Thousands flock to see ex-Colt Hunter Smith on the farm

The backdrop was a big red barn. A blue, cloud-streaked sky on a perfect Indiana summer night.

The food was sloppy joe sandwiches, grassfed beef hot dogs, mac-n-cheese and fresh veggies.

For former Indianapolis Colts punter Hunter Smith -- a guy who grew up on a cattle ranch in Sherman, Texas, who rides 4-wheelers across the countryside in his spare time -- this was the perfect place to perform his album-release concert.

On a sprawling farm in Zionsville, home to Traders Point Creamery.

Just one problem. The farm almost wasn't big enough.

"We thought this would be 300 or 400 people," Smith told the crowd, as he performed songs from his Hunter Smith Band's second album, "Story," released Friday. "This is amazing."

Thousands showed up to Traders Point, causing traffic jams on Moore Road, a country road lined with trees and creeks and farmhouses. Perhaps, Moore Road's first traffic jam.

"It feels like Blake Shelton landed in Zionsville or something," said Maria Crossley, 28, who was standing in a line 30 people long waiting to buy a sloppy joe. "I think he doesn't have to worry. Hunter Smith has a future."

Smith definitely wants a future in music.

The married father of four, who won a Super Bowl during the 2006 season with the Colts, takes his songwriting and performing as seriously as he did his 12-year NFL career, 10 years of which were with the Colts.

He played with the Colts until 2008 and then went to the Washington Redskins before retiring after the 2010 season.

"I used to play for the Colts," he said Friday. "Does anybody remember that?"

The concert was part music, part story-telling. Smith told tales and revealed meanings behind the songs he was about to sing.

"Over the past few years, I've got this historical man crush on Abraham Lincoln," he said before performing the song "Time Machine." He added that he has read up on Lincoln and wife, Mary, and is amazed by their life together. "This is a song for Abraham and Mary Lincoln."

The five-man Hunter Smith Band plays gigs all over the United States. It has opened for country classics such as John Michael Montgomery and opened for Eddie Money this summer in Chicago.

The band released its first album, "Green," 2 1/2 years ago. Sales have continued to be steady, Smith said, and the album served its purpose of showcasing the band's sound and helping it book shows.

The waiting paid off. "Story" was produced by Thom Daugherty, a former guitar player with The Band Perry.

Smith describes his band's genre as a mix.

"There's something country there, but there is nobody cooler in the pop sense than Keith Urban," he said. "That's kind of where we fall, in that genre. There's one foot in country. We're something and country."

Smith's album, "Story," is available on iTunes, Amazon and athuntersmithband.com.

Follow Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow.