Smith & Myers
Brent Smith and Zach Myers are two of the men behind multiplatinum band Shinedown – Brent on vocals, Zach on guitar – one of the most decorated rock acts of the last two decades. Shinedown’s new album EI8HT (Atlantic Records) extends a historic run of success, with over 8.3 billion global streams, 10 million albums sold worldwide, 15 platinum and gold singles, and platinum or gold certification across their entire catalog. Shinedown holds the all-time records for the most #1s in the history of both Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart (23 to date) and the Mediabase Active Rock Chart (25 to date), and the band has taken home back-to-back wins for Rock Artist of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, all backed by major mainstream media acclaim.
Away from Shinedown, Brent and Zach also make music together as Smith & Myers, an acoustic duo built around nothing more than a microphone and an instrument or two. Their eloquent songcraft transmits powerful lyrics, intimate delivery, indelible melodies and glorious vocals uplifted by minimal accompaniment and amplified by maximum emotion. With two hearts and one truth, these lifelong musicians, longstanding friends, and eternal brothers first brought the project to life with a pair of acoustic cover EPs, Acoustic Sessions, Part 1 and Acoustic Sessions, Part 2, in 2014, when fans first fell in love with the magic created between Brent and Zach in the studio and on stage, with Smith & Myers live shows instantly selling out.
That chemistry led to Smith & Myers’ first full-lengths as a duo, the double album Smith & Myers Volume 1 and Volume 2, comprised of ten originals and ten brilliant re-imaginings of Neil Young, Post Malone, INXS, Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, The Righteous Brothers, Billie Eilish, Peter Gabriel, Billy Idol, R.E.M. and Oasis.
During this time of national reckoning with systemic injustice, Smith & Myers made a statement on Volume 1 with original single “Not Mad Enough.” Accompanied by solo acoustic guitar from Zach, Brent rails against injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death. It was paired with a poignant cover of “Rockin’ In The Free World” that sees Smith & Myers placing Neil Young’s lyrics center stage - written more than 30 years ago and just as relevant today - uplifted by robust vocal delivery over lone piano. Both songs share a message of equality and change. Meanwhile, Volume 2 features the vulnerable and personal “Bad At Love,” as Brent sings about the difficulties of staying in a romantic relationship when you have a gypsy heart, as well as the catchy alt-rock tune “One More Time.”
Smith & Myers’ Volume 1 and Volume 2, produced by GRAMMY Award-winning producer and songwriter Dave Bassett, encompass vulnerability, fearlessness, honesty, outrage, love and understanding. With no boundaries on what their songwriting could discuss, Brent & Zach explore everything from certain personal topics that they have left largely unexplored until now, to commentary on immigration and children being ripped from their parents, racial injustice and the nature of social media – focusing not on politics, but on right and wrong and our connection as human beings. Smith & Myers illuminates the depth of Brent and Zach as a duo and showcases a very different yet just as powerful musical side of these two versatile musicians.