Payton Smith and his family now call Nashville home, but he grew up in Houma, Louisiana, and he says his lifestyle has definitely had an impact on his music. “I spent a lot time on the water,” says Payton. “I was always out on the coast. I was always in a boat. If I wasn’t in a boat, I was inside practicing guitar. It was a very outdoors kind of life. It’s still to this day, man. I love being outdoors. I love hiking, I love riding four wheelers, I love being out on the boat, I love being outside, and that certainly has an effect on the songs that I write.”
If you pay close attention to Payton’s debut single, “Like I Knew You Would,” the story that he’s singing about takes place at the river, and Payton says, “I write a lot of songs that take place outside, you know. And I think that’s definitely a result of growing up in Louisiana. I miss it every day. I miss the crawfish. I really, really miss the food. I miss my family, my extended family down there. But yeah, I remember being 10 years old, if I wasn’t in a canoe in a bayou fishing, I was inside relentlessly practicing guitar.”
Payton has spent part of the time during the Covid-19 shutdown doing some fishing and getting out in a boat. He’s also spent time working on his already impressive and highly skilled guitar playing, which, unfortunately, he won’t get to show off on the Chris Young ‘Town Ain’t Big Enough World Tour,’ since it has been cancelled due to Covid-19.
Payton Smith – life in Houma LA :44
“Life in Houma, Louisiana, I spent a lot time on the water. I was always out on the coast. I was always in a boat. If I wasn’t in a boat, I was inside practicing guitar. It was a very outdoors kind of life. It’s still to this day, man. I love being outdoors. I love hiking, I love riding four wheelers, I love being out on the boat, I love being outside, and that certainly has an effect on the songs that I write. I write a lot of songs that take place outside, you know. And I think that’s definitely a result of growing up in Louisiana. I miss it every day. I miss the crawfish. I really, really miss the food. I miss my family, my extended family down there. But yeah, I remember being 10 years old, if I wasn’t in a canoe in a bayou fishing, I was inside relentlessly practicing guitar.”