Trace Adkins has definitely had a colorful life to this point. He's had his ups and downs, been in life-threatening situations, and experienced his share of triumph and defeat. Yet he always comes out strong. Here's some facts you may not know about the roughneck.

5. Trace lost his pinky finger on his left hand. He was a young man and had an accident cutting open a bucket with a knife. He made the doctors reattach his finger at an angle so he could still play the guitar.

4. He worked on an oil rig after college. That's where the term "roughneck" comes from. After the BP oil spill last year, he talked quite a bit about how tough the oil industry is on national television interviews. Never afraid to mince words, Trace gave his opinion straight on. Without opening up drilling areas that have more manageable depths, these accidents will still happen. The deeper you go, the more dangerous is.

3. Trace Adkins is 6'6". I've always wondered how tall Trace actually is. With some research we can confirm that yeah... he's a big dude.

2. He's A Damn Good Author. Trace wrote a book in 2007 called A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck. Besides the long title, it has received great reviews and is rated 5 out of 5 stars at amazon.com.

1. He was shot by his second wife through the heart. Talk about a heartache. During a domestic dispute in 1994, his second wife Julie shot him. The bullet passed through both chambers of his heart and through both lungs. He crawled into the bathtub while waiting for help so he wouldn't bleed all over the new carpet. (In Trace's on words.) He believes the reason he survived is because he lived near a trauma center. He never pressed charges against Julie, who is now his ex.

Come see the man in person at Bayfront Festival Park on July 29th. Tickets are on sale now for $30 online. Price goes up to $40 day of the show, so get them now!