Riding into Folsom: Festival set kicks off tour for country singer Canaan Smith

Canaan Smith, singer of the country music hit "Love You Like That," is coming to Folsom this Friday, June 30, for the Ride Into the Music festival. Smith is looking forward to returning to Folsom after recently performing in the Historic District and expresses he loves the "awesome" Historic Folsom strip. Folsom is the first stop on his two-month tour, and Smith is excited to be back in town. Ride Into the Music, which includes the Folsom Telegraph as a sponsor, also features MoonShine Crazy, Tyler Rich and Chris Lane, and will be held at 4 p.m. at The Field at Lakeside, 745 Oak Ave. Parkway. Smith still remembers when he was introduced to music. The musical journey that would lead him to where he is today started when his dad would play new songs he liked and bought cassettes to share with his kids. His dad was also in a band, so Smith would occasionally sit in on practices. His parents helped fuel his and his siblings' passion for music. "One Christmas they bought us a room full of instruments, me and my brothers and sister. There were six of us, and so we had a full band of instruments there at our disposal that we could play with at any time," Smith says. "And I just kind of gravitated towards guitar and singing, naturally. I played music with my brothers a lot in the garage early on, in the grunge 90s days. And then it just sort of evolved into what it is today." Smith revealed he can also play drums and piano, though he says that 99 percent of the time, he can be found playing guitar. Smith remembers his first tour - but it wasn't as a solo artist. In his junior year of high school, Smith had an opportunity to tour as a member of Anchor, a rock band Smith and his friends formed in middle school. They wrote their own songs and played in Virginia and North Carolina. The term "Anchor" refers to Hebrews 6:19, which mentioned faith is like an anchor for the soul. Smith notes this verse helped keep them grounded and remember what they were all about. He further notes his time with Anchor "was definitely a foundational season" and those foundational moments he encountered led to him building his career to what it is today. Though Anchor's tour ended prematurely, Smith says, "The taste (for touring) was in my mouth early because of that, and I wanted a lot more because I got a small sample of what life is like on the road." His first big tour was the Dierks Bentley "Sounds of Summer Tour" in 2015. That same summer, Smith came out with his No 1. single "Love You Like That." It was a fun experience for Smith to tour the nation via a springer van. Aside from his own two nationwide tours, other big names Smith has toured with include Dan + Shay, Brantley Gilbert and Florida Georgia Line. This country star plans to release music often but expresses the motivation behind his music production has changed since the start of his career. "(I) just plan on releasing music often and still have a lot I want to say, and feel like I'm just now finding my stride and my voice as an artist and a songwriter - so yeah, I'm definitely going to keep releasing music," Smith says. "I feel like I've found what feels (like) the most satisfying version of myself as a singer and songwriter. I'm really just doing what ideas move me at a personal level and what excites me musically." Smith, like many Folsom locals, is an avid fan of the outdoors and shared what his song "Mason Jars & Fireflies" in the High Country Sound album means. Even though Folsom isn't host to fireflies (aka lightning bugs), it is host to precious memories and unforgettable moments, a recurring theme in Smith's song. "Those lightning bugs were awesome as kids because that was the true sign that summer had arrived. They come out and start blinking those lights at night and you try catching as many as you can. … As a kid, just being in the moment, seeing it before your eyes for the first time," Smith reflects. "... That song in particular just conjured up some early memories. I tried to do that the most that I'd ever done on High Country Sound. I tried to dig into some of the memories." Folsom can look forward to hearing Smith play the hit "Love You Like That," pieces from the High Country Sound album and "maybe a couple new ones, maybe a couple old ones." Smith's most recent single, "Diamond on the Dresser," was released May 5. In this song, Smith embraces a message that speaks up about alcohol addiction and offers it as a "wake-up call for whoever needs it." Since Smith decided to become independent in 2022, this song marks his third release after singles "Heartbreak Heaven" and "Down in Flames."