Michael W. Smith is shown in concert in Europe in April. He brings his Christian pop and mainstream songbook to Brown County Music Center this weekend.
Photo provided
Plenty of Christian and pop music fans would say that three-time Grammy-winning singer Michael W. Smith is outstanding in his field. However, as the 65-year-old vocalist and keyboardist recently spoke about his planned concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at Brown County Music Center in Nashville, he was out standing in his field.
His 197-acre farm field near Franklin, Tennessee, to be exact.
“Everybody needs a quiet place they can go,” Smith said, talking by cell phone amid a series of media chats.
So there you have it. The performer whom many know for his biggest 1991 mainstream hit “Place in This World” has a place in this world, indeed — one that he bought in 1997 when he and longtime friend and musical collaborator Amy Grant split a 600-acre tract.
Smith’s oldest son purchased five acres of the land and built his family house there.
The artist who began his career as a $200-per-week Nashville, Tennessee, songwriter is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his first album “The Michael W. Smith Project.” That debut release included his signature song “Friends,” a duet with Grant. He laughed when asked what he would have thought if someone had told him back then that the keyboard kid from Kenova, West Virginia, would go on to sell 19 million albums and perform at sold-out venues worldwide.
“I probably would have said, um, well, your faith’s a little higher than mine,” Smith responded with a chuckle, adding that he never even projects possibilities even 10 years out in his life. “But if God wills it, then let it be so.”
He promises that the local show will feature a set list, lighting and other features he has never highlighted before.
“I might even open the show all by myself,” he said.
He added that he generally makes sure to include the mainstream and Christian singles in concerts. And he mentioned that a catalog of nearly 400 tunes total to choose from makes things daunting.
“People tell me they want the worship music, they want ‘Friends,’ they ask when I’m going to do songs from (the 1992 album) ‘Change Your World,’ and so that’s the biggest challenge. So, I’ve decided that we’re going to take you back (to the past).”
He just completed a European tour that included concerts in Poland, Hungary, Italy and elsewhere. He was stunned at the exuberance of many of the crowds in venues with sold-out seating mostly from 2,800 to 6,000.
“Maybe some of that is because with some of these Eastern European countries, we’re talking about a culture that was under Communist rule for so long,” he said. “And now they’re free, and I think that might have something to do with it.
“In Italy, on stage, we just stopped singing and let them take it. They knew all the songs.”
When he thinks of Italy, he also still thinks of shooting the movie “The Journey” with celebrated singer Andrea Bocelli. To film one segment, they rode horses some 20 miles into the Italian countryside. The pianist acknowledged that his seat was not quite as comfortable as a piano bench.
“I tried to get my butt in shape,” he said. “I don’t know if you can say that. But I was still so sore the next day. But what a great memory.”
He can see himself touring for at least another 10 years.
“Actually, I don’t think I’ll ever retire,” he said, adding that he’s currently writing a symphony and heading to South Africa to perform next month. “But I might not tour quite as much.”
He is finishing another Christmas record — one to add to his current total of seven such releases — for the end of the year, and again planning yet another 10-concert holiday tour with Grant, as the duo has done for decades.
Plus, when he’s on the farm, he frequently plants himself in the greenhouse with longtime wife Debbie, doing the farm-to-table thing.
“That,” he said, “is kind of my new hobby.”
Clearly, from the greenhouse to the concert house, Michael W. Smith still is growing.
About the concert
Who: Christian pop and mainstream singer Michael W. Smith
Where: Brown County Music Center in Nashville
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Tickets: browncountymusiccenter.com
