Canaan Smith has a new single out, and he's prepping begin his first headlining tour. He's fired up about bringing fans new music live, and about putting the things Dierks Bentley taught him on the Sounds of Summer Tour into play. Smith stopped by the ToC Nights studio to chat with us before his tour.

Smith's new song, "Hole in a Bottle," is a fun tribute to hard workers. He really appreciates how hard his fans work to make it to his shows, and he hopes they can unwind when he plays this live.

“I love this song, man. It’s sort of a tribute to — at the end of a 40 hour work week, or longer, we’re ready to throw down," Smith tells us. "My fans they work hard and when they come to a show on a Friday night, Saturday night, they’re ready to just forget about the blues and find a ‘Hole in a Bottle’ so that’s what this is about.”

On Nov. 6, the singer will step out on his own as a headliner for the first time for his Stompin’ Grounds Tour. He'll play 11 dates, starting in Charlotte, N.C. 

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Smith learned how to treat tour openers from Bentley, who was extra nice to both of his opening acts. “He made us feel way above our pay grade,” the newcomer says, telling a story about a storm that threatened the openers' sets.

“He had a choice one night, in Cincinnati. There was a nasty storm that blew in right around my set at 7PM and it delayed the show for two hours,” he explains. A midnight noise ordinance meant shortened sets or no sets for the openers — and a big fine! “He said, ‘Screw it.’ I’m not cutting their set short. Let them pay the full set. Whenever the storm passes, then start it and that’s fine.”

We can imagine how great Smith will be to his opening act, Russell Dickerson, since he learned from one of the best!

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 60 Townsquare Media Group stations nationwide.

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