Chris Stapleton appeared to be one of those overnight storybook sensations: a troubadour who came out of nowhere to become a major star in the autumn of 2015 on the strength of his debut album, Traveller. Like most overnight sensations, Stapleton had a long, hard road behind him. He had been laboring behind in the scenes in Nashville for years, leading the progressive bluegrass group the SteelDrivers and working as a professional songwriter, scoring hits with George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker. These tunes however, just scratched the surface of Stapleton's résumé. His efforts signaled a deep reservoir of goodwill within the industry for the songwriter, which bubbled to the surface in the fall of 2015, when he took home three major awards at the Country Music Association Awards: Best Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, and New Artist of the Year. All these awards boosted his visibility, leading to four Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and his first major hit, "Nobody to Blame."
