Heartbreak, Triumph, and Hardscrabble Heart: Shane Smith & The Saints Party Across the 15-Year Mark
Photo by: Eric Cain
Written by: Garret K. Woodward
The first time I crossed paths with Shane Smith & The Saints was nearing midnight at the Great Northern Bar & Grill on Central Avenue in Whitefish, Montana. The high-octane alt-country act jumped onstage during the late-night party for the 2023 Under the Big Sky music festival.
Photo by: Eric Cain
A sardine can of rowdy cowboys and cold, cheap beer, the small dive bar rumbled and shook while Smith and his bandmates bulldozed through a set of heartbreak and triumph numbers — this back and forth stream of energy and raw emotion palpable from both sides of the microphone.
“We’re just trying to give as high-energy of an experience as we can, and really think of it through the lens of, ‘What do the fans want?’” Smith says. “And I’m giving it hell [onstage], so it’s ‘Let’s have a blast, let’s soak this in as much as we can and connect with fans as much as we can’ — that’s such a big part of what it’s all about [for us].”
Two years later, I again encountered Smith at Big Sky, this time performing on the mainstage for a massive audience of thousands under a hot July sun and an endless blue sky. A clear sign of the rapid growth of the Saints over the last few years. The live wire presence and undulating sense of passion and purpose within Smith was vivid, something perfectly captured on the group’s 2024 release, Live at Red Rocks.
“A storm’s runnin’ through the Midwest/Like a bandit out on the loose,” Smith’s towering voice rings out on that live version of “All I See Is You”. “And all the clouds are black as nightfall/But all I see is you.”
Photo by: Brian Harrington | Western AF
“It was very much ‘in the moment.’ Obviously, we were all pretty nervous headlining it,” Smith reflects on Red Rocks. “It’s a wild thing, and it’s also really special ‘cause the fans that were at that show are the hardcore fans that have been with us for a long time, the ones who are flying in from all over the place to be part of that — it’s a really powerful thing.”
Smith’s sentiments hit the nail on the head when it comes to the long, arduous journey he’s been on for the last 15 years, elevating his band from sticky floor barrooms across the country (with more folks onstage than in the crowd) to headlining major festivals and selling out theaters on any given night from coast-to-coast — all of it built on one show, one fan, one mile at a time.
Formed in Austin in 2011, Shane Smith & The Saints emerged as a product of the rich melodic tapestry in Texas Hill Country, this crossroads of country, rock, blues, folk, and roots music. Those thick threads of tones reverberate loudly throughout the group’s entire catalog, ricocheting across the musical spectrum. According to Smith, the band “went about it in such a scrappy way” when it came to any semblance of a plan early on.
“So many of those years were just aimlessly going around the country playing show after show, [where] at one point we’re doing 200 shows in a single year, not including travel days, and that would all be in a van or RV,” Smith marvels. “But, there was something about that, that feels like it was meant to happen that way.”
Even though “we were having a good time and we were young,” Smith acknowledges that there came a point where the Saints had to decide whether they’d just run the ship aground or really make a go at it, this juncture where you realize that this is what you want to do with your life, come hell or high water, and everything else is details, obstacles you now see as opportunities.
Since the outset, the Saints tone has remained pretty consistent — more rock than country, more country than Americana — with Smith’s fiery voice gaining more flavor and spice in each passing year like some finely-aged bourbon. And it’s that thunderous roar of his at the center of the Saints, the ensemble grinding it out and slowly graduating from honky-tonks to arenas, Smith’s rough-n-tumble projection seamlessly filling bigger and bigger rooms.
“[That struggle] was required though for us to be who we are today — it would not be the same [otherwise],” Smith says of the Saints continued trajectory. “And the opportunities we’ve gotten now are great ones that have really launched our career. Not that we have a giant career, but I think we love the place we’re at.”
Smith points to fellow Lone Star State singer-songwriters like Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll, Adam Carroll, and Guy Clark as deep inspirations — names that are just a handful of the many from there that harbor such intrinsic lyrical aptitude.
“There’s incredible songwriters all over the place, but I’m so proud to be a Texan and proud of the company that I’m surrounded by,” Smith says. “It does give you this sense of, ‘Yeah, we can do whatever we want,’ and that’s really cool because I don’t know if a lot of other musicians and songwriters get the freedom to truly feel that — [that’s] the spirit of the fan base itself, [too].”
Lately Smith has been trying to be more present, to be “in the now” while in the midst of another fiery performance. Whereas maybe before it was merely about making sure every single aspect of the show was dialed in, now Smith aims to purposely catch his breath for a moment and take a mental snapshot of the scene unfolding right in front of him.
“There’s incredible songwriters all over the place, but I’m so proud to be a Texan and proud of the company that I’m surrounded by.”
“There’s that technical side of your mind [focused] on doing your job, but then once you get through all of that noise, that’s when you start having those feelings,” Smith says. “[You think], ‘What a road it’s been getting here. Look at these people singing these songs. Look at the smiles on their faces. What an epic moment and career we’re getting to carry out right now.’”
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