Chris Lane experienced one of life's "a-ha moments" while watching a Kenny Chesney concert last year.
Lane, who opened for Chesney, was watching the superstar interact with the No Shoes Nation and admired the connection between artist and fans.
"I hadn't seen him in a long time, and the way people connected to what he was doing ... I had one of those moments like, 'Man, I really want my music to do that,'" says Lane on his website.
With the July release of "Laps Around the Sun," it appears the rising country artist is accomplishing that.
The album's first single, "Take Back Home Girl," a duet with pop singer Tori Kelley, reached No. 8 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.
His current single, released at the first of this month, is "I Don't Know about You." It's a seductive little pickup song starting to pick up airtime on country radio. With each performance, fans know all the words, sing along and wave tattooed wrists in the air in response to the lyrics:
What's your name?
What's your sign?
What's your birthday?
What's your wrist tattoo Bible verse say?
What's your dream job?
Girl where's your hometown?
What makes your world spin round and around
Are you down to get out of here, too?
Tell me everything till there's nothing I don't know about you
Lane will likely get that reaction when he plays The Signal on Friday, Sept. 28, at 8:30 p.m. Opening for him will be an equally popular country act, Smithfield.
"Girl Problems," Lanes 2016 album made him a breakout artist with two gold-certified, back-to-back singles: "Fix" (his first No. 1 single) and "For Her." That buzz got him gigs on tours with Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill as well as TV appearances.
He says his goal for "Laps Around the Sun" was to create music that "everybody can love and everybody can feel."
Its 14 tracks were written by top Nashville songwriters such as Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey and The Warren Brothers. And Lane says all the songs were chosen based on meaning and personal connection, not just their energy or feel.
Smithfield, the duo of Trey Smith and Jennifer Fielder, is known for the smash hit "Hey Whiskey." In August, Smithfield released "Our World," a summer anthem that takes listeners back to their teen years.