When Big Machne picked "Like I Knew You Would" as a lead single for 20-year-old newcomer Payton Smith, the label set him up for an ideal introduction. 

It showcases his impressive guitar skills, his energetic performance approach and his homegrown love of precussion. Hailing from the Gulf Coast town of Houma, LA., he grew up a short drive from New Orleans, and the Big Easy made a mark on him as a musician. 

"There was so much music," he recalls, "and the thing that it all had in common, no matter what genre it was, was rhythm. It was all about rhythm. And syncopation. And that has a huge effect on the way that I write music because it has to have some kind of groove."

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