Corey Smith Moved To Tears During First CMA Fest Experience

Written by SLN Staff Writer June 16, 2011

Photo Provided by Country Music Association

Corey Smith has spent the past several years touring the U.S., making thousands of fans along the way. You may not know his name just yet, but at the rate his career is rising, you will soon.

According to his official website in the past five years, Smith has played 650 shows (from Georgia to Texas to Colorado to Vermont), sold more than 600,000 tickets, and grossed $7.5 million in revenue! His six independently released albums have sold over 150,000 copies and 800,000 singles. He’s managed to do all of this without a record label backing him.

On June 21, Smith will release his 7th album, The Broken Record, on his new label home, Average Joe’s Entertainment (Click HERE to listen to the entire album on CMT’s The Leak).

As with many artists, Corey’s path to the spotlight hasn’t been a walk in the park. He recently endured a tumultuous radio tour to promote his current single, “Twenty- One” and at times has felt rejected by Nashville and country radio.

Smith attended his very first CMA Music Festival last week. His hard work paid off and his stress was replaced by overwhelming gratitude when fans welcomed him with open arms at the Riverfront stages. Smith took to his blog to recap the very moving experience.

“So why did I get choked up,” he writes. “It’s simple. Six months worth of drama coalesced into a few brief moments of song. A few thousand country music fans joined together by the Cumberland River and gave me the most beautiful gift they could give – their approval. When they sang “When I was only seventeen…” their voices echoed along the riverbanks like a mighty chorus of trusted old friends. I felt vindicated, I felt redeemed and I felt like giving the middle finger to all the naysayers who told me I don’t belong. Yes. I cried like a baby and almost wrecked the ensemble, but I couldn’t help it. I was moved damn it.”

Click HERE to read the entire blog.

[rmore type=”more”]Click the MORE button to watch video of the performance that brought Smith to tears…[/rmore]