For Landon Smith, music has been part of the story for almost as long as he can remember. The Georgia singer-songwriter first picked up a guitar in second grade, but what began as an early love for making music has steadily grown into a career marked by honest songwriting, an unmistakable sound and a willingness to let the songs lead the way.
That journey took an unexpected leap when “If You Want Me Tonight,” a song Smith casually shared on TikTok, began connecting with listeners and ultimately racked up millions of streams. Now, with his debut album Don’t Mind Me, produced by Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, Smith is stepping into a new chapter—one that finds him digging deeper into his own experiences while also exploring the lives, emotions and stories of the people around him.
The Country Note caught up with Landon Smith to talk about the influences that shaped him, the songs behind Don’t Mind Me, the moments that changed his career and a few things fans might not know about him.
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
LS: I grew up in Georgia, and this part of my life started when I asked my mom to put me into guitar lessons in second grade. Ever since then, I was hooked. I formed a few bands in high school and life revolved around finding the next gig. My buddies and I used to put on super illegal shows in the county courthouse parking garage. That about sums up my teenage years. I went to college at Georgia Southern University and I would play at the frats and bars any chance I got for a little bit of side money. Around Thanksgiving of my freshman year, I got on TikTok and started posting a few covers and original songs. I was back home during Christmas break and a video of a song I had been working on called “If You Want Me Tonight” did really well. After a couple months I released it, I dropped out of school and moved to Nashville the following year.
CN: Which artists have influenced you both personally and as an artist?
LS: It’s very hard to narrow it down because there are truly so many. One of the first bands I found myself infatuated with was Mumford & Sons. When I first started playing guitar, I would only play an acoustic. When I first heard the sound of the acoustic guitar that was such a big part of almost every Mumford song, I was instantly drawn to them. Another band that I’ve been obsessed with for years is Rainbow Kitten Surprise. I think they were way ahead of their time. To this day, I’ve never heard anything remotely close to their sound. It’s the coolest music to ever be made. From a songwriting standpoint, the people who I look up to most are John Prine and Jason Isbell… no one has ever come close to those guys in my opinion. I feel like they look at a dictionary like a jigsaw puzzle. But the thing is, those guys didn’t have to start with the edges. They could start right from the middle.
CN: Can you take us through your songwriting process?
LS: I wish I could walk you through my routine of writing a song, but I can’t. There is no right way or wrong way to do it, and I don’t really have a process. I love to write from other people’s perspectives or about stories that may have happened in someone’s life. My favorite thing to do recently has been to write a song about a movie or a book. So often, a book is written and then a movie about that book is made, and maybe after that a little TV could come out about it. But people tend to skip over the part where you can turn that story into a song, too
CN: You started playing guitar in second grade and grew up making music in Georgia alongside friends you had known since high school. How did those early experiences shape the artist and performer you are today?
LS: It’s truly amazing that I get to play music and travel with my best friends. After every major show we play, there is a little moment that we share where we stop and think about how cool it is that this used to only be a dream. When I’m playing live, I don’t get nervous. That’s because I can mess up and they recover so seamlessly that no one in the crowd would ever know. There is truly nothing more fun than being on a stage with your boys, absolutely ripping Tool!
CN: “If You Want Me Tonight” began with you posting a song to TikTok almost on a whim and has since gone on to earn millions of streams. What do you remember about that moment, and when did you realize the song was beginning to change the trajectory of your career?
LS: We made that TikTok only because I was trying to write something, but I was dealing with some writer’s block that day and nothing was coming out, no matter how hard I tried. I was at my manager’s house, so I was like, “I have half of a song. Let’s just post a video of that instead.” By the time I was back home, which was only a 20 minute drive, the video was at 70,000 views or something like that. I knew right then we were on to something.
CN: Your debut album, Don’t Mind Me, feels like a coming-of-age project that balances the energy of your earlier music with more introspective storytelling. What did you want this album to reveal about who you are at this point in your life and career?
LS: I like to say I’m a poet before a musician. Most of the time when I write songs, I focus heavily on the lyriCN before anything else. This record really highlights my love for the songwriting side of being an artist. I want people to walk away after listening to this record wanting to listen to it again, just to try and pick up every little detail. If you’ve ever seen the movie Shutter Island, watch it a second time and you will pick up on things you missed the first time around. This record is no different. The stories and the lyriCN are truly some of my best work. There were a few times while writing this record I stopped and thought to myself, “There is no way that YOU just wrote that.”
CN: You’ve talked about sometimes stepping outside your own experiences and writing from the perspectives and emotions of other people. What draws you to that kind of storytelling, and how do you make sure those songs still feel personal and authentic?
LS: I love writing about other people’s experiences because it is a bit challenging. It’s not at all like writing about something that I’m familiar with. It makes me really step into the shoes of that other person. When I wrote Supertramp I didn’t write it from the perspective of Chris McCandless in 1992, I wrote it as if he was to live in 2026. So, I guess you could say it was a mixture of what I was feeling and how I think he would feel about this new age technology.
CN: Don’t Mind Me was produced by Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb. What did working with Dave bring out in you creatively, and was there anything about the recording process that surprised or challenged you?
LS: Working with Dave was an unreal experience. Being in these historic rooms, surrounded by instruments that were played on songs that I grew up loving was a crazy feeling. A few of the songs we recorded were written in the studio with Dave. Watching him build an insane piece of art from thin air was extraordinary. We loved going off script and writing in a way that just felt freeing. No barriers. No “I don’t know if that fits.” Just true song writing.
CN: If you could collaborate with any one artist, who would it be?
LS: Definitely Rainbow Kitten Surprise.
CN: What was your first concert you ever attended?
LS: Train. My dad used to take me to their shows anytime they came to Georgia. That was what we did instead of going on vacations.
CN: If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why?
LS: Redacted.
CN: What else can fans look forward to this year?
LS: I’m heading out on the road with 49 Winchester in October to Colorado and Nebraska, and hopefully sharing a little bit more music I’ve been working on.
We will be looking forward to it! For more info on Landon check him out at:
www.tiktok.com/@landonsmithmusic
