Canaan Smith is an American country music singer and songwriter known for his heartfelt lyrics and blend of contemporary country sounds. From writing songs for the likes of Cole Swindell, Love and Theft, Tyler Hubbard and Cody Johnson to releasing impactful albums like ‘Bronco' in 2015 and ‘High Country Sound' in 2021, Smith has been active in the Nashville music scene for years, making a name for himself as both a performer and a songwriter.
Smith first gained national attention with his single ‘Love You Like That', which became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in 2015. His debut album ‘Bronco' was released the same year, showcasing his storytelling ability through songs that explore themes of love, heartbreak, and life on the road. Known for his relatable lyrics and warm, genuine vocal style, Smith has earned praise for his ability to connect with audiences on an emotional level.
In addition to his own music, Smith has toured with country acts such as Florida Georgia Line and Dierks Bentley, building a strong following through his dynamic live performances. His passion for storytelling is evident in his songs, which often draw on his own life experiences, blending elements of traditional and modern country music. No-where is that more evident than in the two songs, ‘Green' and ‘Bread and Honey' that he has released today and we caught up with him recently to talk all about them and the album to come.
Great to talk to you today Canaan, thank you for your time, how are you?
I'm good, man. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. My pleasure.
You've got two new songs out today! Congratulations.
Yes sir! I'm very stoked about it. It feels good and I'm really excited for this season. The new batch of music I have coming out feels like something good, like I'm taking a step towards some new ground, you know?
‘Green' is an absolute monster of a song! Tell me about the inspiration behind that song.
Thank you! I wrote that with Drew Kennedy. Drew has such a poetic approach to songwriting. He really loves storylines and colourful imagery. We had this idea, loose at first, about a guy who is trying to make an honest living in tough times and ends up breaking the law. The only way he can support himself is to grow this crop – the character is someone that you should empathise with because he's just trying to make a living, right? He's playing with fire by doing that though and I'd like to think that the risk and imminent danger comes across in the song too.
It's ironic that a lightning bolt from heaven provides the salvation because God essentially intervenes and the guy attributes that to the possibility that he tithed some of that money he was making at church on Sundays. I feel like you wanna kinda pull for that guy, first and foremost, but I also think a lot of us find ourselves in that guy's shoes – I'm not growing weed over here but I've definitely been saved at the 11th hour at different times in my life. There have been times where I feel that God has reached down and picked me up from the wrong path and put me on the right one.
That is going to relate to a lot of people – they are going to see their own stories in that song.
I hope so! I hope people can understand the story, it's quite esoteric at times and you have to really dig into the lyrics. As a music fan, I like that kind of song – the kind of song that leaves the listener to fill in the blanks and maybe think about the parallels with their own lives.
There's also an interesting narrative and message in the second new song out today, ‘Bread and Honey.'
That one came from a real life story. My co-writer, Autumn Marie Buysse, was someone I'd never written with before. We sat down that day and were just trying to get to know each other and one thing led to the next and she started telling me this story about how she used to date this guy who was a VIP concierge in Las Vegas. Essentially they are the guys hired by the house to get you to keep spending – they'll do it with bottle service, with tickets to sporting events, VIP tickets – they'll wine and dine you with the intention of keeping you spending, sometimes at the cost of you losing everything.
It weighed heavy on him. He got a call, one night, in the middle of the night, from the wife of this gambling dude who was begging him to leave her family alone because they had just lost their house through his gambling. I figured that should be where the song started, a call in the middle of the night, and we just ran with it. That song came really easy after that.
Again, like ‘Green,' it's a character who plays on the dark side but is someone who is just trying to make a living, so there's a correlation between the two songs. As a listener you kinda empathise with the guys in these two songs whilst, at the same time, kinda despising what it is they do. There's an ugly truth in both songs and I feel like I am in new territory as a songwriter with both of them. I'm taking a risk with painting storylines that aren't spoon-fed to the listener and both songs leave room for interpretation.
I think where Country music is in 2024, both these songs are bang on-point with what people want to listen to. There is an earthiness, authenticity and realism about Country again that wasn't there during, say, the Bro-Country years. Do you see that?
