Actor/singer Charles Esten on growing up in Pittsburgh, new album, making connections

Charles Esten came oh so close to having a perfect weekend in his hometown.

Esten, who starred in ABC’s “Nashville” and Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” is also a musician, with a show on Sept. 7 at City Winery Pittsburgh. And his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers open the season on Sept. 8 — in Atlanta, unfortunately.

“I know, it broke my heart,” Esten said in a call last week from Nashville. “I wish they were (home).”

Esten, however, found relief in knowing he’d back later in the year, as his sister had just sent out the schedule for her Steelers season tickets (passed down from their late father) to see when he could make it.

Esten, who spent time growing up in Green Tree, downtown Pittsburgh and Sewickley, spent plenty of time around the Steelers as a kid, as his father’s business partner was Ray Mansfield, the two-time Super Bowl champion center.

“So I grew up in that locker room at Three Rivers getting to know all the greats, Terry (Bradshaw) and Joe Greene and Rocky Bleier and on and on and on,” he recalled.

One of his most special moments came when he sang the national anthem ahead of the Steelers-Baltimore Ravens playoff game on Jan. 3, 2015, at Heinz Field.

“It really meant more than I could explain,” he said. “The craziest thing of all during it was while I was singing it, there behind the flag flying was this of course gorgeous skyline — to my mind, the best city skyline at least in the United States. Maybe the world, just because of the three rivers and that fountain at the Point — and while I’m singing I can see the Gateway Towers, and I can see what would have been my room when I was staying there.

“So I was thinking, in the history of national anthems/pro sports, has anybody ever seen their bedroom, the childhood bedroom, behind the flag fluttering? And then I thought, well, you better focus up or you’re gonna end up on YouTube if you mess up this national anthem.”

Esten, who moved to northern Virginia when he was around seven or eight after his parents divorced, fondly recalled visits to Kennywood, jumping in the fountain at Point State Park and trips to the old Wexford Starlight Drive-In. And just this summer, Esten starred in the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera’s production of “The Music Man.”

Starring in a musical proved to be a welcome challenge, forcing him to step outside of his comfort zone.

”In fact, I was so unsure of whether I’d be able to do it. And I could feel that little bit of fear creeping into it, like I don’t know if I can pull this off. And it’s sort of in my makeup that that means I have to do it,” he said with a laugh. “Because there’s part of me that goes, if I’m afraid to do it and so I walk away, then the rest of my days I’ll be like, you should have done that. So I don’t like that feeling when I walk away from something just because I’m not sure. So I said, yeah, let’s go for it.”

Esten credited a fantastic cast, director and choreographer for a successful run at the Benedum Center, “an amazing time in my life.”

“The funny thing is now, there’s a million lines, those lyrics are so fast, in ‘The Music Man,’ but I’m certain they’ll be with me on my dying day, I’ll still know most of ‘The Music Man,’” he said with a laugh. “Once it’s in there, it’s hard to get out.”

While balancing his acting career with his love of music, Esten has found parallels between the two.

“What I found from doing the show ‘Nashville’ is that, No. 1, they are very similar for me. I notice all the similarities more than I notice all the differences,” he said. “One of the great similarities is the importance of being truthful. And if you are writing a song or singing one and you’re not being authentic, it’s not going to come across, I don’t think. And the same is true with a scene.”

Another complementary trait, according to Esten, is the collaborative effort of both, as well as the connection each create, in different manners.

“Especially when there is no band, if I’m just there with a guitar or a piano, singing the song that I wrote, that’s extraordinarily direct. That’s just me to the audience, and the audience’s response is also more direct. It’s right there,” he said. “The audience of ‘Outer Banks’ or ‘Nashville,’ you were on your sofa a thousand miles away from me on a night that I didn’t even know you were watching it. That’s a different type of connection.

“Now those wonderful people come up and talk about what it means to them, so I do get to have that type of connection with it. But in general, it’s later time, later place. When I’m shooting it, it’s not part of it. So those two things that make them very similar, but also sort of really go hand in hand for me. I feel like I’m a very lucky guy to get to do both.”

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Esten also felt fortunate to release his first full album, “Love Ain’t Pretty,” on Jan. 26, 2024. He’s no stranger to music, however, releasing a new single every week in a stretch of 2016-17 as part of his #EverySingleFriday project, earning him a Guinness world record.

“The reason for that isn’t anything great on my end. It was just such an unusual, strange thing to do. ‘Why would you release that many singles?’” he said with a laugh. “And for me it was just because I was here in Music City being on the show ‘Nashville,’ and I wanted to make the most of it, and I just wanted to create as much as I could.”

Looking back now, Esten sees that period in his life as preparing him to do an album.

“An album is different than just even a collection of singles. An album has more of a through line and a heart and a message of its own, and it’s a journey,” he said. “So all that time here in Nashville, there was a time when I thought maybe I was just procrastinating, but I look back now, no, I was just preparing. It felt amazing to finally have it out and to get to be out and play it.”

His show in Pittsburgh will feature songs from the album, as well as some “unusual” covers and some songs from his time on “Nashville.”

“They say, ‘dance with who brung ya,’ and that’s why ‘Nashville’ brought music back into my life so strongly,” he said.

As for which album tracks have been the favorite to perform live, “that’s like asking your favorite children, which is your favorite child?” Esten said with a laugh. But he noted several for the audience reactions that have evolved as he’s toured this album.

“Candlelight” has inspired iPhone flashlights in the crowd, while “Make You Happy” involves the audience singing along to the guitar solo. He’s found the most meaningful song to be “Somewhere in the Sunshine.”

“It’s a song from the ones we love and miss that meant so much to us but have passed on,” he said. “My faith, my heart tells me that they’re somewhere in the sunshine. So this is a song from them, and it’s really connected with people in a way that is very moving to me.”

Esten will also be sure to play “A Life That’s Good” from “Nashville,” which he described as “a bit of a benediction and a goodbye before we leave.”

“It’s all about connection. I say it again and again, if you want to see somebody who is perfect, if you’re looking for perfection, you might want to go to another show,” he said with a laugh. “This will not be a perfect show. But if you’re looking for a connection, well, so am I. And that’s how I measure these shows. And that’s the cool thing is the connection is always in a different way.

“It’s because that real Pittsburgh audience, that group of people that have decided to get those tickets, get those babysitters, drive on in, make all that effort to come to this night, that’s who I’m there with. And I’ve come all my long way and done all my effort, and all of us together will determine what that night is. So that’s what’s exciting to me right now is that I have no idea. I’m relying on the people that will be there and they’re relying on me, and we’re going to make something together.”