Sam Hunt isn’t skirting around the issue when he talks about the story behind his new song “Outskirts.” Hunt wrote the song with Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Jerry Flowers from the perspective of what his life would have looked like had he chosen a different partner.

Hunt says the song isn’t autobiographical – for the most part. He and his wife Hannah have had their share of well-documented highs and lows, but the couple is parents to daughter Lucy who will be 1 year old in May.

“If I was content and happy and all's going well, I'm not necessarily inspired to grab a guitar and write a song,” Hunt told Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen.  “So that was tricky for a little while. What I kind of did was say, ‘Okay, well what if I had taken this road?’ I'm pretty independent. I'm good with being on my own. If I didn't feel like I had met the person for me to spend my life with and that God had a plan for myself and her, I would've easily continued on solo. I pretty much wrote from the perspective of the other guy.”

Hunt said he wrote from that perspective for about a year. However, there is a line in the second verse of “Outskirts” about his partner shooting down his suggestions for baby names. He said that really happened.

“That was a line that definitely came from my experience having a child,” he admitted. “All my names were shot down pretty quickly. It turned into this rivalry. I thought, ‘Are you just dead set against me coming up with this name?’”

When it comes to his Summer On The  Outskirts Tour, Hunt admitted that he got burnt out on touring early in his career. He needed to learn how to tour, to go to sleep and not over-indulge. The pandemic forced him to spend a year at home, which made him appreciate touring.

“It’s not that I wasn't always grateful to be able to tour, but since then I've wanted to get out and tour in the summer as much as we could,” he explained. “2021 was kind of a hybrid year, then last year felt like things were getting back to normal. Then this year obviously things are in full swing. I'm trying to work as much as I can and make up for lost time.”

Hunt’s Summer On the Outskirts Tour will also include special guests Brett Young and Lily Rose. It will launch July 6 in Hartford, Conn. And include stops in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Mountain View, New York City, Orange Beach, Raleigh, and St. Louis.

Tickets go on sale starting March 17.

Sam Hunt’s SUMMER ON THE OUTSKIRTS 2023 Dates:

July 6 – Hartford, CT – Xfinity Theatre

July 7 – Gilford, NH – Bank of NH Pavilion

July 8 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center

July 14 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

July 15 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater

July 16 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage

July 20 – Brandon, MS – Brandon Amphitheater

July 21 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater *

July 22 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion

July 27 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre

July 28 – Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center

July 29 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Aug 3 - Carbondale, IL - Southern Illinois University-SIU Banterra Center**^

Aug 4 - Bonner Springs, KS - Azura Amphitheater ^

Aug 5 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Zoo Amphitheatre ^

Aug 11 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre

Aug 12 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre

Aug 13 - Stateline, NV - Lake Tahoe Harveys Outdoor Arena ^

Aug 18 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman***

Aug 19 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion

Aug 20 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP

Aug 24 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Aug 25 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview

Aug 26 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Sep 7 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

Sep 8 – Atlanta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre

Sep 9 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek

* On Sale March 17

** On Sale TBD

*** On Sale March 24

^ Not a Live Nation date