Rising country duo Smithfield recently released their fiery new single “When You’re Gone” as a followup to the smash hit “Hey Whiskey,”. The single reached the Top 3 on SiriusXM’s The Highway. By now there is no doubt the single is your new song of the summer…
The duo has opened for some established names in the country music genre such as Scotty McCreery, Brothers Osborne, Dustin Lynch. Now recently ending their opening act for Steve Moakler on Sirius XM’s “Highway Finds” Tour, we had the opportunity to speak to the Texas natives and childhood friends about their new single, what inspires their music and what fans can expect from Smithfield next.
On how the two life-long family friends realized that your vocal talents meshed so well together and ultimately became “Smithfield”…
Funny story actually. Trey reached out to me on Facebook after his rock band broke up in college. I was already doing my own thing and had plans to move to Nashville after graduating, but I felt I couldn’t say no because we were such good family friends. He came over and we started singing Keith Urban songs together to see if we had a good blend. Honestly that day we both knew it was something special because how well our vocals matched and sounded together. 2 months later we started making trips to Nashville together and have been chasing this crazy dream ever since” Jenn comments.
On how they came up with the concept for their latest single “When You’re Gone”…
Trey actually brought the title “When You’re Gone” into our write with Adam James and Brennin (Hunt). His idea behind it was the aftermath of how a person feels after they physically gone like in a breakup or loss. We all kinda shut it down pretty quickly lol because we felt like we had heard that idea so many times before and didn’t want to write another heartbreak song at this point like “Hey Whiskey.” Brennin had the lead guitar part already that morning and we both felt like it was super vibey and different from anything that we had ever written. It felt “Sultry” and “Sexy” and “Bluesy.” So we began to talk about writing the title from a different angle. We thought that “When You’re Gone” as in when you are tipsy was a really cool angle for the vibe of the song. Brennin began to talk about how sexy his wife is when she has had a little too much wine. We all thought painting the picture of the perfect drunk girl was the way to go for this one! says Jenn.
On being described as “a little bit Country” and “a little bit Rock & Roll” and what has had the biggest influence on their music…
Trey: Garth Brooks was my idol when I was 4 years old. My first record was a Boston album, and Johnny Rzeznik (lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls) is the person who influenced me to start writing songs and form a rock band. Later Keith Urban became a huge influence for me. He is the reason I got back into country music because he showed me that rock could live in the world of country.
Jenn: Leann Rimes, Faith Hill, and Shania Twain are my heroes. My family introduced me to country music at a very young age, and since I was nine years old it was the music I gravitated towards the most, my whole life. Those women listed above were on repeat for me and heavily influence the way I sing now and even perform on stage.
On their approach on writing music that their fans can relate to and what inspires them…
Our sound is heavily influenced by our collective backgrounds of Rock, Pop, and Country. You get a unique blend of vocals in our music that is really the focal point of what we do as a duo, that is paired with catchy melodies and lyrics.We aim to be the opposite of what you would typically think of a girl/guy duo that sings mostly love songs. We want to our music to be who we are, which is what it means to be young and in your 20’s, experiencing all the highs and lows, heartbreaks, and celebrations that we all relate to. There are elements of love in our music for sure, but it’s sexy and a little edgier.
On their dream collaboration with any artist…who would it be and why…
Trey: The Goo Goo dolls. As I mentioned above Johnny is the reason I write songs and play music.
Jenn: I would love to collaborate with Vince Gill someday. I think his high harmony on top of our harmonies would be insane harmony heaven!
On what their fans can expect from Smithfield next…
We are all over the country touring so we hope to see fans looking for where we will be next performing. We also plan to have a brand-new EP out by the fall. Right now we are in the process of discussing how we are gonna release it. We like to do things in a different/unique way, so expect that with this release for sure!
We’ll leave you with a couple of “fun facts” about Smithfield you may not know…
Fun fact about Trey is he actually studied to be an “Egyptologist” while in college. Basically, he wanted to dig in the Pyramids of Egypt because he loves history!
Fun one about Jenn is that she was actually a college athlete and grew up playing Volleyball her whole life as well.
The two lifelong friends were named “Artist To Watch” by People.com, Huffington Post and Rolling Stone Country. “Hey Whiskey” has gained over 2 million Spotify streams and 1 million+ YouTube views and “When You’re Gone” is already on track to have the same success.
To find out where you can see Smithfield, visit the duo’s website and make sure you are also following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the most up-to-date information.
