Brett Eldredge on His Alter Ego, Xander: 'Wigs Are the Funniest Thing, No Matter Who You Are'

"He shows up when I'm drinking," joked the country star

Photo: David Becker/Getty

Just before Brett Eldredge played his last song at the Route 91 Harvest Festival Sunday in Las Vegas, he told the crowd that he’d join them once he finished his set to watch the rest of the show. He even told everyone to say “hello” if they recognized him.

“But you probably won’t,” he warned.

The musician wasn’t kidding. While touring with Darius Rucker over the summer, the country star made a habit of checking out the headliner’s set incognito. Most people didn’t recognize him. Every now and again, though, fans will see through his disguise – especially now that “Xander” is a regular presence on Eldredge’s Snapchat.

“Xander has hippie hair and doesn’t look anything like me when I put the wig on,” Eldredge, 29, told PEOPLE. “People will ask me about my hair while wearing a T-shirt [with my name on it].”

Xander is quite the character. “He shows up when I’m drinking,” joked Eldredge. “Wigs are the funniest thing, no matter who you are. You throw a wig on somebody and you’ll laugh your ass off all the time. I got my dad to put a wig on and go into the crowd with me.”

The “Lose My Mind” singer, whose sophomore album Illinois hit No. 1 when it was released last month, said he doesn’t even change his outfit to morph into character – it’s just a wig.

“The people out there that aren’t on Snapchat probably don’t know it’s me, but some do,” Eldredge, who often ropes his bandmates into the fun, admitted. “I just keep moving really fast. I’ll drink a beer with them and then I’ll run.”

With Eldredge’s co-headlining tour with Thomas Rhett kicking off in New York City at the end of the month, will Xander be making regular appearances?

“Oh yeah,” Eldredge said with a laugh. “He’s going to be packing a bag!”

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