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PrintDustin Lynch: From Bluebird To Breakout Star
“The first night I got to Nashville, after my parents finally left, I drove down to the Bluebird as quick as I could. I got there late, and had to watch through the windows. That was the place I wanted to be.
“I knew that’s where the songwriters were, and I found myself going there all the time, learning how all these songs came to life. I’d take what I learned and go home and practice.”
The Bluebird gave Lynch a true education — regular chances to try out his own material on crowds while taking weekly tips from the best in the business. Within a few years, he was collaborating with established vets like Tim Nichols (the co-writer of “Cowboys and Angels,” among other songs on Lynch’s album) and signing to publishing and record deals.
Those deals didn’t translate to overnight success. Lynch says he wrote hundreds of songs and toiled at random day jobs for years before the agreement with Broken Bow finally heated up.
Looking back, he’s glad the universe took its time.
“If I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to be patient. But coming along, I always thought, ‘I’ve got the songs.’ ‘Cowboys and Angels’ is two-and–a-half years old. I was a sitting duck for a while.
“But once I got everything straightened out, I ended up writing most of this first album in the last year and a half. So, even though I always thought I had good songs – hundreds of them – it ended up working out this way for a reason.”
C&I: Tell me about a few of the songs on the album that you’re excited to unleash.
Lynch: “She Cranks My Tractor” is a party-rocking song. It’s about my dream girl – the kind of girl that’s wilder than I am. There’s another rocker called “Name On It” – People are going crazy for it when we play it live. And I can’t wait for people to hear “Rock You Sweet.” I wrote that down on the coast.
C&I: Your vocals bring you comparisons to the new traditionalists you grew up on, but there are some more modern sounds on the album as well. Who are some current artists with which you feel a kinship?
Lynch: Well, he’s on my label and everything, but Jason Aldean has come out with such big hits that I can relate to. My main thing is guys that put out albums I can listen to from top to bottom. Luke Bryan, Eric Church … those guys are that way for me. That was my approach on this album, to make it good from top to bottom.
C&I: This is the beginning of a big career for you. But, can you see yourself one day moving back to a horse farm and coming full circle?
Lynch: Absolutely. My goodness. I haven’t been on a horse in so many years. Growing up, I could go out back, saddle up, and ride around. That’s a dream of mine — to have some acreage and get back to that life one day.
Lynch’s debut album has already topped the country downloads chart and made it to No. 5 in the overall-album downloads. Buy it on iTunes or Amazon; listen to it on Spotify.
