Before Ryan Hurd was putting out his own brand of bold, heartfelt country music, he was writing hits for some of the genre’s biggest names. Born in 1986 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Hurd left the Great Lakes State for the bright lights of Music City to follow his dream of being a musician. In Nashville, he established himself as an ace songwriter, penning tunes that trade in a wide variety of moods, like the Brothers Osborne’s bouncy, stoned kiss-off “Greener Pastures”; Luke Bryan’s summery young-love song “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset”; and the lusty, vulnerable duet “Lonely Tonight,” which became a No. 1 hit for Blake Shelton and Ashley Monroe. Hurd even met his future wife—country star Maren Morris—at a writing session that provided the world with Tim McGraw’s triumphant “Last Turn Home.” He lit off on his own path in 2015 with the Panorama EP, establishing a bold, impeccably produced sound that leaned heavily on rootsy vibes, like the earthy standout “Good As You Think I Am.” In 2018, he took a poppier turn with the sweet “To a T,” further exploring that sonic territory with 2019’s “Her Name Was Summer” and 2020’s nostalgic “Every Other Memory.”