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 Town Boy,” has left the porch mild behind after carving out an unlikely area of interest within the Entertainment 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 stay vocals over real-time digital remixes, making a hybrid efficiency that pulls each cowboy boot devotees and stiletto-wearing membership regulars.
Nation music and membership tradition occupy completely different planets within the leisure galaxy, separated by aesthetic decisions that run far deeper than simply style preferences. However the Tullahoma-born crooner found that his twangy chart-toppers translate surprisingly effectively to the dancefloor, and he is now efficiently bridging musical worlds that usually 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 fairly than demanding purist loyalty to a single sound—a contagion far too prevalent in immediately’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 huge 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 immediately with the discharge of Membership Set Remixes, a brand new EP comprising EDM reworks of lots of his fan-favorite tracks. You possibly can take heed to the EP beneath and discover it on streaming platforms right here.
EDM.com: What initially pulled you into the digital dance world? Was there a selected sound, present or second that sparked your curiosity?
Dustin Lynch: General, I’d say it was a fruits of among the greatest nights and core reminiscences with buddies—attending reveals, events and watching how the circulation can introduce a room stuffed with strangers to one another because the evening unfolds. Driving 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 suits into that evolution?
Dustin Lynch: At first, it’s an unbelievable 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 probably the most enjoyable environment we will.
EDM.com: How has this new efficiency format shifted your relationship with your personal songs?
Dustin Lynch: It’s allowed me to reimagine some songs I’ve sung hundreds of instances and now they really feel brand-new. It’s even repositioned a couple 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 industrial nation information, however as of late I’m at all times listening for a way we will flip or construct for the late-night membership scene, even once we’re chasing a “country song.”
EDM.com: What gave you the boldness to take the leap? Had been there moments once you questioned if this transfer would possibly come on the expense of your nation profession?
Dustin Lynch: I actually thought, “What the hell, I’m only going to get to do this one set ever–my first XS set—so I might as well do something fun.” However the universe had different plans. That is probably the most impressed I’ve been to create music in a really very long time.
That mentioned, sure, it got here with hesitation, understanding that a few of my longtime nation fanbase will want just a little educating on what that is, and what it could and will likely be. I’m totally conscious the haters gonna hate… however by the years I’ve discovered 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 begin trying on the particular elements, I’d begin there. Mixing digital components and the format of construction with nation songwriting and instrumentation comes very naturally to my artistic circle. On the finish of the day, we’re making music we like—and love to do life to—hoping among 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 solution to merge each?
Dustin Lynch: All through the set, we bounce between each ends of the spectrum. But when there’s one total takeaway, it’s a smoothie of every part 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 get together or day on the water my buddies and I are having, and passing the telephone round, we’re in every single place genre-wise.
That mentioned, I nonetheless suppose it’s necessary we hold our style labels up so we all know the place to navigate once we’re after a selected taste. We’re simply ordering a bunch of various flavors off the menu for the day.
EDM.com: What’s been the largest 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 received lots of of reps enjoying unknown setlists at honky-tonks and nation bars as a result of we relied on the viewers to dictate what they needed to listen to. That’s what I like most about performing our longer units on this area. 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 inquisitive about 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 among the tastemakers in nation music have been to my concepts. They’re very inquisitive about 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 buddies, and benefit from the experience. I positive as hell am.
EDM.com: For artists trying to comply with an identical path, what expertise do you suppose are important, and the place ought to they begin investing their time?
Dustin Lynch: Important is discovering your artistic circle the place you could be comfy and take a look at new concepts. That simply takes time and doing it. Reps are the non-negotiable in relation to entertaining and commanding a room.
I’m blessed to have a fantastic staff round me that is aware of the sky’s the restrict and is able to have enjoyable chasing it. None of us are positive the place the experience goes or ends, however I do know one factor: you possibly can add extra tracks to the rollercoaster when you’re prepared to place within the work.
Comply with Dustin Lynch:
Instagram: instagram.com/dustinlynch
TikTok: tiktok.com/@dustinlynch
Fb: fb.com/dustinlynchmusic
X: x.com/dustinlynch
Hear: dustinlynch.lnk.to/clubsetremixes
