Sam Hunt Reveals His First Music Milestones

Over the last two years, Sam Hunt one of the most talked about acts in country music and beyond. After hitting the stage at both the 2015 AND 2016 iHeartCountry Festival in Austin, Texas, Sam is heading to Las Vegas for the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival, joining an incredible lineup of artists, which includes U2, Drake, Sia, and more. As we gear up for this year's iHeartRadio Music Festival, we're taking a deeper look at this year's incredible lineup -- and lucky for fans, not only is Sam Hunt on the lineup for the main stage, he's also set to perform at The Village at the iHeartRadio Music Festival during the day on Saturday, September 24th.

In 2014, Sam released his debut album Montevallo, which includes hits like "Leave The Night On," "Take Your Time," "House Party," "Break Up in a Small Town," and more. The record is RIAA 2x Platinum-certified, hit No. 1 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart, as well as No. 3 on the US Billboard 200. Montevallo also earned Sam a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album in 2016 -- in addition to a Best New Artist nomination.

The album's title, Montevallo, is named after a town in Alabama. Sam once explained to us that he went to school in Birmingham, which is 25 miles north of Montevallo -- a town he spent a lot of time in after meeting a girl from there after moving from Birmingham to Nashville. "We spent a lot of time there. Just a lot of experiences I had -- even though it's years -- had a lot to do with the songs that are on the record. So there's just a personal connection between that word, that place and the album."

Just a few months after Sam released his debut album, he stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City for an exclusive interview and performance. We asked him about several first milestones for him, including the first song he ever wrote, first concert he ever went to, first album he ever bought, and more! Take a walk down memory lane below:

Five Firsts with Sam Hunt

First song that Sam ever wrote:

"A song called 'Muscadine Wine.' If you know, Muscadine is a fruit. It's like a grape. It's probably more prevalent in the South. But, it was a song that I wrote about wine made from muscadine. My grand-dad has scuppernongs and muscadine vines, and he used to make muscadine wine. So that's what it's about, the song. I didn't even start writing until I was 18. I bought a guitar when I was 18. But that was the first song I wrote."

First time Sam ever performed in front of an audience:

"Well, technically, I sang 'When the Saints Go Marching In' when I was 8 years old at our school. They called it 'The Production,' but it was just a musical. A play. So that was the first time I ever performed. And I didn't do that again until I was 21. It was [at] a little bar called Innisfree in Birmingham, Alabama. I just got up and played, like, 2 songs on the acoustic guitar."

First album Sam ever bought:

"It was either a Conway Twitty greatest hits CD or a tape of an artist named Ricky Van Shelton. [I was] 6, 7, 8, something like that. Way back."

First thing that Sam spent his first paycheck on:

"Probably groceries, I'm sure. But I don't remember that exact moment, I just know that when I first moved to Nashville ... Because I was in college, I didn't have a job. I was playing ball in college. But when I first moved to Nashville, that was the most important thing for me, was groceries. And I was broke, so... I always spent all of my money on food and rent, so it had to be one of those two things."

First concert Sam ever went to:

"It was Drivin' N' Cryin' and I was actually in college. That was the first concert. I didn't go to any concerts until I was probably 20, 21."

Photo: Andrew Swartz for iHeartRadio