Sam Hunt is pretty much the hottest thing in country music right now. We caught up with Sam before he hit the Mane Stage at the 2016 Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California. Here are his thoughts on everything from his favorite food to his favorite emoji — hint: he doesn't have one.
1. What's your favorite food?
Steak.
2. What do you order at the bar?
I've always — not always, since I was 21 — Jack Daniel's.
3. What's your ideal Friday night?
These days — sitting at the house in the basement watching Netflix.
4. What's your favorite color?
Red.
5. What's your favorite city?
Nashville.
6. Do you have any weird rituals you do before you go out on stage?
Nothing consistent — our hangouts can get kind of weird. And the hangout is the consistent part, we just sit around and play music and kind of start to get on the same page, me and the boys that play in the band. We'll play different kinds of music, it could be weird as an outsider to sit in on one of those things.
7. Puppies or kittens?
Kittens.
8. Which country artist inspired you to get into country music?
Lots of country artists. The era that most inspired me was the nineties. Those were I guess, the [forming] years and I always had the radio on, listening to country music. So if there was any era of music that I could name the most songs of and probably sing every word to, it's probably the nineties.
9. What country song makes you cry?
There's a few that have the potential depending on the mood I'm in. There's a song by Miranda Lambert called "Love Your Memory."
10. What country song do you wish you had written?
Speaking of Miranda, "The House That Built Me" — I love that song.
11. What is the most exciting thing about performing at Stagecoach?
Just being on the west coast. Early on in my career, a couple years ago, we had a van and we didn't have the means to get out west and we spent a lot of time on the east side. So this is still relatively new for me to be playing this far away from home. I'm excited to be this far west and playing for fans who probably haven't seen us very much.
