It’s safe to say Conner Smith has had a pretty big year.
After the release of his debut EP ‘Didn’t Go Too Far’ in 2022, his single ‘Creek Will Rise’ became a breakthrough hit, reaching the top 15 on the US Country Airplay chart and becoming the first ever UK County Airplay number 1. He’s since followed that success with a headline tour in the States and the release of his debut album, ‘Smoky Mountains’ in January, as well as making his UK debut at C2C last month.
Whilst he was over here, I caught up with Conner to talk about his recent headline tour, the response to the album, working with Hailey Whitters on ‘Roulette On The Heart’ and what the rest of the year holds for him.
Welcome to London!
Thank you so much. First time, it’s been a lot of fun.
How have you found it so far?
It’s been great. The only view I’ve got is through car windows at this point, but everybody says it’s a rather sunny day here. It’s beautiful. All the architecture, the buildings, it’s really cool.
Will you get any time to explore at all while you’re in the UK?
You know, we’ve been doing our fourth day in four different countries. We’ve been in Germany, Sweden, Norway and then here. But we’re getting to stay here for a couple of nights, so I’m excited to see what I see.
Anything you’re particularly looking forward to whilst you’re here, like any sightseeing or trying British food or anything like that?
No, I don’t know. I’ve heard there’s some really good sushi places that I’m excited about. And then I’m a big history guy so I’d love to see some of the history of London whilst we’re here.
You’re here for C2C playing the Introducing Nashville set – what can people expect from your show?
Well you know, it’s obviously pretty different in what we’re doing over here with Introducing Nashville, which has been so fun with Karly [Scott Collins] and Lauren [Watkins]. They’re both so talented, and we’ve gotten to play shows the last three nights together. Just having a lot of fun. Lauren and I have just been on tour together for the last three months, so we have a kind of built in friendship there. And just kind of the classic Nashville style writers’ round where we’re just each playing three to five songs and telling the story of how the songs were written, which is some of my favourite stuff to do. And then hopefully the next step will be we bring the full band back and then we really kind of bring the party, and bring what we do in America over here, which is just a lot higher energy and a lot of fun when the band’s all together.
You’ve mentioned the headline tour with Lauren already – how did you find that experience?
Yeah, there’s nothing like it. It’s truly the greatest thing ever. Just when you step on a stage and you see a roomful of people who came because they know your songs, there’s no other feeling like it. At the same time it’s a lot more intimidating and scary, because if no-one shows up that’s on you compared to if you’re opening up. But over the last three months it’s just been crazy to see the fans show up, crazy to see them sing these songs to us, and just so many amazing memories from this Creek Will Rise Tour.
Have there been any songs you’re particularly enjoying playing live at the moment?
I think obviously ‘Creek Will Rise’ is just kind of taking on this life of its own. Before this tour you never know what would be the biggest song. Like a lot of times ‘I Hate Alabama’ or maybe ‘Take It Slow’ or maybe even a deep cut like ‘College Towns’ or ‘Somewhere In A Small Town’. But every night it’s ‘Creek Will Rise’ now. And so that just creates so much energy to the live show. And then ‘Baby, I’ is a lot of fun live, heating up as well off the new record, so we’ve been slowly throwing in some of the songs off the new record, see what’s working, see what the fans will react to.
I did want to ask you about ‘Creek Will Rise’ in particular. Did you always know that was going to be such a big hit or has it sort of taken you by surprise in any way?
No, I think that when we went to release it, it was with the intention that this was gonna be the next chapter. This was gonna be the song that felt like it could take me and my band to the next level. And it was so different from anything we had done and it was this kind of turning of a page. But it was one I was really confident in, because that song holds everything I love about country music. With the storytelling, with the energy, the way that people respond in a live show. And so I felt really confident with that song and I’m very grateful that the fans have turned out to love it as much as I did.
It’s been about six weeks now since your album ‘Smoky Mountains’ came out. What’s the response to that been like so far?
It’s been great. It’s just a weight off your back to have it in the world and have the fans have it, and it’s just been so cool to see the response and see the reaction, see how much they care and are loving these songs and these stories. It’s fun to watch fans gravitate towards certain songs and tell you what their favourites are. So just now this record’s out it’s really fun and just adds a whole ‘nother element to the live show.
Were there any songs you found particularly easy or particularly challenging in terms of the writing for this album?
