Indigenous Country Star Jason Benoit Leaves Fans Smiling With “1000 Mile Grin”
When musicians leave their hometowns for bigger musical hubs like Austin or Nashville, it can be a double-edged sword. One obvious drawback is sacrificing being with family and friends for a chance at stardom. Some leave jaded and hurt, often with a 1000-yard stare from the experience. But for Indigenous Newfoundland musician Jason Benoit, the return to ‘The Rock’ had him heading home beaming. The result is “1000 Mile Grin,” the title of his steady, confident toe-tapping single out now from his latest EP The Deadwood.
Benoit, 2024 East Coast Music Association winner for Country Recording of the Year for Time Traveller-The Album, said he felt his time trying to make inroads along Nashville’s Music Row ran its course. “The single ‘1000 Mile Grin’ is an upbeat song about a time when I was spinning my wheels in Nashville, chasing fame, and going seemingly nowhere,” he says. “Then one day, I woke up and decided the ‘Canadian Dream’ is what I should be chasing. I packed up and headed back to my wife and kids. This song is about having a 1000-mile grin all the way there.”
It’s been a busy and productive 18 months for Benoit and that productivity is heard throughout “1000 Mile Grin.” The music seems to mirror the drive Benoit probably took back from Nashville to Newfoundland: direct, straightforward, rollicking, and refreshed. The almost ideal mix of Americana and folk can be heard in Benoit’s vibrant delivery alongside some nifty banjo and mandolin work from Donovan Conran.
Benoit says after 2023’s Time Traveller- The Album, his “‘classic country spring ran dry” and “needed to find a new musical canvas to paint on for a while.” Thanks to his mother’s wide musical tastes and her Columbia House subscription, the musician took an array of early influences running from country to East Coast folk and Canadiana into “1000 Mile Grin.”
Such influences included East Coast folk artists such as Stan Rogers, Great Big Sea, and The Rankin Family as well as country influences like Alan Jackson, the late Joe Diffie, and Dwight Yoakam.
“Also, Newfoundland has its own ecosystem of great music that we heard all our lives, but you wouldn’t probably hear about much outside of Newfoundland,” Benoit adds. It’s that trio of styles that makes the single so warm and inviting.
A two-time winner of the MusicNL’s Indigenous Artist of the Year (2021, 2023) and the 2023 MusicNL Fans Choice Entertainer of the Year, Benoit has amassed a stream of critical success including a Top 10 single (‘Gone Long Gone’), four Top 30 hits and over 13 million streams globally. He’s also supported artists such as Tenille Townes, Old Dominion, Tim Hicks, and The Washboard Union. He’s also spending some time on the other side of the microphone, hosting a weekly radio program entitled “That’s Country” which comes from Corner Brook, Newfoundland.
To steal a line from “1000 Mile Grin,” Jason Benoit knows where he’s going thanks to this great story-driven new single. You’ll be left smiling if you’re within a 1000-mile radius of hearing it.
Can you share with us the story behind your latest single, “1000 Mile Grin,” and what inspired you to write it?
I was hitting Nashville hard in 2017/18 and I came to the point where I was told that I needed to live there to make it in the music business. With no guarantees and no work visa, moving to Nashville would be too big of a gamble. I couldn’t move my wife and 3 kids down there and make them struggle so I could follow a dream that might never come true. So, I’ve turned tails and drove home and the thought of being with my Wife and Kids again put a smile on my face that I couldn’t wipe off if I tried. That’s the story behind “1000 Mile Grin”. Looking back on it now, I’m lucky I did return when I did as it was just one year later when the pandemic struck. Who knows how long I would have been away from my family? I always say, good or bad, Everything happens for a reason.
How did your experience in Nashville influence the direction of your music and lead to your decision to return home to Newfoundland?
Nashville is an incredible place. I loved it there as country music is my passion. But chasing fame in Nashville is a young man’s game, so I decided the “Canadian Dream” is what I should be striving for and since making that decision, I’ve never been happier. You see, if you can make a living doing what you love, that should be your goal in life. Fame and prestige are something to feed the ego, which my ego doesn’t particularly have an appetite for. I’ve been working on producing my own music since then and I was just currently blessed with the ECMA for “Country Recording of the Year” for my album “Time Traveller”. So things have been working out beautifully.
As an Indigenous artist, how does your heritage influence your music and storytelling?
I’ve always said that my music was directly influenced by my family and extended family as a kid. Both my parents have an Indigenous heritage so my Indigenous roots were the driving force behind my love for music and my storytelling prowess as a songwriter. My father was an incredible storyteller. I could sit and listen to him tell funny stories for hours. We didn’t have much back then so we entertained ourselves with each other’s company through music, stories, and song and I wouldn’t trade those days for anything in the world. I’m very blessed to have been born into such a talented family and in such an incredible place, Newfoundland.
You’ve been hosting a radio show called “That’s Country.” How has being on the other side of the microphone affected your perspective as an artist?
I love it. I love providing a platform for some of my favorite artists from the past and for some newer artists who are incredibly talented that the listeners may not be aware of yet. It’s incredibly gratifying to give back to the fans by sharing my favorite country songs and stories from other artists because I truly love this genre and the people in it. Just so down-to-earth and kind. I’m definitely blessed to have been given such an incredible opportunity. It’s a lot of fun and I truly enjoy it.
Upcoming Shows:
June 22, 2024 — BayFest — Humber Arm South, NL
July 20, 2024 — FundyFest — Sussex, NB
August 2, 2024 — Boothill Jamboree — Bothwell, ON
August 4, 2024 — Nashwaak Music Fest — Saint Mary’s Parish, NB
August 31, 2024 — Pembroke Music Fest — Stewiacke, NS
February 8-22, 2025 — Caribbean Goes Country — Grand Aston Varadero, Cuba
Connect with Jason Benoit:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok