‘America’s Got Talent’ contestant Drake Milligan will play Rose Bowl’s Fourth of July AmericaFest

Country music singer Drake Milligan admits it was nerve-wracking waiting his turn to go on stage for what would be the most significant performance of his young career.

After all, he had to follow an act made up of trained chickens with their own band, too.

But once the 24-year-old walked on stage with his guitar and backing band, the nerves disappeared and he wowed the judges on the newest season of “America’s Got Talent” with his classic honky-tonk music, his smooth baritone voice and Elvis-like swagger.

“Once I got on stage, I just wanted to bring as much energy as possible. Once the music started I was pretty calm, I was like, ‘This is show time, this is where I was meant to be’,” said the musician, who has moved on to the next round of the show which airs Tuesday nights on NBC.

“I’ve watched ‘America’s Got Talent’ since I was a kid, so I’ve dreamed about being on there since I was a kid and this was such a great opportunity to share my music with the world,” he said.

But Milligan can also be seen locally off-screen when he comes to the Rose Bowl for the 96th annual AmericaFest Celebration on July 4.

The Independence Day celebration includes a 30-minute performance by TNT Freestyle Motocross and a headlining set by Milligan, who recently recorded his self-titled debut EP in Nashville.

“It’s going to be a huge celebration and we’re just going to have fun. I have a lot of uptempo party songs and we’re here to bring a ton of energy to that stage,” he said of the upcoming Pasadena show where he’ll perform his new music.

Consisting of all-original tunes, the five-song EP is a nod to classic country music through the lens of Milligan’s youthful energy and talent.

“I wanted to make something old, new again. I wanted to bring a little bit of energy to the traditional country sounds that I love,” said Milligan during a phone interview about three weeks after his “America’s Got Talent” audition episode aired.

“A lot of country music has gotten into the pop sounds or rock sounds. A lot of other genres are coming into country now and I wanted to freshen up some of the traditional country that I love and care for so much,” he said.

The ‘New Elvis’

After his performance on the show, judge Howie Mandel told him, “You’re like the new Elvis of country.” And the singer does bear a resemblance to the King, which led to his first big break.

Milligan, who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, showed an interest in music early on thanks to his country music-loving parents. When he was around 7 years old, he saw an Elvis impersonator and was immediately floored.

“That’s when everything changed for me and I decided I wanted to be an entertainer. I wanted to get on stage and be Elvis,” he said.

A year later, his parents took him on an Elvis-themed cruise where he jumped on the stage and performed some of the legendary rocker’s songs during a break from an Elvis competition that was taking place.

He kept honoring Elvis as a tribute artist throughout high school which eventually landed him a role on the 2016 CMT series “Sun Records,” where he played a teenage Elvis after scoring the role in an open audition.

“It was an intimidating thing playing Elvis like that,” Milligan said.

But it was worth it because the role opened a lot of doors for him when he decided to move to Nashville in 2018; he got the attention of producers who had seen him on the show and helped him record his debut EP.