Nate Smith's journey to country music stardom is a testament to resilience and perseverance. Born and raised in Paradise, California, Smith was drawn to music from an early age, inspired by artists like Garth Brooks, Bob Seger, and Nirvana. After an initial attempt at making it in Nashville in his early twenties, he returned home, believing his dream had come to an end. However, everything changed in 2018 when a devastating fire destroyed his hometown, leaving him with nothing but his passion for music. Turning to songwriting as a way to heal, he penned ‘One of These Days,' a song that resonated deeply with listeners and went viral, reigniting his musical ambitions.
Smith’s signature blend of gritty country soul, rock influences, and powerhouse vocals quickly gained traction, leading to a record deal with Sony Music Nashville. His self-titled debut album, featuring the Platinum-certified No. 1 single ‘Whiskey on You,' solidified his place as one of country music’s rising stars. Through songs of heartache, faith, and perseverance, Smith embodies the idea that life’s struggles can lead to newfound purpose. Sophomore album ‘California Gold' added a little sheen to his sound and provided Smith with the chance to duet with Avril Lavigne on ‘Bulletproof.' His new single, ‘Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend,' finds Smith duetting with HARDY and teases the next phase of his career. As he continues to carve his path in country music, his message remains clear: no matter how many times life knocks you down, hope will always light the way forward.
With only 50 minutes at his disposal for his main stage show at the O2 in London Nate Smith had some serious decisions to make about the 10 songs that he included in his set in order to both get the flow of the show right and present himself to Country fans who may or may not have been familiar with his work. He did a great job of that as the set flowed from beginning to end and was full of light and shade, emotion and fire.
An intro video that showed Smith's life, from the wildfire that destroyed his California town through to his number one hits in Nashville was a nice touch before the drama and chugging guitars of ‘What Alone Looks Like' echoed around the arena. Whilst other artists augmented their shows with fancy video screens and dramatic special effects Smith went straight old-school and presented a simple yet engaging Country Rock show that had folks up and dancing and pumping their fists in the air.
Smith's set was perfectly planned, keeping the energy levels as high as his own rock ‘n' roll leg kicks! Number one hit ‘Whiskey On You' as the second song in meant that even people unfamiliar with his deeper catalogue probably knew that song and it was performed with passion and a kind of bombastic bravado that brought people to their feet in the arena.
Tracks like ‘Wish I Never Felt,' and new single ‘Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend' kept the energy levels high as Smith stalked the arena stage from side to side, pointing and waving at fans, encouraging them to dance and sing along like a seasoned stage veteran.
Introducing ‘Sleeve,' as the most personal and meaningful song he'd ever written, Nate Smith went onto pivot the set into a more nostalgic, Fleetwood Mac-esque vibe reflective of his West Coast, Laurel Canyon upbringing. Stripped back to an acoustic start, ‘Sleeve' came across as warm and evocative and then the drums and guitars kicked in on verse two and the 70s vibes and warm lighting took us all back in time to those post-hippy days of California freedom.
Pivot is a good word to describe some of Nate Smith's decisions in this energetic and cohesive set because another came next when a spirited, loud and ballsy cover of Jason Aldean's ‘She's Country' rocked the arena and played well, again, to those people in this festival crowd who might not have been as familiar with Nate Smith before they took their seats. Another pivot came next when Smith went out into the crowd to sing recent hit and collaboration with Avril Lavigne, ‘Bulletproof' from amongst the people. Clever. Engaging. Fun. Those were the three words that came to mind watching him sing this powerful song.
To end the set Smith pivoted again to an uplifting version of Snow Patrol's ‘Chasing Cars,' a s song he covered and released a couple of years ago followed by signature, number one hit ‘World on Fire.' Before the former Smith talked to the crowd about having ‘the best job in the world,' after leaving nursing for a life as a songwriter out in Nashville. He also spoke about feeling like he was not enough and related that to how people in the audience might feel – selling himself as one of them, an everyman, a man of the people before playing an anthemic song with the arena lit up by mobile phones. It felt intimate and authentic – two things that are hard to achieve when you are essentially playing a show inside an aircraft hangar! ‘World on Fire,' ended the show in bombastic fashion with explosions and effects being used on the video screens and Smith stalking the arena from side to side, jumping up and down and leaving every ounce of what he had up on that stage.
Nate Smith won a bunch of new friends in London last night and thrilled and entertained the ones he already had. A carefully planned and expertly executed set, he kept the energy high but also injected moments of actual honesty and meaning in amongst the rock and roll hoopla. When he comes back to the UK for his first headline shows in 2026 (he told me this in an interview that you will be able to read later in the week) there will be a sense of excitement and anticipation created by this powerful performance which will live long in the minds of all those who saw it in London yesterday.
Setlist: 1. What Alone Looks Like 2. Whiskey On You 3. Wish I Never Felt 4. Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend 5. Sleeve 6. She's Country 7. Bulletproof 8. Fix What You Didn't Break 9. Chasing Cars 10. World on Fire Venue: The O2 Arena, London Date: Sunday 16th March
