Even Miami is experiencing a bit of country music fever. A few years ago, a country music festival in the Magic City seemed like a ludicrous idea, but last year, Country Bay Music Festival landed in the city to prove the naysayers wrong. The festival returns November 9 and 10 at the Miami Marine Stadium, with a lineup that includes Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band, Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, and 39-year-old country music veteran Dustin Lynch.
Lynch first burst onto the scene in 2012 with the release of his debut hit single "Cowboys and Angels" and quickly followed it up with his self-titled debut that same year. Since then, he's amassed a string of hits, including "Small Town Boy," "Ridin' Roads," and "Thinking 'Bout You."
His latest release, 2023's Killed the Cowboy, was both a critical and commercial success, seeing Lynch trade his country party boy aesthetic for more mature themes and nuances around love and contemplation on whether or not he's ready to settle down.
"I'm still thinking, Okay, how far do you want to chase a relationship? There's that balance of 'Hey, everything's good right now,' but once you cross a certain line of commitment, there are new responsibilities, and I love being free," he tells New Times.
Lynch is speaking over Zoom from Nashville, where he's spending his morning doing press and signing merch for fans.
"I love the freedom of maybe being selfish, but at least I'm recognizing that it is," he adds. "I love having the freedom to travel and really attack my dreams right now in the musical space, try new things, and open up new chapters of myself as an entertainer and wherever that leads me."
Much of that sentiment is imbued in Killed the Cowboy, with Lynch navigating heartache and adulthood as many of us do, except he has the added pressure of being a famous country singer.
"These inner conversations of my life, career-wise, have blown me away," Lynch shares. "You never dream of getting to this point, but in my personal life, I started checking myself, like, All right, am I good? Am I healthy mentally? Am I healthy? Am I doing the right things in my personal life to really look back later in life and be fulfilled?"
For Lynch, writing, recording, and promoting Kill the Cowboy was very therapeutic for him. It did just the right thing to keep his head on straight.
Lynch is making country music at a time when many are trying to help define — or gatekeep, depending on how you see it — the genre. Purists will scoff at acts like Morgan Wallen and Shaboozey for not being traditional enough, even though they bring a lot of attention to the genre.
In Lynch's case, he looked toward R&B as a source of inspiration when writing Killed the Cowboy.
"I think melodically; I take a lot of cues from the R&B world. I live in that space a lot when I'm off the road and at the house," he says. "I've got a good system throughout where no matter where I'm at, around the barn, I can hear, and man, I'm putting on a lot more of the rootsy — I call it granola type — kind of Americana music."
He continues, "I'm all over the map. I have my dance nights, too, where I'm listening to more house-type tempos and drawn from that, too. Outside of country music, that is what I'm drawn to."
After being on the road for most of 2024 in support of his sixth album, he's ready to make his way down to Miami on Sunday, November 10, to perform at Country Bay Music Festival.
"I love the crowd being a part of the show more than I love them watching us. I like them living the songs and singing the songs," says Dustin Lynch.
Photo by Jack Owens
"We embrace being a really interactive show and band. I love the crowd being a part of the show more than I love them watching us," Lynch says. "I like them living the songs and singing the songs. We don't really have any of those fan moments planned. It's just shooting from the hip and seeing where the energy takes us that night."
Lynch is no stranger to South Florida, taking the occasional trip to Key West to fish.
"Honestly, if Kenny Chesney didn't have Key West completely gobbled up, that's probably what I would embrace totally. Anybody who follows me on social media knows that I love the water. I love life on a boat; I live on the water in Nashville, and, weather permitting, I'm out there floating around doing music. It's a very inspiring and creative space for me, and the Keys are the same. I've become friends with some folks who have places down there and now some fishing guides. When I get the chance to travel down, I've got it pre-dialed in, and almost every day we spend is on the water."
Beyond the fishing potential, Lynch sees South Florida as a culturally unique area from the rest of the United States.
"I love the people. The culture feels a little bit removed from what we're used to in the States touring around. Its own unique Latin influence down there is so sexy," he shares.
Apart from his appearance at Country Bay, Lynch will also appear at LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on Saturday, November 9. This might be the first time a country music star headlines at the hot spot, with DJs, rappers, and reggaetoneros usually receiving top billing.
"I feel very inspired when I'm in South Florida around all that energy and the beauty of what South Florida has to offer. I'm excited to do a country show down there. Probably other than Tortuga, we haven't done a big show in that part of the world."
Dustin Lynch. 11 p.m. Saturday, November, at LIV, 4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; livnightclub.com. Tickets cost $50.
Country Bay Music Festival. With Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band, and others. Saturday, November 9, through Sunday, November 10, at Miami Marine Stadium, 3501 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami; 305-361-3316; countrybaymusicfestival.com. Tickets cost $119.99 to $2,099.99.
