Adkins was born in Sarepta, Louisiana.
His paternal grandparents were Rayford D. Adkins (1921-1987) and the former Mavis Giles, later Mavis Tilley (1923-1999).
His parents are the former Peggy Carraway, who was the high school sweetheart of his father, Aaron Doyle Adkins (1942-2014), who worked for forty-seven years at the International Paper Container Division in Springhill.
Adkins has two brothers, Clay Adkins, and Scott Devin Adkins (1971-1993), who died at age twenty-one in a pickup truck accident near Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish.
His maternal uncle was the Christian musician James W. Carraway (1923–2008).
His musical interest came at an early age when he was ten and his father bought him a guitar and hired someone to give him lessons.

At Sarepta High School, since defunct, Adkins joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments.
He was also a member of the FFA.
Later, Adkins attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.
A walk-on offensive lineman on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Adkins left the team after his freshman season due to a knee injury, without ever playing in a game.
Adkins never graduated.
After leaving college, he worked on an oil rig.
He also played music in a band called Bayou.
Adkins also worked as a pharmacy technician before pursuing a career in music.
He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident using a knife to open a bucket, and asked doctors to reattach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar.
Adkins moved to play in honky-tonk bars for the next few years in the Ark-La-Tex area and eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1992.
In late-1994, Adkins met Rhonda Forlaw, who was an executive at Arista Records Nashville.
Forlaw had numerous music industry friends come out to hear Adkins over the next few years.
Scott Hendricks of Capitol Nashville signed him "on the spot" one night while Adkins was playing at Tillie and Lucy's bar in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.
Adkins was born in Sarepta, Louisiana. His paternal grandparents were Rayford D. Adkins (1921-1987) and the former Mavis Giles, later Mavis Tilley (1923-1999). His parents are the former Peggy Carraway, who was the high school sweetheart of his father, Aaron Doyle Adkins (1942-2014), who worked for forty-seven years at the International Paper Container Division in Springhill. Adkins has two brothers, Clay Adkins, and Scott Devin Adkins (1971-1993), who died at age twenty-one in a pickup truck accident near Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish. His maternal uncle was the Christian musician James W. Carraway (1923–2008). His musical interest came at an early age when he was ten and his father bought him a guitar and hired someone to give him lessons.
At Sarepta High School, since defunct, Adkins joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments. He was also a member of the FFA. Later, Adkins attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. A walk-on offensive lineman on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Adkins left the team after his freshman season due to a knee injury, without ever playing in a game. Adkins never graduated. After leaving college, he worked on an oil rig. He also played music in a band called Bayou. Adkins also worked as a pharmacy technician before pursuing a career in music. He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident using a knife to open a bucket, and asked doctors to reattach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar. Adkins moved to play in honky-tonk bars for the next few years in the Ark-La-Tex area and eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1992. In late-1994, Adkins met Rhonda Forlaw, who was an executive at Arista Records Nashville. Forlaw had numerous music industry friends come out to hear Adkins over the next few years. Scott Hendricks of Capitol Nashville signed him "on the spot" one night while Adkins was playing at Tillie and Lucy's bar in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.
Trace Adkins