Payton Smith is the oldest of four boys in his family, and when it became apparent that music was his calling and what he wanted to do with his life, his family made the huge decision, about three and a half years ago, to leave their home in Louisiana and move everybody to Nashville, where Payton needed to be to pursue his dream. When Payton thinks about the sacrifices his entire family made for him, he says, “The fact that my brothers supported that and my mom and dad supported my dream that much, and they were willing to sacrifice so much, that’s a pretty humbling feeling.”
It’s not surprising that Payton’s family is very tight-knit, and some or all of them often travel with him when he’s on tour or making appearances to promote his debut single, “Like I Knew You Would.” Payton says knowing how huge it was for his entire family to move to Nashville so he could be closer to the music business, “It really taught me a lot about what family is and how much family gets you through the ups and downs, especially in the music business. You can have a lot of ups and downs and it’s very important to have a family that’s behind you. And the fact that they all moved up here for me … aww, I still get emotional thinking about it.”
During this time of everybody staying at home because of the coronavirus, Payton has been making the most of his time by performing a lot of online shows and jam sessions on various social media platforms. Find out where you can see him this week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, @thepaytonsmith.
Payton Smith – family moved for him :34
“Yeah, my family moved up here about three and a half years, they moved up to Nashville about three and a half years ago. And the fact that my brothers supported that and my mom and dad supported my dream that much, and they were willing to sacrifice so much, that’s a pretty humbling feeling. It really taught me a lot about what family is and how much family gets you through the ups and downs, especially in the music business. You can have a lot of ups and downs and it’s very important to have a family that’s behind you. And the fact that they all moved up here for me … aww, I still get emotional thinking about it.”