There’s country strong, and then there’s Lane Smith tough. You can also add a not-so subtle crazy streak thanks to his other side hustle—bull rider. If you’ve ever watched the rising country singer-songwriter work a crowd, you’re catching only part of the story. Long before working his way to Texas-bred, Lane was fighting bulls. And as the former rodeo athlete sees it, staring down a 1200-pound animal provides an eight-second rush and an abundance of focus much different than a country performance.
“If you fall off, the bull rider falls off. And we’re the guys that get in there and distract the bull. If there’s a hit that needs to be taken, you take it,” Lane shared recently on the Real Country Podcast. “You might have to fight 48 [bulls] that night, but I just felt like I was in control, you know. Even if I was going to take a hit, it was a controlled hit.” In a business that dishes out its own brand of bruises, Lane’s approach to music uses the same blend of heart, grit, and preparation honed from his years in the rodeo.
He explains to Real Country host Nikki Cohn-Byrd how his path from the rodeo arena to the music stage was by no means an accident. His athletic prowess, he says came first as an all-state lacrosse star, before building a bull-riding legacy. At tye same time Lane began playing guitar around rodeo trailers and with friends. The more he played, the more the rush of audience applause pushed him more toward music as a career. “I started thinking about playing music a little more than I did actually fighting bulls,” he says. “And I just was like, Man, I might get myself hurt or somebody else hurt. You know, if you’re one foot in and one foot out on that deal, I think it’s time to hang up the cleat stuff and stick with the music thing.”
Since then, Lane’s grit and authenticity have carved an unmistakable place for him in country music. His 2023 sophomore album “Austin”—anchored by the buzzworthy title track and the stripped-down hit “Red Lights”—earned rave reception and opened doors at BMG and other key industry players. “The reception on the sophomore album’s been obviously a lot better. I think production came across a lot better. I think we’re just working with a lot better folks,” Lane noted on the podcast. Songs like “Break Mine,” fueled by Lane’s signature high-energy, moody style and vulnerable lyrics, have become showpieces at his concerts. Recently, his collaboration with Ashley Walls, “Someone You Don’t Want to Know,” has been killing it on streaming platforms and is set to get an acoustic release and video very soon.
As a musician Lane has shared the stage with country artists including Creed Fisher, Chase Matthews, and Kyle Park. He’s performed at legendary venues such as Gruene Hall in New Braunfels—one of those must-play halls, he says, if you’re from Texas. His unique style has landed him “Top 25 Country Artists to Watch in Nashville.”
Lane’s about to take it to the road again: a coast-to-coast tour that kicks off in Missouri, rolls out to Seattle, and circles back through Phoenix, hitting the road with another rising star Hayden Kaufman. All details, music, and tour dates live at LaneSmithMusic.com and @LaneSmithMusic on social.