Sam Hunt just announced his Summer On The Outskirts Tour, with Brett Young and Lily Rose serving as his opening acts. But before he begins that tour, the Georgia native will headline a night at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, taking place on Friday night, March 10.
“Our show on the road in the summer historically has been big and produced, and bombastic in a lot of ways,” Hunt shared with Everything Nash and other outlets, during a recent virtual media event. “I get to play the Ryman occasionally for events, and I get to come in and play with some songwriter buddies at a songwriter night. It’s such a special place, in terms of re-imagining the songs. Maybe we’re going to try to play them in more of a reverent way. Maybe strip them down some. Obviously, all the lights and lasers that have been a part of my show in the past, we won’t be using that sort of thing, and focusing more on the musicianship.”
Hunt has high praise for his band, who he intends to highlight while performing at the Mother Church of Country Music.
“My band is great; they’re great, great singers and players, and a lot of times that can get lost in some of the production of our big show on the road,” Hunt boasted. “As fun as that can be, in keeping with this sort of more traditional approach that I’ve lately been taking with the songwriting and even the production, I just like the idea of maybe stripping things down. We haven’t gotten to do that in a while. It’s been maybe seven or eight years since I actually played the Ryman. I’m just looking forward to just really getting in there and not overthinking it, not scripting it out too much.
“And in preparation for the summer tour, getting in there and trying some songs out, playing them maybe in some new ways, but more than anything, just have a more intimate experience,” he added.
Hunt hand-picked both Young and Rose for his Summer On The Outskirts Tour, choosing people whose talent he respected, but also wanted to spend time with on the road.
“I like to kind of follow the serendipitous relationships that have come into my life,” Hunt explained. “It’s easy in the country music world, ’cause you really cross paths with just about everybody, and everybody for the most part is so great. You don’t have many rivalries or feuds in the country music world. or beefs. … I’ve known Brett Young, who is coming out with us, I’ve known him from way back when we were all just writing songs and running around town. And his circle of folks he ran around with and the group that I ran around, we crossed paths quite a bit.”
Young not only became friends with Rose, but discovered that she was a fan of his music long since the beginning of his career.
“I’ve talked to her, and hung out with her quite a bit. She talks about having played some of our songs back when Montevallo came out, in little coffee shops and just showed a real appreciation for what I’ve done musically. She’s just a really great soul, and we’ve had a good time this past couple of years. She’s come out and played several shows with us. She has a great fanbase, and she’s just doing her thing. She’s an original, so I’m happy to have her out as well.”
Tickets for Hunt’s Ryman show can be found at Ryman.com. His Summer On The Outskirts Tour begins on July 6. Find music and tour dates at SamHunt.com.
Photo Credit: UMG Nashville / The Dwyers