succeeded in offering fans top-tier performances.” The brand’s festivals include Saskatchewan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Alberta, and Florida. As always, Country Thunder Music Festivals embodies the past, present, and future of Country music and so much more.

ABOUT TROY VOLLHOFFER:
Between running the world’s preeminent Country music festival brand, hosting a popular podcast, and giving back at every turn as a philanthropist, Country Thunder President and C.E.O. Troy Vollhoffer has quietly distinguished himself as a music industry renaissance man. Raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, he went from working in his father’s local theater to spending more than a decade playing minor and junior professional hockey before using a Pittsburgh Penguins signing bonus to launch Premier Global Production, which supported major tours for Rod Stewart, Def Leppard, Metallica and more. In 2005, he took ownership of the longest-running music festival event in North America, leading it as the Craven Country Jamboree for twelve years before bringing it into the Country Thunder family in 2017. During that time, he expanded the brand by acquiring Country Thunder Arizona and Wisconsin in 2009 and launching Country Thunder Alberta in 2016 and Country Thunder Florida in 2019, which will move to the beach for the first time in 2026—occupying the largest footprint of any Country Thunder festival and overlooking the crystal clear waters of The Gulf. His leadership has earned multiple ACM “Festival of the Year” honors, prestigious awards from the ACM and CCMA, and recognition on Billboard’s “Touring Power Players” list. A dedicated philanthropist and host of “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer”, he continues to shape the future of live music with the same passion that launched his career.

ABOUT ON THE BUS WITH TROY VOLLHOFFER:
The “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer” podcast presents deep dive discussions with Country music’s living legends, the 21st century’s hottest headliners, and even the players behind-the-scenes. In the driver’s seat, Country Thunder CEO and host Troy Vollhoffer inspires intimate, thoughtful, and often hilarious conversations with top-tier talent. Shot on his actual tour bus, at his home studio, or on location at one of Country Thunder’s many festivals, it taps into the pulse of Country music culture. Over the course of three seasons thus far, episodes have featured everyone from Bailey Zimmerman, Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Dierks Bentley, Gavin Adcock, HARDY, Jake Owen, and Old Dominion to Ashley McBryde, Tigirlily Gold, and The Boxmasters (Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew). Beyond generating millions of views and plays, it has notably reached #1 in Music on Apple Podcasts in the U.S. multiple times. “On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer” continues to roll on as one of Country’s most captivating podcasts.

 

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