Kat Harlton
Lead Photo: provided via PR team
Emerging country artist Dustin Bird recently returned with his brand new single “Heart Of It” on March 31. An infectious love anthem reminiscent of a Kacey Musgraves-esque brand of upbeat banjo-pop.
No stranger to writing clever love songs, the release follows his recent triad of releases that told a larger story strung together. His 2021 single “Get Go” optimistically spoke to those searching for the love; that a profound connection is out there just waiting to be found. The follow up track “Cowboy Stay” saw the lovers uniting, with a bond so strong that even a wild cowboy will hang up his hat and settle down. In a poignant and powerful final chapter, “Hating On Love” celebrates the courage of loving whoever you love, despite the judgement or hatred you may face.
Dustin Bird brings a fresh face to country music and continues to push boundaries within the genre. Along with his notable Canadian country radio play (Top 40 single in Australia with “Every Little Town” + the video was added in rotation on CMT Australia), he has garnered an impressive 3 million streams to date, along with incredible support from DSP partners, finding his music featured on over 30 key editorial playlists across platforms. His debut album Unscripted, which was entirely self written and produced outside of the title track, debuted in the Top 10 on the iTunes Canadian Country chart, and he went on to be nominated for multiple awards include the CMAOntario’s Rising Star, the Indie Award’s Country Artist of the Year, and won Ontario Independent Recording Artist at the London Music Awards.
As a performer with a natural love for entertaining an audience, Dustin Bird has played major festivals such as Boots and Hearts, Havelock Jamboree, Kempenfest and more. He has opened for major Canadian acts such as Tyler Shaw, Tim Hicks, Jess Moskaluke and The Washboard Union, among others.
I had the opportunity to chat with Dustin about his new single, his journey so far and what’s next.
Kat: The last time we caught up with you, you had just released your debut album “unscripted”, how has your music evolved since then?
Dustin: Been a minute eh! Unscripted dropped at the beginning of 2021, but it was composed of work that went as far back as late 2018 with the song “Wake Up”. Between that song and the album dropping, I grew significantly as an artist, writer, and producer, leading up to that album’s first follow up single “Get Go”. With every song, I grow. There are elements in that first album that have carried through to this latest release, but I would argue that they’ve been refined and stylized as I’ve been more able than ever before to create with authenticity. Songs like “Rolling Stone” and “It Ain’t Me” share similar qualities, and planted the seeds for what my sound has become.
Kat: You recently released a brand new single “Heart Of It”, can you share with us some of the inspiration behind the track?
Dustin: I wrote this with Tom Pino and David Borys, but before we started writing, we were chatting about relationships and what it’s like to be in a position of uncertainty regarding a relationship’s trajectory. That sparked the inspiration to tell this story. “Are we burning or just burning out” is a line in the chorus that I think sums up the essence of what I’m singing about. Musically, I opted for it to feel optimistic – I took the “burning” angle – it felt right to communicate it like that.
Kat: What do you hope fans connect with from the new single?
Dustin: I think everybody who hears this song can relate in a pretty major way. This idea of not knowing what your future with somebody holds is a universal feeling, and can be an uncomfortable one. I hope, if this is something you’re dealing with right now, that through the energy that this song brings to the table, you feel excited and invigorated about having that conversation and exploring what’s next. Either way, getting it out in the open is a step in the right direction.
Kat: What do you have planned for the rest of 2023? Do we have more new music to look forward to?
Dustin: Lots of new music in 2023, in fact, as soon as I’m done typing this I’m jumping back into ProTools to work towards bringing you some songs that I’m deeply passionate about. I’ll be spending a significant amount of time in Nashville creating for both my own project as well as the incredible artists that I get to create for every day.
Connect With Dustin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dustin_bird