KEARNEY – Nate Smith’s world is on fire.
One of the most electrifying up-and-comers in country music, the Nashville talent will headline the spring concert at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
An Academy of Country Music Award nominee for 2023 New Male Artist of the Year, Smith will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 10 at UNK’s Health and Sports Center. Tickets are $35, $45 and $55 plus fees. Tickets, which include general admission and reserve seating, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday (March 1) at www.unk.edu/natesmith or by calling 308.865.1563.
Smith landed on the country charts in 2023 with his chart-topping “Whiskey on You,” and his current smash hit “World on Fire” just finished a 10-week run at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The song was the longest-running No. 1 hit on the chart’s 34-year history.
One of the biggest new talents in country music, he is also known for his hits “Wreckage,” “Under My Skin,” “I Found You” and “Better Boy.”
The 2024 iHeartRadio Music Award nominee for Best New Country Artist, Smith’s new single “Bulletproof” was released Feb. 9 and is one of seven songs to be featured on his “Through the Smoke” EP being released April 5.
Smith kicked off his World on Fire tour in January and will join Morgan Wallen on his summer stadium tour in major cities across the U.S.
His 2023 debut album became the largest album debut from a new artist last year and the largest full-length debut since 2020. The album hit No. 6 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
Opening for Smith is Lauren Watkins, a Nashville-born talent who was Billboard’s November 2023 Country Rookie of the Month and named CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2024. She released two EPs in 2023, and her hit single “Anybody But You” was spotlighted by SiriusXM as The Highway’s latest discovery.
UNK’s Loper Programming and Activities Council organizes and sponsors the spring concert.
