BJ Barham isn’t one to hide his feelings or opinions. As the songwriter and frontman for the Southern rock/country/folk band, American Aquarium, Barham sees his music as an outlet to reflect on personal and professional struggles.

He shares his history of substance abuse. He talks about how it felt to have his entire band quit on him last year. And then there’s the real lightning rod - politics.

“I am an anomaly in the South, especially playing country music. It’s the dinner table rule - you don’t talk about religion and politics in country music,” Barham said in an interview with The Press. “I’ve made a living on being a raw, emotional songwriter… you can’t pick and choose which feelings you want me to write about.”

American Aquarium will perform Aug. 10 at Nashville North in Post Falls.

Barham is a self-described redneck who grew up on a tobacco farm in North Carolina. He’s focused much of his music on life in small town, rural America. In turn, his music attracts a demographic that doesn’t always align with his own political beliefs.

“Every night there’s at least 50 percent of the crowd that disagrees with me,” Barham said.

On the song “The World is on Fire,” which serves as the opener to the band’s new album, “Things Change,” Barham explores his own stunned reaction to the 2016 presidential election.

“I started writing this angry song, but I realized very early on that it was the wrong direction,” Barham said. “So then every night after concerts at the merch table, I was asking uncomfortable questions. Why did you do this or vote that? And a lot of people were extremely open.”

He heard stories of desperation and from people who felt ignored by previous administrations and wanted a change from the usual way politicians operated. In speaking with them, Barham resparked his passion for writing about a lifestyle already ingrained in him.

“I was raised a car parts salesman, a part-time farmer. I’m about as blue collar as you can be,” he said. “When you look at the deindustrialization of America and the toll it took - the coal mines, the steel mills… every state has these booming industries that had faded or subsided. So when I started writing that song again, I couldn’t be angry about (the election), I had to be open-minded.”

Though he knew there’d be some heat for touching on the election, he dismisses characterizations of “Things Change” as a political album.

“I don’t see them as political at all; I see them as a guy who is trying to understand what is around him,” Barham said. “You can’t come out and tell someone, ‘You’re wrong,’ and why you’re right. You have to come from this point of understanding. We used to be really great about having discussions. We may disagree on every point, but as long as you have respect for each other, I like you.”

Another song on the album, “Tough Folks,” especially speaks to his attitude about the state of the country.

“It’s about the working class, and when life hands you a problem, you work your way out of a problem,” Barham said. “The people that want these songs to be political have selective hearing. I think the constant thing that’s running through the record is of hope and faith.”

Barham said being a new parent has also given him a different perspective on his life and career.

“When I started, I was a self-motivated human being,” he said. “Self-preservation was my thing, but now I’m having these new feelings, like, okay, there’s something more important out there than me.”

Barham has always taken pride in how much American Aquarium performs for live audiences, though he’s even had to adjust that perspective as well.

“We’ve been averaging about 250 dates a year since we started. The road life is what I know, and it really has become second nature to me, but these days leaving is obviously harder,” he said. “We’ll end up doing about 150, which is the lowest we’ve done, but I think I have a pretty good excuse.”

Barham’s songs contain a level of intimacy not often heard in popular country acts, and Barham knows that approach ultimately limits his mainstream appeal.

“I would rather sit back and rest on the honesty of a song, where I said something really personal and connect to people that may have felt that same way,” Barham said. “There are some guys with a great jawline and a great voice and they move to Nashville and all they want to be is famous and make money… but you do have to pick a side. Do you want be on the side of respect, or do you want to be famous?”

Of course the music industry isn’t always that simple, and Barham knows that from recent experience as well. Early last year, the entire American Aquarium band quit on him.

“It was five of my best friends, and all at once they said, ‘I don’t want to play music with you,’” Barham said. “There was a two-week period of feeling sorry for myself, and thinking will anybody still want to come and see me? But my wife told me you can bitch about it or you can change it.”

The new album addresses the break-up, notably on the stripped acoustic track, “When We Were Younger Men.” Rebuilding the band also helped refocus Barham on what he most valued in his music.

“I went out and realized I still had something to say,” Barham said. “I recruited one of the best bands I knew to recruit… The live shows the band is on fire. You get injected with this new younger energy, and I feel like I’m 22 again.”

American Aquarium includes Shane Boeker on lead guitar, drummer Joey Bybee, bassist Ben Hussey, and Adam Kurtz on pedal steel and electric guitar.

The band will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, August 10 at Nashville North, 6361 W. Seltice Way, Stateline. Tickets are $10, available at www.TheNashvilleNorth.com

Hear music and find more information on the band at www.AmericanAquarium.com