It’s been an exceptional year for A Thousand Horses, who have seen most of the U.S. from their tour bus while opening shows in arenas and amphitheaters for headliner Darius Rucker.

However, the band got its start in the clubs, and the members say it’s fun to go back to the smaller venues.

“It’s awesome,” vocalist Michael Hobby tells CMT Hot 20 Countdown. “To have the opportunity to do both is really incredible.

“Club gigs are awesome because we started in clubs -- in sweaty little clubs around the country playing music. So it’s always cool to come back and play for a packed club. There’s just something about the energy of it, and the spirit of it is great. It’s always killer to play in an arena or amphitheater or stadium. I don’t know which one I like better.”

“I think that the club shows give us an opportunity to explore who we are as an act -- who we wanna be,” guitarist Zach Brown added. “We have all the time in the world. We can keep playing if we want. So we can kind of experiment with new songs and covers, so we definitely approach it differently. With arena shows, we are a little bit more limited on time. We’re opening, so we are out there trying to get our name out and reach new people.”

The group reached a multitude of new fans with the release of their highly successful debut single, “Smoke.” After the track reached No. 1 in June, the group released “(This Ain’t No) Drunk Dial”, which was the track that landed the musicians their record deal last year.

“That song was written a few probably a few years ago,” Hobby says. “I wrote with a couple of buddies of mine. We had a Monday night beer-night thing, and we just got in there and drank beer and wrote songs. Whether they were good or what, it was just kind of a fun thing to do every Monday when we were all in town.”

After Hobby played the song for his bandmates, they recorded a demo version that gained airplay on Sirius XM satellite radio.

“That song led to our record deal … so it’s exciting to have it out as a single now,” he said. “It’s always been a fan favorite when we play it out live. We’re excited for it to finally be out to more people.

A Thousand Horses will continue to tour through October.

CMT Hot 20 Countdown will have more from their West Virginia tour stop on an all new episode airing Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 1-2) at 9 a.m. ET/PT.