There’s something downright liberating about writing a song, recording it and releasing it without consideration of having an album’s worth of new songs ready to go.
That’s what rising country star Dustin Lynch did this summer when he released his latest single, “Good Girl,” an upbeat dance song that just made more sense in the summertime than waiting for a year to release it on a new album.
“When something sets us off and gets us excited, we’ll just go in and record it,” said Lynch, quoting from the old record-making playbook artists used in the 1950s and ’60s. “I just kind of like being inspired and letting the song tell me when it’s time to record it, and that’s kind of what we have been doing.”
He realized there was a risk that “Good Girl” could derail sales of his year-old CD “Current Mood,” which has produced hits of “Small Town Boy” and “Seein’ Red.”
But it was worth the risk, said Lynch, who brings his tour to the AVA at Casino del Sol on Friday, Sept. 7.
“I was sitting there and this song just felt like it needs to be this year and this summer. I couldn’t stand waiting around for a year or two for the album cycle to happen,” he said during a phone call last week from his home in Nashville, days after he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in mid-August.
In a country music landscape in which more artists are blurring the lines between country and pop/R&B, being inducted into the Opry is still viewed as a career milestone.
“It’s about carrying on the legacy of country music,” said Lynch, whose own music is pop-infused, neo-trad country, with confident nods to country instrumentally and lyrically.
“It’s about all the guys and girls that paved the way to get me where I am,” he said. “To be considered to be a part of that prestigious club is such an honor. I’m going to carry the torch and do them as proud as I possibly can and spread the word of country music all over the world.”
So far, Lynch, whose young career goes back to his 2012 eponymous debut album, has taken his country music to Mexico, Canada, throughout the United States and Australia, where he was part of the 2018 CMC Rocks festival in March with Luke Bryan and more than two dozen American country music artists. He still hasn’t made it to Europe because he hasn’t been able to fit it into his busy stateside tours that have grown more demanding every year.
Since his last Tucson show in 2014, Lynch said he has grown in confidence as a performer, and that has allowed him to enjoy the moment rather than stress the road ahead.
“It feels like we just started doing this a year ago and it’s been six now since we’ve been touring nonstop,” said the 33-year-old, who has a pre-med bachelor’s degree and once considered medical school to become a surgeon. “It really is a fast-paced life, and I’ll tell you, I’ve gotten better at really enjoying the moments as they happen and not stressing much about every little detail of what goes into this sort of lifestyle.”
His live shows have always had the energy of a honky tonk, but Lynch said he’s also added some bells and whistles to create a “giant dance party.”
“We are going to put on a giant dance party. There’s not going to be any sitting down. It’s going to be everybody up, making great memories and dancing all night,” he said.
