Sam Hunt Strives To Keep ‘Balance’ In Country Music
Sam Hunt was a newcomer to country music not long ago, but after a handful of years, he admits that now, he stands for the old traditions of country music.
He told us in a recent interview, “It sort of feels like it’s in a healthy society. The young folks push, but then the older folks sort of hold strong to tradition. I have grown up pushing and now I’m a little bit older.”
Sam continued, “Nashville’s changing quite a bit. There are a lot of folks coming to town who aren’t necessarily rooted in the same traditions that country music or the town has traditionally been rooted in.”
He added, “I’m starting to feel a little bit of responsibility for ‘Hey, let’s not go too fast’ to just wipe everything down and not preserve the elements that are important to preserve.”
“As I’ve gotten older, I feel more responsibility to take on that role of someone who is rooted in those traditions and feels the need to make sure that we balance out all the progress that’s happened. I feel responsible to step over to that side of the scale to balance things out.”
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Hunt says that he is a changed man lately, from his new music to his family lifestyle with his wife, Hannah, and two kids. Even his style of dressing on stage has changed from sweatpants and baseball hats to a more formal style of dress.
He told us in a recent interview, “I think a lot of it is because I have kids. I was telling somebody the other day that I think I’ve come full circle. The way my mom dressed me as a kid coming from the South—it’s just the way adults dress, that’s a big part of it.”
Hunt continued, “Part of it is that early on when I was younger, I wanted to push back on norms and traditions and buck the system a little bit. I think the state of the world now feels more like chaos and less like order that needs to be pushed up against. So I feel the need to order myself more, tuck my shirt in, and dress up.”
Sam concluded, “But part of it is just getting older. I consider myself a country boy. I am from the South, but I’m not the same kind of country that some of my buddies were. I guess I am just finally settling into my roots.”
