Photo: Kelly Fisher
Nate Smith reflected on his years-long journey of building his career as a hit-making singer-songwriter in Music City. Now with a No. 1 smash-hit single in the books, Smith performed a packed album release show on a Lower Broadway rooftop stage in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The concert comes shortly after Smith, defined by his label as “a beacon of country-music hope,” unleashed his long-awaited debut project and accompanied deluxe album on the same day.
Country music listeners have been quick to embrace Smith and his 26-track extended collection, many of them kicking off their fandom with the high-energy breakup anthem that skyrocketed his voice on country radio, “Whiskey On You,” and moving on to other songs that are quickly becoming fan-favorites (including “Alright, Alright, Alright,” “Love Is Blind,” “World On Fire,” “Better Boy,” “Dear Heart,” “Wreckage” and “If I Could Stop Loving You,” to name just a few). Smith offers up a mix of vibrant tracks made for explosive live performances alongside soulful power ballads. The California native, living out a story of revival after overcoming hurdles, said that the response to his self-titled debut has been “unreal.”
“The part that really hits me is that this town has embraced me as a new artist,” Smith told the Nashville crowd in an emotional moment during his album release show on Wednesday evening (May 3). “I’m looking around the room, at different publishers and different labels, and you guys are here, you know? It means so much to me. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity, Nashville.”
Nate Smith arrived on April 28, and the album was a longtime coming. Earlier this year, Smith took to his social media channels to deliver “not the best news in the world, but it’s not the worst news, I’m hoping.” He explained that the release date of his highly-anticipated debut would be pushed back a few months, aligning with some of the live performances on his schedule. That included his first-ever Stagecoach Music Festival performance on the day of his album release, and the kickoff of Thomas Rhett’s headlining “Home Team Tour 23.” The tour, which also includes Cole Swindell, is slated to start on Thursday night (May 4) in Des Moines, Iowa, at Wells Fargo Arena. It comes to an end this September with back-to-back shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Smith “didn’t feel right” releasing his album in February, he explained at that time. He added that “this is my first record, so I just wanna do it right. I’m nervous putting this thing out. I’m excited to put it out, but I’m still nervous because it’s my first one.”
Now, he’s celebrating that “the wait is over …and I am so grateful.”
“I just feel lucky that I get to be the messenger for these songs,” Smith said. “I’m not here to be cool or anything like that. It’s literally just to hit people in the heart.”
Find Smith’s 26-track deluxe album on iHeartRadio here. Listen to a few of the songs from his self-titled debut below.