One of Tennessee’s most overlooked natural beauties is Rock Island State Park, a spot that manages to be rugged and serene at the same time. That outdoor spirit and a hint of summer love help bring Payton Smith’s new video, “Like I Knew You Would,” to life.
Smith, a 20-year-old musician from Houma, Louisiana, signed his record deal after being discovered by Scott Borchetta on a small stage at CMA Music Festival. Dig into Smith’s new EP on Big Machine Records and you’ll hear that he’s equally influenced by ’90s country and rock ’n’ roll radio.
Enjoy the new video for Payton Smith’s “Like I Knew You Would,” then read our interview below the player.
What do you remember most about the shoot for this video?
We had so much fun filming this video. I really loved getting to include the band on a lot of the shoot and the performance part was just us genuinely having fun. Another cool moment was being able to film at Rock Island State Park. There’s nothing like a guitar solo with a waterfall in the background. Ha! I soaked up every bit of the day and my little brother Caleb got to play leading man as the lyrics of the song came to life.
How does the video bring your song to life?
I wanted to keep the visuals as literal to the lyrics as possible and this video definitely reflects those specific details like falling in love, down to the river across the railroad tracks just like I did growing up. The performance part of the video captures some of the energy inside the production of the song so it felt like we really pulled all of these parts of the song together.
What message do you hope your fans take away from the video?
I hope fans feel the positive energy and good vibes of “Like I Knew You Would” and that the video helps to create in your soul.
How did it feel to see the finished product for the first time?
It’s a really cool thing for my first music video to air on CMT alongside some of my favorite artists! I’ve always been inspired by how video can bring even more life to a song so this is a pretty exciting moment. My lifelong dream has been to create and play music. The first time I saw this video, I felt humbled, satisfied and so dang excited for the world to see it.
Songwriters: Payton Smith, Ronnie Bowman, Dan Fernandez; Director: David Colòn