When Lawrence, Kansas folk and country singer-songwriter Sky Smeed wrote “Hanging On”, he was hoping for a little inspiration from the stars.
“I wrote this one evening while I was sitting out on my porch watching a meteor shower,” Smeed tells SWT. “I wanted it to be a country make-up and move-on type of song.”
Like many of his songs over his nearly three-decade career, “Hanging On” offers a hearty balance of what his press release calls “humor, heart, and honesty.”
The song is featured on Smeed’s 10th album, Live at the Rock House, which will be released April 3rd. Ahead of the song’s official release on Friday, SWT is excited to premiere the track below:
Live at the Rock House features mostly new tunes as well as a few longtime favorites. The album was recorded live at the Rock House in Reeds Spring, Missouri by Barak Hill on January 18th, 2025, in front of what the press release calls “an attentive, appreciative audience.” The album was later mixed and mastered by Clarke Wyattin.
Recording live at the Rock House provided him with an outlet to sing his songs and tell stories live in the moment, stripping away the perfection and studio gloss that comes from recording in the studio and sharing his unfiltered superb talents as a singer, songwriter and guitarist. The live magic of the live show allowed songs such as “Hanging On” to fully thrive and come alive.
The press release’s description sums it up pretty well:
“We all chase the magic of a great live show. Being part of a room full of people, all listening to the same music at the same time, creates something communal and fleeting. For a little while, you’re not just hearing songs, you’re part of something. Capturing that feeling on a recording isn’t easy. But when it works, it’s undeniable. And on Live at the Rock House, it works.”
Sky is in fine form throughout the set, relaxed and fully connected to the room. He’s having a conversation with the audience through his songs and banter…For the crowd in the room, many of these songs were being heard for the very first time…There’s something special about meeting a song this way—unpolished, unguarded, and alive…Sky knows what matters most to him: the human exchange that happens when a song is shared face-to-face. You can hear it in the quiet moments, the laughter between verses, and the way the room leans in together.
‘At a time when AI-generated music is flooding playlists and chasing chart positions, Live at the Rock House feels like a quiet act of resistance. A reminder that songs still come from people, that music is meant to be shared in rooms, and that there’s power in showing up, unplugged and honest, with nothing but a guitar and a voice.
This is Sky Smeed doing what he’s always done, making people feel. Feel welcome, feel happy, feel together. Grab a seat. You’re invited in.”
The album follows his albums Flying High (2002), The Front Steps (2004), Mill River (2006/2007), Sky Smeed (2012), Drive All Night (2015), Lunker Bass (2017), Leaving Again (2019), True Love (2020), and Good Luck (2026).
Music has been his north star since he was young. He was raised in a one-room schoolhouse outside Chanute, Kansas. When he was 16, his sister gifted him a vintage Takamine acoustic guitar for his birthday. That old guitar, paired with growing love for Bruce Springsteen’s The Ghost of Tom Joad and Son Volt’s Trace, convinced him to start writing his own songs.
Those songs have garnered him many new fans and notable placements, including NBC’s The Blacklist, regular plays on Kansas Public Radio’s Trail Mix, and the theme song for the Lawrence Humane Society.
According to the press release, Smeed is “often compared to Gram Parsons and John Prine” and “the easygoing stage presence of artists like Todd Snider and Paul Thorn”. He brings a “relaxed confidence to every performance. Whether he’s making an audience laugh, tear up, or sing along, his songs tend to stick around long after the final chord fades.”
We here at SWT agree and highly recommend giving Smeed a listen and catching him fully in his element live. You can find tour dates here.
You can follow and listen to Sky Smeed at the following links:
His website: SkySmeed.com/
Facebook: Facebook.com/SkySmeed.Music
Instagram: Instagram.com/skysmeed
YouTube: Youtube.com/@skysmeedband
Spotify: Sky Smeed on Spotify
Apple Music: Sky Smeed on Apple Music
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
