Trace Adkins Sees Himself in His Role on New TV Drama, 'Monarch': 'The Train Is Perpetually Off the Track'

Trace Adkins says he truly met his match when he was offered the role of Albie Roman, the patriarch in Monarch, the much-anticipated Fox primetime drama set in the country music scene.

"He's very much like me," the 60-year-old country hitmaker tells PEOPLE. "I mean, I can look back over periods in my life where the train was perpetually off the track, and that's Albie's world. The train is perpetually off the track. Sometimes it's his fault, sometimes it's not, but he has to deal with that stuff."

Indeed, Adkins has had his share of tabloid headlines over the years — but forgive him for forgetting one more glaringly obvious reason that the part fits him to a T: The singer and his character are both big-time country stars. And obviously, Adkins' casting is just one of the ways the show, which is set in Austin, is sure to bring a country music authenticity to what promises to be one of the fall's hottest — and steamiest — new shows.

Adkins was just one among several key Monarch participants who walked the red carpet last week before the ACM Honors awards show in Nashville, and each one highlighted the strong connections between the real-life spirit of country music and Hollywood's version of it.

Nashville singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith glowed over her good fortune to sing the show's theme song, "The Card You Gamble." The up-and-comer, who hit the charts last year with "I Can't," an Old Dominion collab, noted the song is the first she's released that she hasn't written.

She said she jumped at the chance to sing it — without even hearing it — after she learned it was written by Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose, the trio of Nashville songwriting royalty known as "the Love Junkies."

"Oh, it's a Love Junkies song!" Smith, 36, said, recalling the moment it was pitched to her. "Sign me up!"

Once she heard it, she said, she was assured she had made the right decision: "I fell in love with it because it's something different than I've ever done before. There's definitely this drama in it. It's a little Western and spooky. It fits the show very well, and it was fun to record. When I went into the vocal booth to cut the song, it was almost like I had to put on my own character and imagine I was in the show, as well."

Monarch also has tapped several Nashville music legends for high-profile cameos, including Martina McBride, Tanya Tucker, Shania Twain and Little Big Town. On the red carpet, the LBT quartet — Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook — said they didn't have to get talked into their participation when it was offered.

"We like an adventure," Fairchild, 52, told PEOPLE.

The experience also taught the foursome about the tedious side to filming. "I didn't realize that actors stand around and wait so long," Fairchild said. "Then all of a sudden, they're like on and — bam! — they're in it, and it's like, wow!"

Though none of the four said their turn before cameras tempted them to add a new sideline to their careers, they were all excited to be a part of the show.

"It gives you all the nostalgic feelings of the country shows that have been its precursor, but it also is brand new," Fairchild said.

"It's got the glamour and the drama," Westbrook, 50, said. Schlapman, 52, added: "It's very reminiscent of Dallas and Dynasty. So fun!"

Also on the red carpet was cast member Beth Ditto, who may not hail from a country music hotbed like Nashville or Austin, but the Arkansas native brought her Southern roots and musical chops to the drama as the Roman family's black sheep daughter, Gigi. Though Ditto has made her name as lead singer for indie rock band Gossip, she told PEOPLE she grew up on country music, so she felt at home in the genre.

She also knows its history. When she was offered the role of the daughter in a country music family dynasty, she said she first assumed it would be like the Carter family — the genre's homespun trio who pioneered the sound back in the 1920s and 1930s. Instead, Ditto quickly learned she was about to be dropped into a fictional world of glitzy mayhem.

"I was like, oh my God, there's so much to work from!" Ditto, 41, said.

The role came up, she explained, while her live-music career was on hold during the quarantine. Already with a handful of TV acting credits, Ditto, who is an out lesbian, felt the part of Gigi was made for her: "The gay, fat country singer — and I was like, me! You need me! I really, really, really wanted to do it because I thought it just sounded like fun."

Adkins has even more acting experience; he said he's drawn to film and TV for the same reason he enjoys recording music. "When I'm in the studio, it's just such a creative environment that stimulates me, and I just absolutely love it," he said. "Television sets and movie sets are the same way. Everybody is so talented in that environment. I love the creativity, and I like being a part of it."

But even with his experience, he admitted, he was initially "terrified" to share scenes with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon.

"And then," he said, "I quickly realized, oh my God, she's so professional and so good that she's gonna carry the scene. So, if you don't throw up on yourself, you'll probably be OK because she's gonna do all the heavy lifting. I just swam in her wake the whole time and had a ball."

Monarch premieres on the Fox network at 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT on Sept. 11.