Stuart Smith - War Horse (2018)

This is it! The recording of my album has been completed and now we’re on to the manufacturing stage. This is where I’d love for you to be a part of it. From the beginning, this has been an organic and homegrown effort. I’ve collaborated with some of best musicians in West Central Illinois including Robert Sampson, Jeff Davidsmeyer, Donny Hinkle, Ben “The Harpman” Cox, Jayson Craig, Samuel Smith, Brad Floreth, and even enlisted Nashville A-Lister Cowboy Eddie Long (Jamey Johnson, Hank Williams Jr., Kenny Chesney) to play pedal steel. All of this with my brother Ben Smith engineering and my friend Michael Williams assisting, makes this truly a family affair. I could go the route of record companies to see this through to completion, but having the fingerprints of my friends, family, and neighbors even on this part of the project would be worth more than anything to me.

Eight months ago, our lives abruptly changed and when left to pick up the pieces, my wife Wendy and I decided to set sail on a new course. For the first time in a decade, we would give my music a chance to see the light of day. Unsure and scared, I began writing and playing. The stories of my own life and those around me found themselves woven into my lyrics. The sounds of this area, coupled with my musical influences from rock, country, folk, jazz, Celtic, bluegrass, Indian, and blues music found their way into the sonic landscape. Almost immediately, the incredible interest and support of this community gave me confidence that perhaps it wasn’t too late for me. That maybe I had a sound and words that needed to be heard. That gave this project wings. You gave this project wings. Now I invite you to be a part of it with me and an incredibly talented group of individuals.

This Kickstarter will cover the mastering of the album which will be done in NYC, design by talented local artists, manufacturing to CD and Vinyl (yes, vinyl!!!!!), and online distribution to all digital mediums (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.). All additional funding will go to the promotion of the album. Together, I believe we can bring this music into the world in a grassroots effort without compromising it.

While I may have wrote this music, it’s truly yours now and I can’t wait to share it with you.