Smith embraces "The Storyteller"

The EP is slated to drop Oct. 4 via The Valory Music Co. The release contains four tracks co-written in sequence, plus a solo-penned song. Dwight Baker produced the set with live takes.

Smith wrote the title track with Dwight Baker and Flatland Cavalry's Cleto Cordeero.

"I think for better or worse, my natural state as a songwriter is thinking deeply on big picture themes and the captivating power of stories," Smith said. "It's amazing to think about how stories can really move people, and I've always been fascinated with how to do that through music, ever since I was a little kid writing songs. 'The Storyteller' feels like a rare creative moment that I wanted to capture by telling stories in a cool way."

"I had the title of 'The Storyteller' in my phone for a long time and didn't really know what that meant yet in terms of a song, I just knew that the heart of my music is the stories," said Smith. "It got me thinking that we're all storytellers, every person is in their own story inside of the bigger story."

The roots/country anthem is accompanied by an official music video conceptualized and filmed singlehandedly by Smith's brother and creative director Cooper Smith.

Cooper Smith brought to life one of Conner's favorite lyrics in the song by showcasing the everyday lives of ordinary people writing their own stories, who he met along his travels:
From the start of time
How God designed to leave that empty space
For every man alive
To try to find some meaning in the blanks
Shakespeare wrote the plays
And Van Gogh did it with paint
And Granddad did it working on the lines
Yeah, that's a storyteller
A damn good storyteller

Cooper Smith said, "We wanted to find real storytellers from different walks of life for 'The Storyteller' music video, so I spent two weeks traveling alone out West searching for the right people to feature. I began in Kanab, Utah with a painter friend of mine, then set off to Flagstaff, Ariz. where I met up with a Native American jewelry maker and finally made my way to Ridgway, Col. where I got connected with two cattle ranchers. To capture each of their stories, I wanted to see them at work – a jeweler using his art to preserve his family history, a cowboy writing letters to his love on a long journey home and a painter struggling with the authenticity of his own work. I know this project means a lot to my brother, Conner, and am super thankful that he let me run with this idea. The final piece ended up being the perfect visual for the song."

The EP track list is:
1. "The Storyteller" | Written by: Conner Smith, Dwight Baker, Cleto Cordero
2. "Nostalgia" | Written by: Conner Smith, Dwight Baker
3. "Faith From A Farmer" | Written by: Conner Smith
4. "Rollin' Down The Road (featuring Cleto Cordero)" | Written by: Conner Smith, Dwight Baker, Cleto Cordero
5. "The Garden" | Written by: Conner Smith, Dwight Baker, Cleto Cordero

Earlier this year, Smith released his full-length album "Smoky Mountains." He later released S'moky Mountains Sessions EP.