Country singer Dustin Lynch shares ‘Ridin’ Roads’ EP on ‘Very Hot Summer’ tour

A little less than a decade ago, country singers Dustin Lynch and Thomas Rhett were both trying to find their footing in Nashville, first as songwriters, then as performers of their own.

Lynch and Rhett both released their debut singles – “Cowboys and Angels” and “Something to Do with My Hands,” respectively – in early 2012.

Lynch released his self-titled debut album later in the year, and Rhett released his first full-length, “It Goes Like This,” in 2013.

Seven years later, Lynch and Rhett are much further along in their careers, but the pair is still sticking together.

After wrapping up the “Life Changes” tour in Canada, Lynch and Rhett will once again hit the road on Rhett’s “Very Hot Summer” tour, which stops by the Spokane Arena tonight.

“I remember when this tour announced we were talking about how it feels just like it was yesterday that we were beating around, trying to figure out how to get a writing deal in Nashville,” Lynch said. “Here we are going on this huge tour together.”

On his tours with Rhett, Lynch has introduced fans to his newest release, the “Ridin’ Roads” EP.

Lynch said the decision to release the three-song EP instead of hanging onto the songs until he released his next album was “very scientific” and made shortly after “Good Girl,” a feel-good summer jam he released last year, was an unexpected hit.

“That was all we had recorded,” he said with a laugh. “We thought we were ahead of the game in getting a start on the next chapter of music then all of a sudden, ‘Good Girl’ caught fire in a big, great way and took off and so we were like ‘Shoot, we need new music. Let’s just release what we got.’ ”

Lynch is especially excited for people to hear the title track, a song that took months to complete.

The way he sees it, the song fits into the world he created with “Small Town Boy,” the second single from his third album “Current Mood.”

“That character is who I wish I was, in a sense,” Lynch said. “It really feels like that guy is what a 17-, 18-, 19-year old me was, maybe if I wasn’t singing country music for a living. I don’t get to do a lot of the normal life stuff that I got to do back then so I have to live a little bit vicariously through my friends that are still getting to do life in that way.”

“Ridin’ Roads” was inspired by an Instagram story one of Lynch’s friends posted while driving back roads with a group of friends, music blaring.

Lynch was instantly in the cab of the truck with his friends and began to write about the experience.

He’s especially proud of the lyric “I don’t know where we are/‘Cause somebody stole the street signs.”

That line, it turns out, was inspired by Lynch’s cousins, who were caught with dozens of stolen street signs in their attic while in high school.

“Obviously your goal is get the coolest and funniest or to get your name or whatever but for some, it becomes a bit of a sport,” Lynch said with a laugh. “Growing up in a small town in Tennessee, you got to make your entertainment.”

With a few more slots to fill on his next album, which he hopes to release sometime this year, Lynch said he and his team of songwriters are trying to raise the bar and outdo themselves.

Lynch admits that can be difficult, but he and his team are committed to making sure each song is special and has something to say.

“For a song to make an album where I’m at in my career, it’s got to be something that absolutely blows me away,” he said. “I’m hoping that if it blows me away, and I’m continuing to listen to it for months on end, that whenever it finally reaches the ears of whoever’s listening to my music, it does the same.”

Lynch doesn’t take his relationship with listeners lightly.

He shares vlogs of life on and off the road and offers a VIP experience before each concert called the Pre-Show Throwdown, which includes a meet and greet and photo opportunity, a two-song acoustic performance, a limited edition merchandise gift and a commemorative laminate.

The way Lynch sees it, those meet and greets are a win-win.

“I love the mindset it puts me in,” he said. “It allows me to meet a lot of folks that have gotten us to where we are … It really is like a way for me to tailgate with everybody before I hit the stage and get that energy going.”

Speaking of energy, Lynch said he hopes to continue his birthday celebration (Lynch turned 34 on Tuesday) in Spokane.

“The fans are crazy, crazy awesome for us there so looking forward to celebrating the birthday up there and maybe getting a little fishing done,” he said. “That’s my goal.”