Nate Smith

Across the landscape of country music, you will find several groups of artists. You'll find people that were born to entertain, people that had to work and claw their way to the spotlight and plenty of hopefuls who just couldn't make it work.

Over the last few years, though, we've also found a few whose musical destinies were forged in fire and etched into stone, which is the perfect summation of Nate Smith.

In the last few years, country music has seen Smith seemingly appear out of thin air as he has shot up charts and onto radios worldwide practically overnight. However, as he would attest, that timeline couldn't be further from the truth.

Growing up in Paradise, California, he was influenced at a young age by country icons like Garth Brooks and rock bands like Nirvana, while also being exposed to massive pop personalities like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. After learning how to play guitar at the age of 13, he quickly found his musical home at his local church where he took on the role of worship leader.

At the ripe age of 23, a green and hopeful Smith made his way to Nashville to chase his neon-tinged dreams, earning a recording deal with Christian label Word Records and a publishing agreement with Centricity Music. However, after not much panned-out, he packed up his musical aspirations and went home.

Then, in 2018, California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire in history decimated his hometown. With everything he owned lost and an inability to cope with the disaster, Smith turned back to music in his time of need. What resulted was a song called 'Wildfire,' which went viral in 2020 and signaled a new birth for Smith.

As Smith was ushered back into the folds of Music City, he earned a publishing deal and a recording contract from Sony Music Nashville and has been on the fast track to country stardom since.

One part backwoods soul, one part rock 'n' roll and another part soul, Smith has continued to release a strong string of delectable country tunes in the form of his eponymously titled, debut album Nate Smith, which includes his Gold-certified, No. 1 single 'Whiskey On You.'

If the last few years are any indication of Nate Smith's future in country music, it's clear that from the devastating ashes were born a second chance and a heartwarming story of resilience.