5 hours Ago By People
Conner Smith has every right to be tired. "I need a break,” Smith, 24, told PEOPLE during a backstage interview before a close to sell-out Chicago last November. “I've hit a wall.
” The country music artist has quickly gained steam from a combination of insane talent and good looks has spent most of the past year on the road, not only with Luke Bryan on his 2024 Farm Tour but also on not one, but two of his own headlining tours — and he's just announced another . "This past year has been crazy in every way," he said. "It's all blessings, but yeah, I'm at a place where I need to allow myself to rest.
" Ahead of the show, the ACM Awards nominee for new male artist of the year seemed to love the chance to bask in the beauty of a Saturday afternoon with college football on TV and a nap in his future before heading out on stage to bask in the love of his growing legion of fans. "It never truly makes sense to me that people show up," admitted Smith with a laugh. "That still feels weird to me, but I'm grateful they do.
" Related: Country Singer Conner Smith Marries Surfer Leah Thompson in Romantic Wedding Ceremony: See the Photos! In 2024 alone, Smith released a total of three new music collections, with perhaps his most impressive being his latest EP, The Storyteller . "There’s a lot of heart in it," said Smith of The Storyteller . "I think that was the goal.
Every day, I'm just figuring out who I want to be as an artist. And I think The Storyteller for me was the last piece that I hadn't shown yet." Certainly, Smith's past songs such as "I Hate Alabama" and "Learn from It" could have easily pigeonholed him into a certain sound, but the fact is that Smith is too darn smart for that.
"If I want to be known as anything in this industry, the highest compliment anyone could give me is saying, 'You're a talented songwriter,'" he explained. "I wanted to try to expose that and show that." And unlike many of his country music counterparts looking for their next No.
1 hit or viral video, Smith said he just wanted to make sure the songs of The Storyteller saw the light of day. "Somewhere along the way, I got really in my head about writing songs for others' approval or writing songs for what the label wants to hear or what I think will react on TikTok," Smith admitted of songs such as the endearing "Faith From a Farmer." "But something happened on The Storyteller that was very authentic.
" That's not to say that there isn't standout tracks worthy of getting Smith back on the country music charts again on The Storyteller . Take, for example, fan-favorite "Nostalgia." "My favorite type of music is nostalgic country, like ‘Springsteen’ by Eric Church ," Smith said of the indirect inspiration behind the song he wrote alongside fellow songwriter extraordinaire Dwight Baker.
"Other than pictures, music is the closest thing we have to a time machine. A lot of times I'm trying to capture nostalgia. That's my go-to emotion when I'm writing.
" And a few months back, Smith was just feeling nostalgic about heading home. "I've been on the road every weekend since June," said Smith, who married surfer Leah Thompson last April . "I'm gone all the time.
It takes a very strong woman to be able to handle this kind of lifestyle. Leah is just so competent, secure, and just does it all so well." Related: Grand Ole Opry Names Conner Smith to NextStage Class of 2022: 'Stepping into So Many Dreams' It’s just all a part of the story of Conner Smith.
" Life is a story,” he concluded. "We're all just trying to figure it out. I mean, I'm getting to know myself.
I'm still growing up. I don't know who I am yet. My goal has always been just to be with my fans and let's take that journey together.
Let's be in that story together of just growing up as the music grows up." Read the original article on People.
