"What I've Actually Learned is How To Be Better at Saying 'Yes and No:'" Medium Build Talks Navigating Fame and Protecting His Sanity

Sitting next to Medium Build in a dim room in the belly of Nashville's Third Man Records, it's not evident the week he's just had.

Three days prior, the genre-blurring entertainer – born Nick Carpenter – donned the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre stage in support of Rainbow Kitten Surprise. From Colorado, he jetted to Music City for a number of AmericanaFest activities, including the week-long event's illustrious Americana Music Honors & Awards where he performed his beloved 'Drug Dealer'.

Here, lounging in someone's vacant office ahead of yet another festival showcase, Carpenter seems to be squarely in his element. He's appears comfortable and content, regaling Holler with his most recent endeavors, his plans for the future and how he's been consistently learning how to best navigate both.

"It was really busy last year when the album came out, and this year, I've been trying to be less busy," he explains. "But I think what I've actually learned is how to be better at saying 'yes and no' and protecting my sanity."

That's been important as he's spent much of the year on the road, hosting solo outings, supporting Rainbow Kitten Surprise, going Down Under with Alex Warren, as well as opening for Tyler Childers across the country.

At the time of speaking, he has two more weeks on tour with the latter hitmaker, someone he has already learned so much from, inheriting the personal and professional tools that he believes with aid him throughout his still-burgeoning career.

"One of my favorite things I've learned from him is his boundaries," Carpenter shares of Childers. "He doesn't do any thing he doesn't want to do ... He takes care of himself. I think that was the thing that I didn't historically do when I first started this."

Carpenter explains there is a crucial separation of life and work that Childers has mastered while out on the road. Shortly after a performance, the 'In Your Love' artist can apparently be seen donning a cozy sweatsuit and walking his dog as if he hadn't just blown away a crowd of several thousand just minutes before.

It's a quality Carpenter as Medium Build has come to respect, striving for that same comfort and ease in his own career.

"I feel like maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I would have judged that as phoned in, or 'you're not bleeding on the fucking stage'," he says. "I was addicted to some emo idea of that you have to die for it."

He's come to understand that it's quite the opposite, sharing, "It's really nice when you meet the kind of guys ahead of you and realize you don't have to just become an alcoholic narcissist and die in a hotel room."

With that wisdom in tow, he's looking ahead, prepping singles, planning collaborations and putting the final touches on his next album, all while cherishing this new state of mind.

First, though, he's taking what is undoubtedly a much-needed breather, planning to spend the next few months off the road and in communion with the people and things that matter most.

"There's stuff coming," he assures, "but nothing too serious. I'm trying to take the whole thing less serious."