I do. Most people are after something real right now, the rough-round-the-edges kinda sound. Even in the production of the songs we definitely echoed that. We had no rules or confines we just wanted the two songs to be served. There's an ominous quality in them at times, a tension and a little bit of rescue. Musically, the sound is meant to echo the through-line of each story.
My dear friend Anthony Olympia produced the songs and he's been a game-changer. I do feel like, sonically, this is a big step up for me into a some space and territory that I needed to take as both a writer and an artist.
I thought ‘Diamond in the Dresser' from last year was a real gut-punch of a song too. You seem to be digging into this sense of ‘realism' in your music at the moment?
Yeah. I think that's definitely the theme of the album. Realism is a good way to define it because the new songs aren't really contriving a feeling – they are more about highlighting human nature. I think there's also a kind of ‘rescue' theme emerging too, throughout the new album. What's coming from me right now is kinda celebrating the things I think should be celebrated, talked about or at least have some light shed on them. There's a line that you can draw through them that connects them all together. It's coming from the things that I have learned along the way over the past number of years.
Those types of themes are going to relate and resonate with people's everyday lives as well, I'm sure. Have you got a release date for the new album yet?
I sure hope so! (laughing) Yes, with regards to the album – it's coming out on January 24th. It's done. There are still some finishing touches to be done production-wise but apart from that, we are good. I have another two songs coming out December 6th and then the remaining seven on January 24th so it will be an 11 track album.
Will some of the songs you've released in the last couple of years be on the album or is this a batch of new songs on the way?
No, they are going to stand alone, this album is all new territory.
Alongside this you've also signed a deal with Tyler Hubbard's Haylo Music publishing company. Can you explain what that means for you and your career?
I was going it alone for a couple of years in transition between a publishing deal and no publishing deal and that meant that I owned everything I wrote, 100%. But it also meant that I didn't have a team in my corner to try and help place or land the songs that I wrote. Signing this deal I have people in my corner again who are advocates for what I am writing and I have bigger opportunities to get into rooms with other writers and I think that's definitely getting results for me right now.
I'm writing for other artists and we're writing a lot for Tyler's next album too. There's a creative resurgence that happens when something is new and you are working with new people that is worth its weight in gold, you know?
Getting your song ‘Work Boots' onto Cody Johnson's ‘Leather' album must have been pretty special?
That was awesome, man, a real feather in my cap, for sure. I wish he had put it on the radio though! (laughing) It's a great honour, it really is.
Have you got any cuts coming down the line that you can tell us about right now?
I can't say for sure. I know Tyler has some coming but I'm not sure when. I have some songs on hold right now but there is nothing official yet.
Having a song on hold is such an unusual way to conduct business, it's fascinating. What's the longest you've ever had a song on hold that then just got returned back to you and not used?
It was pretty recently. It was with Bailey Zimmerman. I think he had a song of mine on hold for six months. I felt, for sure, it was going to happen. He was playing it for his producers and they all seemed into it and then there was crickets………..radio silence…….and then it was not going to happen. You just never know, man. It's like winning the lottery when it does happen and I'm grateful to just have some dogs in the fight, you know?
Next year is the 10th anniversary of your iconic ‘Bronco' album, which is the album that introduced me to you. Time flies, right? How does that make you feel?
Old! (laughing) Seasoned. Grateful. I feel like that was a different lifetime ago now and I'm in such a different place in my life right now, personally, professionally – across the whole board. I still consider that album to be a massive achievement but not the Everest that I want to climb. I want to be a dad that my kids still want to hang out with when they are 16 and 17 years old, you know? That's my Everest now!
I'd love for this new music to have a way to open some doors for me. I don't have a record deal or any radio department on my side. I just have songs I believe in that I think need to be heard. I don't do TikTok and am very light on social media altogether and I know that this town and this industry measures your data and your reach now before they want to step and and help you: you have to have the right numbers and that's not really the field I am playing in.
That might be limiting and I might reach my ceiling in this field quicker than I should but my goal is that this new music doesn't make me a slave to the industry or the road, I just want my dollar value for each show to go up! I've really dialled in to that balance between family and work and I'm very grateful to be able to do that sort of thing. I've worked hard to achieve that balance but I wan't the music to reach as many people as possible too.
Check out ‘Green' and ‘Bread and Honey' from Canaan Smith – out today on all the usual platforms and places.
