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Landon Smith isn’t afraid to make some noise in the Nashville scene, emerging as one of its most refreshing singer-songwriters.

His debut album Don’t Mind Me buckles you up for a drive through Landon’s deepest memories, lyrical healings and fun-fueled jam sessions, taking listeners on a journey from top to bottom of the 12-track record.

The album opens with “Prologue: The Parthenon,” a 23-second, live-taped spoken introduction that sets the tone for what’s ahead. From songs that make you want to dance to others that make you want to cry, Don’t Mind Me takes listeners through the highs, lows and lessons of growing up, loving hard and looking back at what you maybe could’ve done differently.

And that sense of intention is exactly what Landon wanted from the record. Rather than simply creating a collection of songs, he wanted Don’t Mind Me to feel like one 40-minute journey, where even the smaller details and moments carry you to the next. 

“The whole album together was a piece of art in itself,” he explains. “People [have] really turned away from that, I feel like…parts that only a handful of people got to see I think make the album even cooler.”

Smith’s music is driven by a restless energy and a songwriter’s eye for the details of other people’s lives. His songs can feel rowdy and lived-in one moment, then unexpectedly vulnerable the next.

That contrast comes to life in “Lavender,” recorded in Nashville’s iconic RCA Studio A, a space where some of Landon’s own influences have come before him. But this time, it was his turn to pick up the strings and make the room his own.

The unconventional recording session was exactly what GRAMMY-winning producer Dave Cobb wanted. Leaning into Landon’s late-night, up-until-close energy, Cobb wanted to bring the atmosphere where these songs were meant to be enjoyed into the studio itself.

So, Landon invited dozens of his college buddies to the studio, complete with liquor, a pong table and Landon behind the mic.

“I thought it was crazy,” Landon said. “I was like, ‘You want 40 drunk, young college-age kids in a legendary studio with millions of dollars worth of equipment around.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, let's do this shit.’”

That decision captured the live-wire energy of Landon and his band, bringing listeners straight into the heart of what all of this is for: making music, having fun and chasing a dream with the people who have been by his side since high school.

“It truly was a turning point. It was able to capture what me and my band have [when we play] live, because I think that that's a hard thing to capture in the studio, is what the energy a band brings.”

Other songs like “The Seamstress” and “The Ragdoll” bring out a more introspective, vulnerable side of his songwriting. Landon is willing to open the curtain just enough to let listeners in, while still leaving the songs room to be interpreted in their own way.

“I wrote it after a long week… I went to a surf shack in Florida and I bought a handle of Tito's and a pound of shrimp. I stayed there for three days and just watched a bunch of Tom Cruise movies and wrote songs,” he explains. “Those were the two that came out.”

The story of the pair begins with “The Ragdoll,” where a thread starts to come loose. Then, “The Seamstress” takes that same string and manipulates it ever so slightly, peeling back layers that once could be patched up. But sometimes, a tear can be so heavy that it may never fully stitch back together.

And while those songs peel back some of Landon’s most personal layers, Don’t Mind Me is also a reflection of the people and experiences that have shaped him along the way. Behind the stories of heartbreak, healing and growing up is a band that has been there for much of it, turning years of friendship into the soundtrack of the journey.

The band has been together through it all. From parking garage shows in their hometown of McDonough, Georgia, with nothing but their instruments and a Mustang lighting the makeshift stage, to now recording in one of Nashville’s most iconic studios, their music has grown alongside their friendship.

“That parking garage show was insane...we were supposed to play at some coffee shop and there was a tornado warning, so it got canceled,” he remembers. “Our bass player, Nick, said, ‘I bet there's plugs [in the garage] and we can get some extension cables.’ We go, ‘Let's check it out.’ Sure enough, there was and it worked. We had about 200 people show up.”

Now, the stars are aligning for Landon Smith and his best friends-turned-bandmates as Don’t Mind Me makes its way into the world.

With more than 100,000 monthly Spotify listeners and a catalog built from years of playing together, the release marks another step in a dream that started long before the album ever existed.

And even as the stages get bigger and the numbers continue to climb, some of the most meaningful moments still happen after the show.

“Usually after shows, we get trashed and we'll have these little sentimental moments like, ‘Dude, can you believe this? This is what we do for a living. This is like a full-on dream.’”

The grit and late-night grind of Landon Smith is not something to hit snooze on. Don’t Mind Me proves there’s more to Smith than a good song and a full room. It’s a snapshot of the people, places and moments that got him here, and a glimpse of where he could be headed next. For Smith, the dream is no longer something he’s chasing. He’s living it.

Listen to Don't Mind Me below: