Dan + Shay performed “Speechless,” at the recent CMA Fest, with their performance part of the CMA Fest TV special, streaming now on Hulu. Both Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney got the entire Nissan Stadium crowd to sing along to their No. 1 hit single.
For Dan + Shay, who just dropped a hint about a massive tour in 2024, performing at CMA Fest is one of the highlights of each year for them.
“CMA Fest is one of the greatest weeks of the entire year, every single year,” Smyers says. “Everybody in country music is here in one place. Usually, we’re all out on the road in different places. It’s such a community. For us artists, getting to spend time with our friends, our family, being here at the stadium, hanging out, drink beers in the parking lot.
“All of the greatest country music fans come from all over the world, right here in Nashville, Tennessee, where we call our hometown,” he continues. “It’s just a huge party week, and not just here in the stadium, but all around town. There’s stages, there’s music everywhere.”
“Speechless,” a multi-platinum hit, was released in 2018, from Dan + Shay’s eponymous third studio album. Dan + Shay wrote the song with Jordan Reynolds and Laura Veltz.
“Shay had just gotten married also, so we both had that feeling fresh on our minds and we wrote about it,” Smyers previously told People of the story behind the song. “Shay and I were both in each other’s weddings as groomsmen, and there were some fun moments in there of us tying each other’s ties.”
“It’s about not being able to find the words every single time, which is a special thing,” he added. “When it came time to do the video and given the fact that we had both had weddings the year before, I was like, ‘Man, maybe this video is already done.’ I had the crazy idea of taking Shay and my wedding footage [and] parallel those stories to showcase the moments.”
Dan + Shay just dropped another new song, “Save Me The Trouble.” Written by Smyers and Mooney, along with Ashley Gorley, Jordan Reynolds and Jordan Minton, the tune is from their new Bigger Houses album, out on September 15.
“‘Save Me The Trouble’ was the very last song that we wrote for this album,” Smyers tells Audacy. “That’s kind of how it always goes; you turn in the whole album, you think you’re done. All the pressure’s off and you get back in the writing room, when nobody’s looking over your shoulder, expecting anything, and this song poured out of us. The same thing happened with ‘Speechless,’ on our self-titled album.”
With plenty of dates on the calendar for this year and next year, both men are eager to take “Save Me The Trouble” on the road.
“We can’t wait to start playing this one live,” Smyers says. “It’s going to be a big moment with our fans. It’s one of our favorites we’ve ever recorded, honestly. It’s got a lot of fancy, crazy chords in there, and a lot of harmonies. It’s a fun one. We’re really proud of it, and I’m so glad it’s the first single on the album.”
Find all of Dan + Shay’s music and upcoming shows at DanAndShay.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of CMA / Natasha Moustache