Hey, this is Shelby with Whiskey Riff. I know you might hear a different voice than you're used to,

and we are starting a new series backstage at the Grandal Opry.

And my name is Quinn Eaton. I'm also a part of the Whiskey Riff team. I'm a writer but happy to get into this part of the business as well.

And yeah, the backstage at the Opry interviews occasionally might do Zoom as well, but we're excited to get to sit down and speak to some people and one person that we got to talk to you today was Shane Smith and it was a great interview. I don't know if you want to tease anything about it, Shelby. Yeah, I mean he is great. definitely touched on that his new album and his handover cure so and he was kind

enough to give us plenty of time so without further ado here's the interview

with Shane Smith. We are back stage at the Grand Ole Opry with Shane Smith of Shane Smith and the Saints and one thing I can't get over is your career has probably been 10 plus years in the making yet so many people

probably look at you and think you guys are all an overnight success what do you

attribute that success to especially recently?

I think just hard work. I mean we've, yeah, I mean I started this, Bennett and I started this in 2009, so I mean it's been a pretty long time and you know I just think we've just

worked really hard to get here and and always left it out all out on stage you

know never never really I don't know, just like every show was like a full send, you know, and I think that that hard work and that effort is kind of manifested into some great stuff, you know, finally for us.

It just took a long time to start coming back around, you know?

And I mean, you talk about hard work and effort.

Does it feel like your Grand old opera debut is kind of a

long time coming at this point is that something that you kind of feel you know

we've been in such a different lane than a lot of mainstream country and I think this venue is very much associated with like country

music right and like you know that traditional sound and we're much more of like a folk rock sound and so while it was always kind of you know up in the clouds you know is this like incredible

accomplishment it was also something in a little bit of a separate lane I feel like from us and you know regardless

there was always a dream of like yeah maybe we could be asked to do that I just

wasn't sure that we were ever going to be asked necessarily you know and so yeah it's

amazing I mean it's a total honor and I mentioned this in an interview earlier but to me it's it's not

just the venue it's the culmination of all the artists and performers that have been nervous backstage here and like have

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