While the country is on lockdown, to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Payton Smith, who just released his debut single, “Like I Knew You Would,” right before all of this started, is just trying to figure out how to navigate it, like everyone else is. “For me, you know, during this time, it’s something I’ve never gone through before and certainly nobody’s gone through before,” says Payton. “But I’m still trying to find ways to be productive with music. So, I am trying to co-write some songs with some of my favorite writers using Skype, using Zoom; Calling into radio stations and seeing, you know, ‘Hey, what can I do to help?’. Anything like that is just staying productive.”
Payton is very close to his whole family, including his three brothers and his parents, so he’s also taking time to enjoy the unexpected down time with them, and to focus on being grateful for what is happening with his music . Before everything came to a screeching halt, Payton was extremely busy and running on little sleep, although you’d never know it. He was crisscrossing the country, visiting radio stations and introducing himself to radio and new fans alike, and he says, “I was in very much sort of a routine. It was going out on the road for five days, then it would be going out and headed to somewhere else and then being home for two days. So it was sort of a routine I got really comfortable with and sort of started taking for granted a little bit.”
While Payton would have continued running at full speed, with little sleep and a smile on his face, and while he is hopeful Chris Young’s ‘Town Ain’t Big Enough Tour’, for which he’ll be opening, will get to kick off on May 28th as currently scheduled, he’s taking everything in stride and focusing on the positives. Payton says, “To kind of have this opportunity to kind of sit back and just take a breath, being at home, being with family, it just sort of makes you (take a deep breath), be grateful, be thankful, those kind of things.”
Payton Smith – how handling stay at home :27
“For me, you know, during this time, it’s something I’ve never gone through before and certainly nobody’s gone through before. But I’m still trying to find ways to be productive with music. So, I am trying to co-write some songs with some of my favorite writers using Skype, using Zoom, calling into radio stations and seeing, you know, ‘Hey, what can I do to help?’. Anything like that is just staying productive. For me, that’s what I’m trying to do, and then spending time with family and doing a lot of reflecting, making sure that I stay grateful.”
Payton Smith – quarantine appreciation :33
“I think that especially after being out on the road for … we were out on radio tour for four weeks before all this happened, so, I was in very much sort of a routine. It was going out on the road for five days, then it would be going out and headed to somewhere else and then being home for two days. So it was sort of a routine I got really comfortable with and sort of started taking for granted a little bit. And to have this opportunity to kind of sit back and just take a breath, being at home, being with family, it just sort of makes you go like (exhale). Be grateful, be thankful, those kind of things.”