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. 

“Feels damn good today / To be a thousand miles away,” country singer/songwriter Summer Dean observes in her song “A Thousand Miles Away.” Though superficially a breakup song, it easily doubles as a reflection on Dean’s career, as well: “I guess I could have settled down / and kept pretending I was someone I couldn’t be / Lived my life in just one town / But who’s to say that’s what a woman really needs,” she sings.