Last night (November 20) was a big night for Nate Smith. He was nominated for New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards. It was also his first time as a presenter on the awards show. Maybe more excitingly, Smith partnered with Crown Royal to announce a massive donation to CreatiVets, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans heal through the arts and music.
Videos by American Songwriter
Before the awards show, Smith sat down with American Songwriter to discuss his partnership with Crown Royal, the work CreatiVets is doing, and more.
[RELATED: Nate Smith Dominates Country Radio for the Fifth Consecutive Week with “World on Fire”]
Nate Smith on Partnering with Crown Royal
Ahead of the big announcement, a video package aired showing Nate Smith chatting with Scotty Hasting, a solider-turned-country artist who worked with CreatiVets and recently made his Opry debut.
“Crown Royal has been sponsoring the CMA Awards for seven years now. So, they’ve been really involved in country music and everything. I was super honored that they asked me to be involved with this, to honor Scotty Hasting. His career is kicking off and crushing. They allowed me to basically sit down with him and interview him, encourage him, and kind of root for him,” Smith said of his partnership with Crown Royal.
“It’s amazing what they’re doing with the CreaiVets program. They’re helping veterans get involved in creative aspects whether it’s songwriting or recording music or anything in that world. It’s helping veterans navigate things to do post-war,” he said about the work that CreatiVets is doing to help veterans heal after coming home.
While nearly anyone would have been honored to be in Smith’s shoes last night, it was extra special for the singer/songwriter. “It hits home for me because my dad was in Desert Storm in the early ‘90s. I always say he’s my favorite vet. It’s just amazing what they’re doing,” he explained.
Smith on His New Artist Nomination
Nate Smith walked a hard road to get to his New Artist of the Year nomination. After years in the medical field and a previous failed attempt to make it in Nashville, Smith lost everything in a California wildfire.
“It’s just crazy,” he said when asked how he reacted to receiving the nomination. “You’ve got to understand where I’m coming from. I came from a small town in Northern California called Paradise. I spent my whole life working as a nurse’s assistant,” he explained. “First off, I never thought I would be an artist. The journey to get to this point is just insane and my whole family is so proud. It’s just a huge honor,” he added.
Smith’s Long Journey to Nashville
“It was a sad situation. Basically, we lost everything in the fire and a friend of mine ended up mailing me a new guitar. So, I wrote a song for Paradise, recorded it, and raised a little money for a single mom and her kids. Then, I just started writing songs again,” he recalled.
“My friends were like ‘Dude you should move to Nashville again,’ for the second time. I had already done it once when I was younger. They put together a GoFundMe to send me back to Nashville,” he said. “So, I drove for about a month and a half across the US because I didn’t have anywhere to go until my lease started in Nashville,” he said of his literal long journey to Music City, USA.
Success was in the cards this time, though. “I got to town and had $14 in my checking account. I ended up getting a publishing deal within about a month of being in Nashville. That was kind of a miracle situation,” he explained. “I got a managing deal, a publishing deal, and started writing songs every day, five days a week. Eventually, I got a record deal,” Smith added. “I was planning on being a nurse and here we are, it’s kind of crazy.”
Featured Image by Theo Wargo/Getty Images
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