Yeah, I think every song holds its own story on how we got there. ‘Meanwhile In Carolina’ was a harder one to write, ‘Roulette On The Heart’ was a harder one to produce. ‘Boots In The Bleachers’ was an easy one, ‘Heating Up’ felt pretty easy. ‘Smoky Mountains’ I wrote by myself in an elevator, very quickly. And then a song like ‘Trouble’ on the record, that song was written with six different writers over the course of eight months. So every song has its own story and it’s cool to kind of know the life behind them all.
You’ve mentioned ‘Roulette On The Heart’ so I wanted to ask you about working with Hailey Whitters on that, and I know you’ve just made a video for it as well…
Yeah, that song, I had the idea and when we wrote it, it just felt super special, and like this kind of elevated level of what we had done before. It had real heart to it. And so I thought it’d be really cool to have a female vocalist to add the tension to the song. So we called Hailey and she said yes right away, and I was very grateful she did. ‘Cause I think that she adds so much to it. I’m such a big fan of hers and her music and who she is.And when the song was done and recorded and put on the record, it definitely felt like one of the pillars of this record, and so we went to imagine what a music video would feel like. My older brother, who’s in London today actually, he directed and edited and produced the whole video, and did such a good job of capturing the emotion of it. And so that was his brainchild that we got to bring to life, and Hailey was amazing in it as well. So it’s just been really fun to work with her along the way with this record.
Was there anything you learned from making this album?
I mean, so much. I’ve always imagined what my debut album would sound like and feel like, and just for years and years and years I’d study records and learn from each one. And I learned that it was a lot harder than I expected, to fully put together a record that you just feel fully proud of and confident in, and I do think I did that with this one. But I also think that right when I was done I was like, “OK, I wanna do this again”. ‘Cause now I at least know what I’m doing. It’s like the difference between driving somewhere the first time and going back. You at least know what you’re doing, and I’m sure the next record will take on its own and be something entirely different. I’m excited to see where that creative process takes me. But I learned so much about myself and about my music and about what I care about as well. And it’s really just in storytelling and trying to be as honest as possible. And I think there’s a lot of this record that really does that. I think that’s there even more room to grow.
You’ve also mentioned that you were involved in producing the album as well. How did you find that?
Yeah, that’s something I really grew into over the course of the project, and really learning how to communicate alongside Zach [Crowell] who produced it, kind of what I was hearing and feeling and how I wanted these songs to come to life. Some songs are a lot easier than others. But I think I have such a better grasp of communicating those things and bringing those things to life from my brain and onto the song and the track. I think that’s important for an artist.
What’s still on the bucket list for you in terms of people you’d want to work with, places you want to play and so on?
Yeah, you know, on my list of dream venues is the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, which is so historic. And then work with, I mean there’s so many names. Hailey was the first collaboration we’ve gotten to do, but there’s so many still left for me in terms of who I wanna collaborate with. Would love to do a song with Thomas Rhett at some point. My good buddy Dylan Marlowe, I’m sure we’ll do something. The dream guys would be Eric Church and Kenny Chesney. There’s just so many. Even Lauren Watkins, I’d love to do a song with her, I’m such a fan of hers. There’s a lot of names on that list that hopefully over the next few years I’ll get to work with.
Is there a song you wish you could have written?
Oh there’s a million. Two that come to mind, ‘In Color’, Jamey Johnson. We’ve been playing that one live at the shows. That song is so incredibly written. And then ‘Just To See You Smile’ is one of my favourite songs of all time.
What does the rest of the year look like for you?
I’m about to get married, so I’m gonna take a little bit of time off there. We’re hitting it pretty hard this summer, just burning down the road and hitting every small town fair and festival and just getting out to the fans. With the record out, it’s full on into getting this show live. It’s a really exciting time and exciting year. And also I think ‘Roulette On The Heart’ will be the next focus track for the next little bit after ‘Creek Will Rise’ does its thing.
And lastly – are there any plans to come back to the UK after this trip?
It is a day by day thing. In my head, absolutely. I can’t wait, and hopefully it’s very soon, within the next 12 to 15 months we can get back here. I would love to bring the band back here and do the full thing. But we’re here for the next three days, going over to Ireland for a little bit and then we’ll head back. So we’ll take one day at a time. But definitely excited to get back soon.
Conner Smith’s debut album, ‘Smoky Mountains’, is out now on Big Machine Label Group.
