Nation music singer Sam Hunt arrived in Anchorage earlier this week forward of a pair of exhibits he’ll be performing on the Alaska Airways Heart on Friday and Saturday.
His household and crew members needed to make a visit out of their first go to to the Final Frontier.
One of many first issues Hunt did upon arrival was purchase a fly rod with the hopes of fishing for salmon.
Whereas he hasn’t gone fishing simply but, he has been taking within the sights by occurring lengthy drives and mountain climbing.
“I could stand up within the morning (on Friday) and try to strive once more on Saturday,” Hunt stated in an interview Thursday.
He stated the choice to return as much as Alaska resulted from each his tour and a need to see the state.
“We bought phrase that there is likely to be a chance to return up and play, and I’ve needed to go to Alaska for a very long time,” Hunt stated. “We’ve a fairly outdoorsy crew and band, so when the chance got here up, I used to be like, ‘We’ll completely reap the benefits of that.’ ”
The touring crew introduced household and associates with them and have made a mini-vacation out of the journey.
He stated he had not seen a lot of the nation earlier than embarking on his musical profession.
“We’ve visited each state, so many locations I’d have by no means in any other case seen, and simply have a extremely good time,” Hunt stated.
He stated he’s “actually making some extent” of spending extra time within the locations he travels to carry out than he did earlier in his profession.
“A part of the explanation we got here as much as Alaska was simply to expertise Alaska,” Hunt stated.
[This weekend: Bear Paw Festival, plus country star Sam Hunt in Anchorage and plenty of other musical options]
From soccer standout to famend singer-songwriter
Hunt grew up within the small city of Cedartown, Georgia, the place he performed soccer, basketball and baseball. Regardless that he loved music, he by no means imagined himself as a musician.
“I’ve at all times been an enormous music fan, listened to it my entire life, however by no means tried to play or sing or create music,” Hunt stated.
He acquired a chance to play soccer on the collegiate stage, and the summer season earlier than he went off to affix the Center Tennessee State College Division I program, Hunt determined to buy his first instrument.
“I purchased somewhat pawn store guitar and began to be taught some songs,” Hunt stated. “That kind of transitioned into writing songs, and I began to entertain the thought of, possibly I may transfer to Nashville and discover a technique to put it to make use of someplace.”
Regardless of having by no means performed an instrument till he bought out of highschool, Hunt has gone on to turn out to be an award-winning nation music star. He received a number of accolades for his hit music “Physique Like a Again Highway.” He earned an American Music Award for New Artist of the 12 months in 2015 and acquired the CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the 12 months in 2015 as properly.
However his music profession was almost outmoded by his athletic pursuits.
After transferring to the College of Alabama at Birmingham, the place he loved a couple of standout years, Hunt briefly pursued a profession in skilled soccer.
Hunt was invited to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs rookie minicamp in spring 2008, however he didn’t make the workforce — and moved on to pursue his musical profession.
“I took off to Nashville after these NFL doorways closed and by no means actually seemed again,” Hunt stated. “It wasn’t actually a dream of mine to play within the NFL. It was only a potential alternative after faculty.”
He stated he fell into the songwriting neighborhood when he moved to Nashville and wrote songs for 3 or 4 years. At first he was writing them for himself, then he began to attempt to get his songs performed by different artists.
“That was life for me for a very long time, after which I utterly consumed myself with music the best way that I had consumed myself with sports activities,” Hunt stated.
It paid off, and he had a few of his work recorded by lots of the nation music stars he grew up listening to.
“I had songs recorded by Kenny Chesney, Keith City and Billy Currington,” Hunt stated. “Reba McEntire recorded a music a couple of years later.”
[A hip-hop O.G. in the 49th state, Alaska Redd is both a master of the mic and a mentor]
He stated that these alternatives put him on the radar of a number of document labels.
“After getting some songs recorded, I used to be capable of get a document deal, make an album of my very own, take off in a van with among the guys I used to be enjoying and hanging with at the moment and by no means actually seemed again,” Hunt stated.
Music has opened a pathway for Hunt and his crew to not solely see elements of the nation that they by no means imagined they’d see, however different elements of the world as properly.
“We perform a little tour over in Europe,” Hunt stated. “Rising up in somewhat small city in Georgia, we didn’t journey a lot farther than the seashore, which might’ve been the Gulf six or seven hours south of us.”
Sam Hunt with Brett Kissel
8 p.m., Friday-Saturday
At Alaska Airways Heart
Tickets: $69, $89, $109, $149 out there by the venue’s website