Songs From the Bunkhouse is an ongoing series featuring conversations with country artists whose music has been played on the hit series Yellowstone.
In the third episode of Yellowstone season four, Travis Wheatly, the suave horse trader played by series creator Taylor Sheridan, announces his musical selection to the passengers in his pickup truck in the most Travis way possible. "Shane Smith and the f*ckin' Saints," he says as he hits play on the the band's 2015 song "All I See is You."
In a series known for its stellar soundtrack, it's the most direct musical shoutout thus far. Not only does it serve as the soundtrack to Jimmy's journey to a new start in Texas at the Four Sixes ranch, it also adds to Yellowstone's authenticity. After all, what's more fitting for a proud Texan like Travis to blast from his truck than one of the hardest working bands in the Lone Star State?
To say that being featured in the episode, also titled "All I See is You," has given Shane Smith and the Saints a boost would be an understatement. Their streaming numbers skyrocketed and their YouTube comments are filled with listeners praising the series for introducing them to one of their new favorite bands.
But even Smith was in the dark on just how prominently the song would be featured in Yellowstone.
Wide Open Country caught up with singer-songwriter Shane Smith to discuss the band's Yellowstone boost, the benefit of television placement for independent artists and why Lloyd is one of his favorite characters on the series.
Wide Open Country: What does it mean for you to have your songs featured on Yellowstone?
Shane Smith: It's been incredible and we're very appreciative of the opportunity. Taylor Sheridan is doing so much for independent musicians that, in many cases, would have a really difficult time achieving those type of TV placements without a label behind them. Over the last 10 years, we've worked really, really hard to get where we are and have never been featured on any show or film before. Every fan we've made up to this point has primarily been through shows and touring, which requires tons of time away from home and sacrifice. This placement has given us such a massive boost, without all of that effort and it just means a LOT.
What has the response from Yellowstone fans been like since your music has been featured on the series?
Again, incredible. We've seen really large increases on pretty much every platform...from Spotify and music apps, to social media sites. Since the episode aired, the song alone has streamed 2-3 million times on music apps. Our Spotify monthly listeners have increased by over 200,000. It jumped into the top 10 songs across all genres on iTunes for over 2 weeks. The entire album made it into the top 20, and it went to No. 1 in the world, across all genres on Shazam, with I think over 300,000 searches since the episodes. It's just crazy and amazing.
Can you tell us a little about how your music came to be featured on the show?
I'm honestly not sure of how it all developed early on, but we were notified a while ago that they wanted to license the song for two episodes and potentially give us a name shoutout on one of them. We didn't realize it was going to be that amazing of a placement though... or that they were naming the actual episode "All I See Is You."
A fan of ours actually showed me what they named the episode at a bar after our Nashville show last month, about a week before it aired. Pretty awesome.
Who's your favorite Yellowstone character and why?
Well Beth Dutton reminds me of my wife so, for what it's worth, there's that. Aside from her, I would say Lloyd. He just seems like a great guy on and off screen. And probably someone I'd post up at a bar with.
