Not long ago, Nate Smith was a nursing student living in Paradise, California. Then, in 2018, he lost everything when a wildfire swept through his hometown. Not long after, he gained buzz on social media for his music. Later, he moved to Nashville and recorded under the Word Records banner before signing with Sony Music Nashville. Today he has two No. 1 singles. The latest, “World on Fire” has dominated the Country Airplay Chart for five consecutive weeks.
Smith took the pain that he felt after losing everything to the blaze and channeled it into his music. As a result, fire is a running theme in his songs. That rings true for his latest single, “World on Fire.” He co-penned the track with Nashville songwriters Ashley Gorley, Taylor Phillips, and Lindsay Rimes who served double duty as the song’s sole producer.
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[Nate Smith World on Fire Tour: Get Tickets]
Recently, Smith talked to Billboard about the success of his second single. “If you told me in 2018 that right now I’d be celebrating not my first but my second No.1 at country radio, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said.
“In December 2018, I was absolutely devastated from the fact that my hometown of Paradise, California had just been destroyed by a fire. I had nothing left to my name, but friends and family came around and helped push me forward,” he added.
[RELATED: Morgan Wallen, Nate Smith Lead Top 46 Songs That Can’t Stop Mentioning “Whiskey”]
Nate Smith World on Fire Tour
Smith’s World on Fire Tour kicked off earlier this month with a show at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia on January 4. He’ll bring the tour to a close on May 23 at Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach, Delaware. See the full list of remaining dates below.
- 01/31—Oxford, Ohio @ Brick Street Bar
- 02/01—Chicago, Illinois @ Joe’s Bar
- 02/02—Grand Rapids, Michigan @ The Intersection
- 02/03—Indianapolis, Indiana @ 8 Second Saloon
- 02/08—Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Complex
- 02/09—Las Vegas, Nevada @ Stoney’s Rockin Country
- 02/11—Denver, Colorado @ Bluebird Theater
- 02/15—Los Angeles, California @ El Rey Theater
- 02/16—Bakersfield, California @ Buck Owens
- 02/17—Sacramento, California @ Ace of Spades
- 02/21—Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom
- 02/22—Kelowna, British Columbia @ Community Theater
- 02/23—Calgary, Alberta @ The Palace Theater
- 02/24—Edmonton, Alberta @ Midway Music Hall
- 05/23—Dewey Beach, Delaware @ Bottle & Cork
Featured image by Omar Vega/FilmMagic
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GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Dolly Parton performs on the Pyramid stage during day three of the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton on June 29, 2014 in Glastonbury, England. Tickets to the event, which is now in its 44th year, sold out in minutes even before any of the headline acts had been confirmed. The festival, which started in 1970 when several hundred hippies paid £1, now attracts more than 175,000 people. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)







