A rustic singer walks right into a Las Vegas EDM membership. The punchline? He’s headlining the place.
Dustin Lynch, the chart-topping Tennessean behind the worldwide nation hit “Small City Boy,” has left the porch gentle behind after carving out an unlikely area of interest within the Leisure Capital of the World. Lynch’s present Vegas residency with Wynn Nightlife represents uncharted territory for the storied leisure powerhouse and its hedonistic properties, XS Nightclub and Encore Seashore Membership.
He is their first-ever nation headliner, which sounds just like the setup to a joke about fish out of water till you witness it for your self. Working alongside DJ Grant Fisher, Lynch delivers reside vocals over real-time digital remixes, making a hybrid efficiency that draws each cowboy boot devotees and stiletto-wearing membership regulars.
Nation music and membership tradition occupy totally different planets within the leisure galaxy, separated by aesthetic decisions that run far deeper than simply vogue preferences. However the Tullahoma-born crooner found that his twangy chart-toppers translate surprisingly nicely to the dancefloor, and he is now efficiently bridging musical worlds that sometimes keep away from one another like opposing political events at Thanksgiving dinner.
The success of his Wynn membership units reveals that audiences starvation for musical experiences that acknowledge their increasing palettes slightly than demanding purist loyalty to a single sound—a contagion far too prevalent in in the present day’s EDM scene. The enterprise additionally reveals how nation music’s narrative storytelling custom really shares extra DNA with dance music’s emotional launch than both style’s gatekeepers would care to confess.
Nonetheless, it is a large guess for Lynch. His willingness to danger his nation credibility for dancefloor validation displays a technology of artists who refuse to be imprisoned by the expectations of their preliminary success.
We caught up with Lynch to debate the implications of his formidable foray into dance music, which took one other leap ahead in the present day with the discharge of Membership Set Remixes, a brand new EP comprising EDM reworks of a lot of his fan-favorite tracks. You’ll be able to take heed to the EP under and discover it on streaming platforms here.
EDM.com: What initially pulled you into the digital dance world? Was there a specific sound, present or second that sparked your curiosity?
Dustin Lynch: Total, I’d say it was a fruits of a few of the finest nights and core recollections with mates—attending reveals, events and watching how the movement can introduce a room stuffed with strangers to one another because the night time unfolds. Using that wave is unmatched.
EDM.com: Contemplating that Vegas residencies have historically been dwelling to EDM icons and legacy pop acts, what does your presence as the primary nation headliner at Wynn say about the place nightlife is headed—and the way nation music matches into that evolution?
Dustin Lynch: Before everything, it’s an unimaginable honor! So far as the place nightlife is headed, our palettes are at all times evolving musically, and we simply proceed to embrace that and attempt to present essentially the most enjoyable ambiance we will.
EDM.com: How has this new efficiency format shifted your relationship with your individual songs?
Dustin Lynch: It’s allowed me to reimagine some songs I’ve sung 1000’s of occasions and now they really feel brand-new. It’s even repositioned a number of in our nation present.
EDM.com: Do you end up writing with each nation radio and the late-night membership crowd in thoughts?
Dustin Lynch: I’m writing particularly for each Digital Nation and our conventional business nation information, however nowadays I’m at all times listening for a way we will flip or construct for the late-night membership scene, even after we’re chasing a “nation track.”
EDM.com: What gave you the boldness to take the leap? Had been there moments if you puzzled if this transfer would possibly come on the expense of your nation profession?
Dustin Lynch: I truthfully thought, “What the hell, I’m solely going to get to do that one set ever–my first XS set—so I would as nicely do one thing enjoyable.” However the universe had different plans. That is essentially the most impressed I’ve been to create music in a really very long time.
That stated, sure, it got here with hesitation, understanding that a few of my longtime nation fanbase will want a bit of educating on what that is, and what it may and will probably be. I’m absolutely conscious the haters gonna hate… however by the years I’ve realized to belief my instincts creatively, and that’s the wave I’m gonna proceed to experience.
EDM.com: How do you reply to those that really feel that genre-blending waters down the authenticity of nation music?
Dustin Lynch: Nation music is already a mix of genres. If we’re going to start out trying on the particular substances, I’d begin there. Mixing digital components and the format of construction with nation songwriting and instrumentation comes very naturally to my inventive circle. On the finish of the day, we’re making music we like—and love to do life to—hoping a few of the remainder of the world will do the identical.
EDM.com: How do you bridge these two energies in your membership units? Do you lean into the flash, the story or discover a new option to merge each?
Dustin Lynch: All through the set, we bounce between each ends of the spectrum. But when there’s one general takeaway, it’s a smoothie of every thing blended collectively.
EDM.com: Are you seeing proof that youthful followers are extra fluid of their tastes than the business provides them credit score for?
Dustin Lynch: 100% we’re seeing that. Any home social gathering or day on the water my mates and I are having, and passing the cellphone round, we’re far and wide genre-wise.
That stated, I nonetheless suppose it’s necessary we preserve our style labels up so we all know the place to navigate after we’re after a specific taste. We’re simply ordering a bunch of various flavors off the menu for the day.
EDM.com: What’s been the most important adjustment in studying the room when your viewers isn’t coming from only one musical world? Has it modified the way you method your efficiency or reference to the group?
Dustin Lynch: Early on, I acquired a whole bunch of reps enjoying unknown setlists at honky-tonks and nation bars as a result of we relied on the viewers to dictate what they wished to listen to. That’s what I really like most about performing our longer units on this house. It permits us to take the temperature and make strikes relying on what we’re getting again, each audibly and visually.
EDM.com: What would you say to artists who’re interested by mixing genres however hesitant to interrupt from custom? Do you see the business turning into extra open to that form of experimentation?
Dustin Lynch: I’ve been thrilled with how open-minded a few of the tastemakers in nation music have been to my concepts. They’re very interested by what I’m seeing reaction-wise at our reveals and what our subsequent strikes are.
As for the artists who’re curious, I stand by saying: make the music you need, that strikes you and your core squad of mates, and benefit from the experience. I certain as hell am.
EDM.com: For artists seeking to observe the same path, what expertise do you suppose are important, and the place ought to they begin investing their time?
Dustin Lynch: Important is discovering your inventive circle the place you will be snug and take a look at new concepts. That simply takes time and doing it. Reps are the non-negotiable on the subject of entertaining and commanding a room.
I’m blessed to have an awesome workforce round me that is aware of the sky’s the restrict and is able to have enjoyable chasing it. None of us are certain the place the experience goes or ends, however I do know one factor: you may add extra tracks to the rollercoaster when you’re keen to place within the work.
Observe Dustin Lynch:
Instagram: instagram.com/dustinlynch
TikTok: tiktok.com/@dustinlynch
Fb: facebook.com/dustinlynchmusic
X: x.com/dustinlynch
Pay attention: dustinlynch.lnk.to/clubsetremixes
