Forever Country: Dustin Lynch Tries His Hand at ‘Friends in Low Places’ for CMA Series [Watch]

Dustin Lynch may be a relatively new artist, but he’s got the classics down. To celebrate the CMA Awards' 50th anniversary, the CMA is bringing together a slew of talented young artists to cover some of the songs that have made country music great over the years, including Lynch trying his hand at Garth Brooks' “Friends in Low Places."

Lynch pulls up a stool and plucks an acoustic, beaming at the opportunity to record the legendary tune. His smooth voice with just the right amount of twang lends itself well to the song, floating over the melody with skilled ease. Its sprawling vocal range, from low dips to the higher belts, shows off Lynch’s raw talent in a way that proves he was a perfect choice for the job at hand.

The video is part of the  #ForeverCountryCovers series, which is part of the CMA’s ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of the CMA Awards in 2016. More than 30 of the biggest stars from country music past and present recently got together to record an epic track titled “Forever Country” to mark the occasion, mashing up John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Dolly Parton‘s “I Will Always Love You” and Willie Nelson‘s “On the Road Again” in a jaw-dropping all-star medley.

The #ForeverCountryCovers series has also featured Marks Wills covering Kenny Rogers, Jon Pardi paying musical homage to Randy Travis and Lauren Alaina singing a Brooks and Dunn classic.

“I’m always asked, 'What song, if you could have ever written a song in the history of country music, what would it be?' The answer is always easy for me. It’s always ‘Friends in Low Places.’ It’s just a timeless classic. I still cover that song sometimes in my shows, and I know for a fact there’s a lot of the younger generation that don’t even know who sang that song, but that’s how big I think the song is. It’s a timeless classic that as a songwriter, I know will continue to bring in the dollars. So that would be the one I would wanna write and it’s been an honor to perform,” Lynch tells Sounds Like Nashville.

The lead-off single to his second studio record No Fences, “Friends in Low Places” won CMA Single of the Year in 1991 for Brooks and spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Written by Dewayne Blackwell and Earl Bud Lee, it became one of Brooks' signature songs.

Check out Lynch’s interpretation of the song above. Lynch recently earned his third No. 1 hit with “Mind Reader,” and he’s currently on tour with Luke Bryan.

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